Son needs all teeth pulled, mom angry

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Andrew Jaworowicz is 24 years old but his mother Sarah Lampson still takes care of him like she did the day he was born. Andrew has the mental capacity of a 6-month-old.

"It's an adult baby. He can't tell me if he's in pain," said Lampson.

He couldn't tell his mother when his mouth hurt, so when he fell and broke several teeth, Lamspon rushed him to the dentist. An oral surgeon determined that aside from the fall, Andrew's teeth were so badly decayed he needed to have all 32 of them extracted.  

"Oh yeah, I was shocked. The dentist was angry at me. He said who is responsible for the care of his teeth?  Who is responsible for this?" said Lampson.

Lampson said she has always relied on a mobile dentistry program based in Southeast Michigan that visits Andrew's school in Grand Rapids. The last record she said she received was in November 2011 when Andrew had his teeth cleaned.

The dentist's notes simply read, "Please help with brushing. Has lots of plaque and debris on his teeth."

Target 8 tried to get a response from the mobile dentist program. The first time Target 8 investigators called, a doctor wouldn't give us her full name and refused to discuss the case. Later calls requesting more information on the program and its dentists were not returned.

Lampson said she couldn't get the doctor's full name either.  

Target 8 asked Grand Rapids oral surgeon Norm Palm if it's possible for teeth decay so quickly in just a few months.  

"I would say in my personal opinion that's doubtful, its probably not impossible. But I agree with your concern, your level of skepticism. That's warranted," said Palm.

Palm is also the president-elect of the Michigan Dental Association, which is pushing for more regulation on the mobile dentist industry.  

"We don't want to regulate to the extent that a child is excluded from care, yet at the same time I think we're beyond the point of just speaking to best practices without some legislation," said Palm.

The MDA wants written agreements from mobile dentists, ensuring they will come back regularly, have working relationships with local dentists who can jump in an emergency and make sure patient records are easily accessible by those local dentists.

Lampson said she has requested Andrew's records three times in the last two months and still hasn't received them.

"I'm hoping that nobody else has to go through this. It's not fair. There should be accountability," said Lampson.

The MDA stresses not all mobile dentists are questionable, but that the industry still needs regulation. It's gathering support from the State Department of Community Health, school nurses and school administrators.

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Michigan Dental Association