Most individuals could not imagine going for a prolonged period of time with oral pain. When pain starts we quickly turn to over-the-counter pain medicine for some relief, reach out to dentists for help, or use simple coping mechanisms that are taken for granted. What would one do if they were told they had a life sentence to agonizing mouth pain, pain of which could not be soothed by the luxuries accessible outside of incarceration? USP Terre Haute has cruelly sentenced Carl, a member of The Remedy Project, to this unimaginable fate. By denying him necessary dental care, USP Terre Haute is unethically instating that Carl must live out his life sentence under cruel and inhumane conditions.
In 2005 before his incarceration, Carl was in a car accident that resulted in him needing dentures for the rest of his life. Throughout his incarceration, these dentures have caused him significant distress and pain. The unreliable denture adhesive used to keep them in place consistently fails to work, causing them to get loose when he bites into most of the foods offered to him. When the dentures get loose they rub against his gums, causing unbearable discomfort from the inflammation and nerve endings that continue to be agitated. This continuous cycle means that Carl’s skin never has the opportunity to recover from the rubbing, and the unpreventable dislodging of food under the dentures creates a significant risk for infection. Not only is this adhesive ineffective, it costs $4.25 every 14 days, which for an individual with limited funds and limited income is an entirely unrealistic feat. Furthermore, Carl also experiences digestive issues and pain because of the need to drastically adapt his eating to accommodate these faulty dentures.
Carl has been experiencing this discomfort for a prolonged amount of time, and has sought help from USP Terre Haute on multiple occasions. The FBOP offered him an ineffective “fix,” where they refitted his dentures and added a soft liner. This resolution, however, quickly proved to be pointless, and the well-known misery and pain immediately resumed after this alleged “solution” by the FBOP. Although his new dentures had a new soft liner, this gave no relief to the loosening of his dentures, which continues to perpetuate this painful experience for Carl. After this defeat Carl again pleaded for help, asking for a long-term solution. Being well-informed on the options available, he requested permanent denture implants, a very common procedure that would effectively eliminate all of Carl’s existing health troubles. However, the FBOP declined his pleas saying they do not offer dentures implants, expecting him to carry out his entire life enduring this pain.
To further emphasize the pure distress Carl is experiencing, outside of the already unbearable pain, it is important to understand the greater threats to his health that he is vulnerable to. Dentures themselves can leave an individual vulnerable to bone loss, heart disease, and fungal infections. Specifically for infections, Carl is especially vulnerable to health complications because of the FBOP’s ban on denture cleaning tablets. This leaves him with no sufficient way to clean his dentures, putting the raw open wounds caused by his dentures rubbing to be at a significant risk of infection. In addition to the taxing psychological distress he experiences from potential health risks, his current dentures put him at risk of fatal sleep apnea complications. Every night Carl must use a CPAP mask, designed to assist him in breathing throughout the night, however because his dentures do not provide enough oral structure and support, the mask does not fit properly and is not sufficiently protecting him from complications. This alone is life-threatening, making Carl vulnerable to heart disease, stroke, cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, and even diabetes.
It is unjustifiable that the FBOP cannot provide Carl with the adequate health care to end his ongoing pain and prevent the numerous fatal complications that he is in jeopardy of. By preventing him from this healthcare, which importantly under BOP Handbook Right 13 includes preventable healthcare, the FBOP is disregarding Carl's right to health and basic human rights. Expecting him to endure the physical and psychological distress of his condition is cruel and unusual punishment, and it is inhumane to expect him to live the rest of his life under these circumstances.
Most individuals could not imagine going for a prolonged period of time with oral pain. When pain starts we quickly turn to over-the-counter pain medicine for some relief, reach out to dentists for help, or use simple coping mechanisms that are taken for granted. What would one do if they were told they had a life sentence to agonizing mouth pain, pain of which could not be soothed by the luxuries accessible outside of incarceration? USP Terre Haute has cruelly sentenced Carl, a member of The Remedy Project, to this unimaginable fate. By denying him necessary dental care, USP Terre Haute is unethically instating that Carl must live out his life sentence under cruel and inhumane conditions.
In 2005 before his incarceration, Carl was in a car accident that resulted in him needing dentures for the rest of his life. Throughout his incarceration, these dentures have caused him significant distress and pain. The unreliable denture adhesive used to keep them in place consistently fails to work, causing them to get loose when he bites into most of the foods offered to him. When the dentures get loose they rub against his gums, causing unbearable discomfort from the inflammation and nerve endings that continue to be agitated. This continuous cycle means that Carl’s skin never has the opportunity to recover from the rubbing, and the unpreventable dislodging of food under the dentures creates a significant risk for infection. Not only is this adhesive ineffective, it costs $4.25 every 14 days, which for an individual with limited funds and limited income is an entirely unrealistic feat. Furthermore, Carl also experiences digestive issues and pain because of the need to drastically adapt his eating to accommodate these faulty dentures.
Carl has been experiencing this discomfort for a prolonged amount of time, and has sought help from USP Terre Haute on multiple occasions. The FBOP offered him an ineffective “fix,” where they refitted his dentures and added a soft liner. This resolution, however, quickly proved to be pointless, and the well-known misery and pain immediately resumed after this alleged “solution” by the FBOP. Although his new dentures had a new soft liner, this gave no relief to the loosening of his dentures, which continues to perpetuate this painful experience for Carl. After this defeat Carl again pleaded for help, asking for a long-term solution. Being well-informed on the options available, he requested permanent denture implants, a very common procedure that would effectively eliminate all of Carl’s existing health troubles. However, the FBOP declined his pleas saying they do not offer dentures implants, expecting him to carry out his entire life enduring this pain.
To further emphasize the pure distress Carl is experiencing, outside of the already unbearable pain, it is important to understand the greater threats to his health that he is vulnerable to. Dentures themselves can leave an individual vulnerable to bone loss, heart disease, and fungal infections. Specifically for infections, Carl is especially vulnerable to health complications because of the FBOP’s ban on denture cleaning tablets. This leaves him with no sufficient way to clean his dentures, putting the raw open wounds caused by his dentures rubbing to be at a significant risk of infection. In addition to the taxing psychological distress he experiences from potential health risks, his current dentures put him at risk of fatal sleep apnea complications. Every night Carl must use a CPAP mask, designed to assist him in breathing throughout the night, however because his dentures do not provide enough oral structure and support, the mask does not fit properly and is not sufficiently protecting him from complications. This alone is life-threatening, making Carl vulnerable to heart disease, stroke, cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, and even diabetes.
It is unjustifiable that the FBOP cannot provide Carl with the adequate health care to end his ongoing pain and prevent the numerous fatal complications that he is in jeopardy of. By preventing him from this healthcare, which importantly under BOP Handbook Right 13 includes preventable healthcare, the FBOP is disregarding Carl's right to health and basic human rights. Expecting him to endure the physical and psychological distress of his condition is cruel and unusual punishment, and it is inhumane to expect him to live the rest of his life under these circumstances.
