Toothless Texas prison inmates are routinely denied dentures

Toothless Texas prison inmates are routinely denied dentures ‘because chewing is not a medical necessity and they can eat blended food’

  • Many inmates are unable to get dentures due to state prison policy in Texas  
  • Policy says chewing isn’t a medical necessity & prisoners can eat blended food   
  • The state policy also says inmates can’t get dentures unless they’re underweight or suffering from other medical complications 

Inmates without teeth in Texas are routinely denied dentures because state prison policy says chewing isn’t a medical necessity and that they can eat blended food.

Medical providers approved 71 dentures to a state prison population of more than 149,000 in 2016, according to The Houston Chronicle.

It’s a sharp decline from 15 years ago, when more than 1,000 dental prosthetics were approved.

Inmates without teeth in Texas are routinely denied dentures because state prison policy says chewing isn’t a medical necessity and that they can eat blended food. David Ford is an inmate at the Huntsville Unit who has had trouble getting dentures

Many inmates are elderly, have a history of drug use or came from impoverished backgrounds with sub-par dental care.

State policy says inmates can’t get dentures unless they’re underweight or suffering from other medical complications.

Death row inmate Paul Devoe soaks crackers in coffee to eat them with his three remaining teeth. 

Devoe and other inmates have complained about bleeding gums, sore mouths, choking and being unable to eat.

California has given nearly six times as many dentures as Texas in the last 10 years. 

The Golden State’s prison system provided more than 4,800 dental prosthetics in 2016, according to the state’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The Texas prison system doesn’t have any plans to change its denture policy, according to the state’s Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jeremy Desel.

Desel told the Chronicle that the ‘current dental prosthetic policy was last reviewed in April of last year, and there are no plans for it to be reviewed again in the future’. 

State policy says inmates can't get dentures unless they're underweight or suffering from other medical complications. Pictured is the Huntsville 'Walls' Unit in Texas 

State policy says inmates can’t get dentures unless they’re underweight or suffering from other medical complications. Pictured is the Huntsville ‘Walls’ Unit in Texas 

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