In 2013, only 34 percent of general dentists accepted Medicaid patients, according toPew. My research into the origins of this initiative led me to Harry Caudill, a small town lawyer from the eastern Kentucky town of Whitesburg. This is the third and final part of a series on rural health-care challenges. Associated Press articles: Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. Since then, she's been leading the charge to come up with policies to tackle the problem. It is wickedly acidic and (if youre drinking the less aspartame-influenced variety) highly caloric. It is "not good" in a decidedly unsexy way, the way other corporate Frankenstein creations like Ho-Hos and Combos are easily tossed into the furnace of public scorn. The newly pregnant women gather and talk to each other about their experiences of being pregnant, and learn to operate simple monitoring equipment. At this point, I should probably make this clear: Im no Mountain Dew apologist. They have the common ground of becoming a mother., The patients are accountable to each other, said midwife Sarah Almon. Cherokee Indians were the main Native American group of the Southern Appalachian and Blue Ridge region, but there were also Iroquois, Powhatan, and Shawnee people.. Vance ignores valid reasons why Appalachians are leery of outsiders telling them who they are because historically, that has always been done through a very skewed lens. When I moved away from home, it became very clear that I should be ashamed of drinking Diet Mountain Dew (my parents and I still lovingly abbreviate it as "DMD" in text messages). Story after story presents tightened regulations and banning the purchase of soda with food stamps as the lone solution to problems caused by excessive Mountain Dew consumption. My dada gentle, 30-year lawyer who likes to describe himself as an "old steady sheepdog"called me a couple of months ago to describe the scene unfolding near his office in my hometown. If you buy something from an Eater link, Vox Media may earn a commission. Were going to make a nurse out of you!, She looked up and had this grin and said, No ones ever told me I was good at anything -- and youre telling me I can be a nurse someday!. At first, I hee-hawed and rolled my eyes. The lights, claim the legend, are the ghosts of grieving women still searching the mountainside for the bodies of fallen warriors. 3. They confer the stigma of economic and even moral failure. On pages 228-229, Vance writes about instability in working-class families, due to relationship instability. Associated Press articles: Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. (function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]='EMAIL';ftypes[0]='email';fnames[1]='FNAME';ftypes[1]='text';fnames[2]='LNAME';ftypes[2]='text';fnames[3]='MMERGE3';ftypes[3]='dropdown';}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true); Stacy Kranitz We can identify them in the plaque in blood vessels leading to arteriosclerosis. In the kitchen that day, Mountain Dew was used as a stand in for a harder conversation about our waning relationship that we had been dancing around for months. 3. Sixty-five percent of our women are on Kentucky Medicaid, Todd-Langston, manager of the Trover Center for Women's Health, told me. Like those many before him including many news stories last year Vance has just written yet another look at these poor people story. In October, I went to a mayoral forum and the women behind me were talking about it I mean, hes from there, so he must know I did not read it. If you were watching the Diane Sawyer special, "A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains," in 2009, you might have been alerted to a code red in the southeastern mountain region of the United States (via ABC News). According to Al Jazeera's analysis of US census data, it is the nation's poorest white-majority county in terms of annual median household income. Marion Virginia: Heart of Appalachia's Highlands & Birthplace of Mountain Dew | Here's the 36th Episode in my new Exploring Appalachia series! We're no strangers to Mountain Dew in the south, or are we? But over in Appalachia, the region that stretches roughly from southern New York state to Alabama, the fight against soda is targeting an altogether different concern: rotted teeth. The journal comes out twice a year and has been a tradition of inspired writing since 1876. Appalachia has a distinct culture of sipping soda constantly throughout the day. 26 August. Appalachia has a distinct culture of sipping soda constantly throughout the day. Appalachian names are often taken as a southern baby name but there are subtle differences. Unstable people beget instability. Vance grew up in an Appalachian ex-pat family in Ohio with rough-talking relatives who thought nothing of trashing a store until they got what they wanted, and who regularly communicated by screaming at each other. They offer the services they can, provide prescriptions for painkillers and antibiotics, and recommend a dental clinic for a follow-up. Chaotic people beget chaos. Vances Hillbilly Elegy. Over the course of two days, among the reclining chairs and portable dental equipment that had been erected on the civic center floor, 116 dentists provided $1 million worth of care to 1,165 patients, many of whom had traveled across state lines to endure long lines and the bitter cold as they waited for treatment. Stay informed by following Appalachia on Twitter at @AppalachiaJourn. A problem as common as gingivitis (excess plaque) can result inserious health problemssuch as heart disease, diabetes, or cancer. He is telling, in a very simple and easy to read fashion, a story, and stories trump textbooks every time. A culture in crisis.. 210 pound Dozer fell on me and then the 750 pound 4-wheeler fell on Dozer, but Dozer kicked it up with his leg and then the two boys that bailed pushed it back over. Statewide, Kentuckys PTB rate was 12.6 percent. The Appalachians are among the oldest mountains on Earth, born of powerful upheavals within the terrestrial crust and sculpted by the ceaseless action of water upon the surface. Accept Cookies. For Americans who do not have health insurance and need dental treatment immediately, the emergency room remains the only option. "Oh, wow," my boyfriend remarked, a little awestruck. We can identify the [bacterial] footprints from oral infections in heart tissues. Originally the care of the poor was relegated to the church, which regarded the poor to be of the highest moral status. Less than 300 feet into our journey home, we rolled and tumbled. Hes been everywhere, touted as having some new and amazing insight into the white rural Appalachian voter. How did Appalachia become stereotyped by a popular beverage? In my latest video I discuss folklore and superstitions. It was during this time that Christian Missionaries first spoke of the Appalachian region as ignorant and impoverished. Many lives were lost. This name has a Celtic origin and the meaning of the name is 'he who comes from the mountain'. Public health . In the mountains, you stare death in the face because the latest boy who ODd played Mortal Kombat with you while slurping Mountain Dew. Appalachia isnt a pity case, and Mountain Dew is only sideshow to the heart of the matter. MADISONVILLE, Ky. . In December, when my boss urged me to read it hes from Appalachia just like you I did not read it. Dozer had collected several people along the way so by the end of the ride, there were 4 of us on the ATV. They want to tackle the problem with policies, including restricting soda purchases with food stamps (now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and currently under debate in Congress). Six years ago Ebersole was looking for a site where he could undertake a program to demonstrate in the field what clinicians were telling him in their practice. Eighty-two percent of them had periodontal bleeding points and half had already developed recessive pockets in their gums. (This story has been corrected since it was originally published.). Mostdental insurance limits annual benefits to between $1,000 and $1,500 per personthis cap has hardly changed since the mid-'80s, despite inflation. Family and friends stopped by to share stories, complain about hardships and seek advice for problems. Premature births are a growing problem nationwide now estimated at 10 percent of all deliveries pushing up the costs of care and the subsequent risk of autism and lifelong illness. In this use, it does not relate to any type of demonic or evil activity as has . Moonshine is available in a barrage of flavors at most local liquor stores, but it won't be brewed from a hidden still. Did he really just tell me what to drink? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. The bad reviews I saw from other Appalachians convinced me it would make me mad. "What Mountain Dew has going for it is that it's high in caffeine and high in sugar," Harris says, adding, "Students tell us it tastes best, and it's a habit.". 1. Geography does play an important role, though. Brenda makes a delicious desert -- Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings.-- very easy to make and very good .thank you very much for watching! ET. Appalachian English is a term linguists use to describe the speech patterns of people in Appalachia. When we got back to Pats house, I was given a crushed up Loratab to snort for the pain. I knew that Pat had his own set of values that were different from prevailing societal norms. The poverty rate in Appalachia is 17.1% (the national poverty rate is 14.7%), and 87% of the region's 420 counties have more than 1.5 times the U.S. poverty rate. Time and time again, Appalachians are portrayed as individuals who are unable to get out of their own waythe kind of people who must have change enacted upon them in order to better themselves. Add a global pandemic into the equation and that can make things even scarier. Mountain Dew is mountain slang for "whiskey"; the phrase appears in Irish folk songs from the late 19th century and in an American folk song protesting Prohibition. no shoes!) We told them dont put Mountain Dew in a baby bottle, dont put that baby to sleep with juice, dont let people kiss that baby, to prevent bacteria being transferred, Almon said. The latter, simply titled "Mountain Dew," was composed in 1920 by Bascom Lamar Lunsford, an attorney in Asheville, N.C. Instead, I drink Diet Mountain Dewswish it around in my mouth, feel it all syrup and fizzand pray to God I never become a person who gets above my raising. 4. For 10 years, Otto researched and conducted interviews about oral health in America, traveling across the country attending beauty pageants and clinics, talking to dentists and patients alike. Few of the women associated dental cavities and oral disease with pregnancy or prenatal problems, despite mounting medical and dental research showing the linkage, especially in Kentucky, said Jeffrey Ebersole, director of research at the University of Kentucky Dental Schools Oral Health Center. Reply . The other meaning of the name is 'a wise man'. Sarah Baird, a writer who grew up in Eastern Kentucky, recentlywrote about the importance of the drink to her sense of identity, saying, Its not just a beverage its a portable sense of home.. Many people don't trust the well water in their homes because of pollution concerns and probably drink more soda because of it, she says. As Healthline tells us, the sugar in sodas reacts with the bacteria in our mouths to form a dangerous acid, breaking down the protective layers in your teeth and causing cavities. ATV accidents are a common and unfortunate byproduct of this hobby. Picking on Diet Mountain Dew was a surefire way to get my attention and cut me to the quick. On top of that, without municipal water systems, people rely on well water, which is unfluoridated or they drink more Mountain Dew to quench their thirst. And Part 2 explored the link between transportation and healthcare. The Appalachian Mountains are nearly 2000 miles long. 1. It has no nutritional value. Social Darwinist thinkers in the late 18th century and early 19th century influenced attitudes towards poverty during the emergence of capitalism (6). On our way down the daylight faded and we navigated the terrain of the trail from our ATVs headlights. And by quite a wide margin, one might add. In both cases, its a prickly briar patch of fact and lore jumbled together. One of the amazing things about Centering, Todd-Langston said, is when you bring people together on common ground, even though the lower socioeconomic women are the ones that get the most out of this, by bringing them in here, those barriers go away. Even if you might not crack open a bottle in your lifetime, I encourage you to take a moment and imagine a highly carbonated, nose-tickling bubble and a tart-sweet, citrusy flavor thats similar to a church picnic punch on steroids. Shameful or not, no food stuff is more personal to me, more deeply burrowed into my sense of identity than Diet Mountain Dew. Tightening regulations wont fix an economy so tied to a dying industry that a staggering majority of residents either rely on government aid to eat or are regularly hungry. Kentuckys oral health? Dew Baby". He mentions the law school mentorship of Amy Chua, who went on to write a book about Chinese tiger mothers. The problems faced by the region are painfully real, and deserve not to be trivialized or oversimplified in the national spotlight. Nah man that's brondo you're thinking of, Mountain Dew is mostly caffeine and sugar . Becoming a parent can be scary. And she expects that number to grow as jobs in the region continue to disappear. My first daycare was just a few doors down. "What Mountain Dew has going for it is that it's high in caffeine and high in sugar," Harris explained. EARLY POPULATION. See our ethics policy. no food stuff is more personal to me, more deeply burrowed into my sense of identity than Diet Mountain Dew. The town was the "hub" of eight "coal camps" located along the outskirts of the town. Just 10 years after the War on Poverty was declared, Caudill saw that nothing was changing for the Appalachian people. unsalted butter, at room temp, sugar, eggs, at room temp and. For the 379 women enrolled in the study, pre-term birth rate, or PTB, was 6.6 percent against 14 percent for Hopkins County generally in the preceding years. POSTWAR TO THE PRESENT. I had on a short dress that rode high up my thighs when I mounted the machine. None of them, as far as I could tell, fell into laziness, violence or what my mother might call sorryness. These stories grew out of reporting assignments for Kaiser Health News. (London) 1841, #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } He concluded that Appalachia could not be fixed because its people were broken. As the story goes, John F Kennedy read Caudills book and quickly moved to set up the Presidents Appalachian Regional Commission in order to take a closer look at what was happening in Appalachia. And he must have one hell of a publicist. With limited benefits through Medicaid and no benefits through Medicare, in order to receive insurance, people must purchase private plans or employer-provided plans. Like many Americans without dental insurance, it was not until Matello heard a free dental clinic would be held in the town of Salisbury, just 20 minutes away from her home, that fixing the cracked tooth seemed like a possibility. A Mountain Dew Code Red, that is. is completely exhausting. is dedicated to the analysis of news photos and media images. Appalachia has a high concentration of these natural voids, including the world's longest. People exist, of course, who are violent, dysfunctional, addicted, and on welfare. A suburb of Washington, D.C., could have one dentist for 350 residents, while Dickenson County, Virginia, has one dentist for every 15,468 residents. However, as it stands now, dental care is treated separate from health care, launching an epidemic that weighs heaviest on those who need it most the rural poor. Before being bought by PepsiCo, Mountain Dew was invented in Tennessee in the heart of Appalachia. Between about 1.1 billion and 541 . Other forces are at play. Toothaches are the most common problem, causing lack of sleep and difficulty eating. Bascom Lamar Lunsford, born in Mars Hill, North Carolinain 1882, was what amounts to the first Appalachian ethnomusicologist- but not at first. However, this poses a significant problem because, in the eyes of the American health care system, the mouth is separate from the rest of the body. Mountain Dew, the carbonated fluorescent-green soda that Willy the Hillbilly declared will tickle your innards in a 1966commercial, has long been a staple of Appalachia. We saw that our women werent getting preventative [dental] screening. It was, in his eyes, a more intimate, longterm partner than he had become. Central Appalachia is the number one spot in America for tooth decay to due to their poor diet, lack of access to dental care, and widespread addiction to Mountain Dew. As a result, Hannah made a 12-minute audio documentary about the experience for the Appalachian Media Institute, called "Foster Care in a Pandemic World." New Fathers and Quarantine Babies. He uses this word over and over, beating it into the readers consciousness. That this violence and abuse was somehow innate to what they were, caused by the culture from which they had come. Weeks later, he reported finding syringes in the street. It's estimated 26% of preschoolers in Appalachia already have tooth decay. For those who have never had the pleasure of sipping an ice cold can of Mountain Dew, youve probably only heard talk of its vices, of which there are (admittedly) many. After becoming the first person to successfully call attention to the dark reality of what was happening in Appalachia, Caudills thinking changed. Great Britain. One. A Fresh Look at Appalachia50 Years After the War on Poverty Kealey Lowe is a student at Stone Memorial High School. Appalachia's money issues affect not only working-class adults in the mountains, but it affects the helpless children, the teenagers, babies, and everyone else living there. Nearly half said that their most recent toothache had caused them the worst pain possible and interfered with many aspects of their daily lives. TikTok video from Katie Country (@katie.country): "They call it that good ole Mtn Dew #smalltown #appalachia #comedyvideo". 28K views, 631 likes, 154 loves, 240 comments, 642 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Mountain Roots: Here's the 36th Episode in my new Exploring Appalachia series! This year marks the 50th anniversary of Lyndon B Johnsons January 1964 State of the Union address. According to Eater, Mountain Dew was invented by Barney and Ally Hartman, Tennesseans who were looking for a mixer to accompany their whiskey in the 1930s. My camera was strapped around my neck, resting against my back. Over the next six weeks I returned regularly, befriending the extended group of people that spent time at Pats house. Whats more, 40 percent of all births are paid for by Medicaid. A curated collection of pieces related to our most-popular subject matter. Just dont read it and think you understand Appalachia. More recently, whats driven home the jerry-rigged wiring between Mountain Dew and Appalachia is the use of the phrase "Mountain Dew Mouth" to describe the poor oral hygiene habits in the area which have led to widespread gum disease and tooth decay. 4. It was hot potatod around through several bottling companies before eventually being sold to Pepsi in 1964, and nationally marketed. Shouldnt he have flown the coop at the first pop-a-top? The two types of rock that characterize the present Appalachian ranges tell much of the story of the mountains' long existence. The Appalachian people were denigrated so that they could be exploited because they owned valuable land with natural resources. This kid is a hillbilly, which makes it special. Often referred to as the "Appalachians", the Appalachian Mountains are a series of mountain ranges that stretches from the eastern to the northeastern part of the continent of North America.Forming the eastern complement of the Rocky Mountains, the Appalachian Mountains extend for about 2,400km from the Central Alabama region in the United States to the Canadian . This was solidified during the economic transition that took place with the colonialist coal industries entry into the region at the end of the 19th century. 3. People we meet in life can seem at first to represent a stereotype. A little over a year ago, I became obsessed with the concept of shame. Singer says one of the best opportunities to curb the problem is targeting programs like SNAP, which allows recipients to buy soda. Should I credit all this to their hillbilly heritage? This narrow and extensive mountain system parallels the eastern coast of North America for nearly 2,000 miles. While you may think of " Appalachia " as a region of the southern United States, the full Appalachian Mountains have a massive (not to . Appalachia this election year: So many stories, so little depth. If you calculate gum tissues inside and outside of the teeth its an area the size of the palm of your hand. Destroying store merchandise and threatening a sales clerk were normal to Mamaw and Papaw: Thats what Scots-Irish Appalachians do when people mess with your kid, Vance writes on page 40. Back in 2009, Priscilla Harris, an associate professor at the Appalachian College of Law, issued the first battle cry in the war against Mountain Dew mouth with a legal brief titled "Undoing the Damage of the Dew," which explores how the drink became ingrained in the region's culture. Nationally, the rate of infant mortality was 211.1 per 100,000, but it was higher in five of six southern Appalachian states (all except Tennessee). ", Beneath all the systemic diseases linked to bad oral health, Ebersole argued, is a disastrous healthcare system in which oral health is considered a luxury. In more national conversations, it often seems to take up this stunt double role, particularly when addressing rural poverty. It was released on Del Rey's first major-label studio album, Born to Die. TIL that due to the popularity of Mountain Dew in the Appalachian region dentists there have pegged it as the leading cause of poor dental health or as they call it "Mountain Dew mouth". Id like to think if you cut me open a little Diet Mountain Dew would be right there in my bloodstream, hovering just below the surface, like the homesickness that never quite goes away. A study published in theNation Bureau of Economic Research found that a missing tooth can result in a loss of $720 of earnings (and178 million peopleare missing at least one tooth). MS. Anne and Harry M. Caudill Collection, 1854-1996, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington, Kentucky. And I was outraged too. Diabetes. The Appalachian folk song was written in 1928. Jun. Frequently he attributes rough behavior and inexperience with the world to, essentially, hillbillies being hillbillies. Just under 30 percent had periapical infections or pericoronitis inflammation. My aunt on my father's side would actually put mountain dew in her kids' baby bottles. 4. By childbirth, all the problems had been treated; continued follow-up monitoring also showed reduced smoking by the mothers and increased breast-feeding, and led to lower levels of prescribed pain medication and sharply reduced number of visits to local emergency rooms for other health problems. But one has to wonder if the underlying issues of the region aren't addressed, will taking sodas off the menu really solve anything. Sometimes there were drunken fights. O ften, photographers and journalists capture a version of Appalachia that is not a place - a vast geographic region covering 13 states with more than 25 million people - but a social and . In the south-east mountains of the United States this word is often used instead of hollow; A small rising valley region between two hills or mountains; often containing a creek. Appalachian: [noun] a native or resident of the Appalachian mountain area. For example, many Appalachian names are of Gaelic or Celtic origin (if you are interested in Irish baby names check out our Irish boy's names and Irish girls names posts). 24 September. Named after mountain slang for moonshine, Mountain Dew was sold to Pepsi in 1964, where the soda went national. Now why would you want your baby to be smoking? Rising, whose Centering Healthcare Institute has worked with major medical schools across the country, flew down to Madisonville to help Todd-Langston and Almon start the prenatal program there. I abruptly found myself assessing everyone I met, trying to determine whether or not Caudill would consider them dullards. In late July 2013, I was invited to drink beer on a Friday night with a group of people in West Columbia, West Virginia. To paraphrase a tweet from author David Joy, you can read Hillbilly Elegy. But over in Appalachia, the region that stretches roughly from southern New York state to Alabama, the fight against soda is targeting an altogether different concern: rotted teeth. Harry Caudill, Whitesburg Position Statement. Proc. https://newrepublic.com/article/138717/jd-vance-false-prophet-blue-america, https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/10/hillbilly-elegy-review-jd-vance-national-review-white-working-class-appalachia/, https://elizabethcatte.com/2016/11/19/common-people/. At one time, the town was the center of a booming coal mining culture. The Appalachian Mountains stretch from the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador to northern Alabama and Georgia. Appalachia has a distinct culture of sipping soda constantly throughout the day. He was the first person to publicly question the coal operators who came to extract valuable natural resources in Appalachia using processes that obliterated the terrain through mountain top removal. This article originally appeared on AlterNet. When we got back to Pats house, I was given a crushed up Loratab to snort for the pain. Popular Native American folklore says that a bloody battle between the Cherokee and Catawba tribes took place on the mountain. All share an enviable smile gleaming, bright white, smooth, ovular teeth. Once a month, a University of Kentucky dentist also joins the group for oral treatment. When, in 2006, Todd-Langston got a call from Jeffrey Ebersole proposing to establish a full dental service for pregnant moms, she said it was like a gift from heaven.