Cover: Teeth
TEETH: THE STORY OF BEAUTY, INEQUALITY
AND THE STRUGGLE FOR ORAL HEALTH IN AMERICA
Mary Otto, The New Press, March 14, 2017, $26.95
ISBN-10: 1620971445; ISBN-13: 978-1620971444
Otto reports:
Looking back, I realize that Teeth got its start with a story I covered when I was a metro reporter for The Washington Post. It was a 2007 article about Deamonte Driver, a 12-year-old child covered by Medicaid, who died of complications from a dental abscess. His mother, Alyce Driver, had been trying to get dental care for Deamonte's younger brother when Deamonte got sick. But then, as now, Medicaid dentists could be very hard to find.
The nation's more than 70 million Medicaid patients are not alone in their struggles to find dental care. For reasons including poverty, provider shortages, and inadequate dental benefits, an estimated one-third of Americans face barriers getting access to the nation's separate, carefully-guarded, largely private practice dental system.
Mary Otto, photo by Nancy Crampton
In 2008, when my Post job disappeared in a newsroom downsizing, I found freelance work writing about dental care. My understanding of the subject was immeasurably deepened when I was chosen as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow. Thanks to the fellowship, I spent the 2009-2010 academic year at Harvard studying dentistry and public health.
I also attended a three-day continuing education course, "Achieving Healthcare Leadership and Outcomes through Writing and Publishing," led by Harvard physician and author Julie Silver. It was there that I met Boston literary agent Albert LaFarge, who encouraged me to move forward with my book idea. Still, it took more than three additional years of reporting and writing before I managed to develop what I considered a viable proposal.
When I finally connected with Marc Favreau, editorial director of The New Press, Marc helped me refine and improve my proposal. The New Press ultimately accepted it. Marc and his team saw Teeth as fitting into The New Press mission: to publish books on important social issues that may be overlooked by larger publishers. They used their gifts to help bring this book to life.
Contact info:
- Mary Otto, 202-342-6040, mary@healthjournalism.org
- Book website: thenewpress.com/books/teeth
- Publicist: Beverly Rivero, 212-629-4636, brivero@thenewpress.com
- Agent: Albert LaFarge, lafargeliterary@gmail.com
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