Mother is charged with neglecting her daughter's teeth

MANATEE COUNTY - Police say a Palmetto mother neglected to provide her child with needed dental care, which led to severe tooth decay.

Tamika S. White, 19, was arrested Wednesday on a felony neglect charge.

Her daughter, whose age was not listed, has suffered from tooth pain for more than a year, according to a Palmetto Police Department report.

The child's grandmother urged White to take the child to the dentist.

White took the child to a dentist who told her the child had bottle mouth -- tooth decay common in infants and toddlers, the report said.

But White's Medicaid coverage would not pay for the treatment, and she refused to seek money for treatment through child-support payments from the child's father, police said.

She also did not seek another specialist who would accept Medicaid or any other treatments that would be covered, according to a report.

White was in the Manatee County jail on Thursday without bail.

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Staff Report, HeraldTribune