Florida

Last in the nation: Florida’s dental care crisis

Published

1 year ago

April 3, 2025

Last in the nation: Florida’s dental care crisis

ORLANDO, Fla. – Sixty-six of Florida’s 67 counties lack sufficient dental professionals and almost half of the state’s population does not have dental insurance.

A common theme emerged among those seeking help at one Daytona Beach high school offering free dental services last month.

“Aspen Dental wants $6,000; well, I don’t have that,” Diana Marcam said.

“Dental work is very expensive these days,” April Taylor told News 6.

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The need for care was made clear by those who lined up, even before dawn, to secure their spot.

“We were here at 3:30 this morning,” Marcam explained.

“I’m trying to get my partials done because I’ve really needed it. It’s been a year, and they say it costs $4,000,” Juwun Mills said.

According to the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration Florida ranked 50th in the percentage of children receiving an annual dental visit in 2021. The same report shows that the state ranked 42nd in the percentage of adults getting a dental check-up that same year and that annually, nearly 120,000 Floridians visit the emergency room for non-traumatic dental conditions.

“At the emergency department, they’re not getting dental care. They don’t do dentistry. They’re getting a pain pill, hopefully not an opioid. They’re getting an antibiotic, which holds it off because it is a bacterial infection. But once that antibiotic wears off, it will start again and it can go into an abscess very, very quickly,” Catherine Cabanzon said.

Cabanzon, a dental hygienist and founder of Floridians for Dental Access, expressed concern about the state’s dental care system.

“There are 67 different diseases and conditions that are associated with the mouth and oral health. We are not a third-world country. We really should be able to do better. There are not many Medicaid providers within the state of Florida, and in my county as well. Those who are Medicaid providers may not be accepting new patients for three, four, five, or six months. When you have an emergency, you can’t wait. That’s what drives people to the ER,” she said.

She said that increasing the number of dental professionals in the field who can offer routine visits is crucial to help prevent poor oral health.

“So if a person is lined up for two hours to deal with the pain of a cavity or a tooth that needs to be pulled, I promise you there are a lot of other problems in that person’s mouth, so maybe they’ll get that one extraction that day and thank God that they have that availability. But what happens to the rest? It doesn’t go away because you extract one tooth,” she said

“If we could increase our access to care, especially in the prevention and area or the early phases of a cavity where it doesn’t have to get into a crown or a root canal or an extraction. If we could do that, we could stay ahead of this and do better.’

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Florida

Florida baseball takes down Miami as Gators reach Gainesville Regional final

Published

8 hours ago

May 31, 2026

Press Room

Florida baseball takes down Miami as Gators reach Gainesville Regional final

Florida baseball is now one win away from returning to a Super Regional for the first time in three years.

The Gators dispatched in-state rival Miami behind seven home runs to come away with a 22-10 win over the Hurricanes to reach the Gainesville Regional final on Saturday, May 30, at Condron Ballpark.

Florida (41-19) jumped out to a 6-1 lead over Miami, but the Hurricanes steadily chipped away at the deficit.

After Miami hit a solo home run in the first inning, Florida quickly answered with six runs in the bottom of the frame, which was highlighted by a 3-run homer from Cade Kurland.

The two teams traded runs as Miami delivered back-to-back RBI hits in the third with Karson Bowen hitting a solo home run to make the score 7-4. Then, in the fourth inning, the Hurricanes picked up two more runs, while Bredan Lawson scored on a fielding error as Miami (39-19) narrowed UF’s lead to 8-6.

The Hurricanes tied the game in the fifth inning after a run was walked in and another scored on a fielder’s choice.

Florida then erupted for a seven-run rally with two outs in the sixth inning. Miami needed four different arms to get out of the inning before Kyle Jones hit a decisive 3-run double to build a 15-8 lead.

Miami picked up two more runs in the eighth inning, but the Gators answered decisively by hitting five home runs in the bottom of the frame to put the game away.

Here’s what happened in Florida’s win over Miami:

The Gators hit five different home runs in the eighth inning, which came from Kurland, Blake Cyr, Brendan Lawson, Ethan Surowiec and Karson Bowen.

Cade Kurland hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to extend Florida’s lead over Miami to 16-10.

In the eighth inning, Jackson Barberi surrenders an RBI single. He then get hits by a line drive, which allows a run to score as Miami narrows Florida’s lead to 15-10.

The Gators plate seven runs all with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Canes walked back-to-back runs, which is followed by an infield error that plates another run. Karson Bowen scored on a wild and Kyle Jones delivers a 3-run double build Florida a 15-8 lead over Miami. The Canes have made four pitching changes in the inning.

The Hurricanes score for a third straight inning as they pick up two more runs in the fifth to make it an 8-8 game. Luke McNeillie walked in a run, which led to him exiting the game. Florida failed to turn a double play and allowed the tying run to score.

Another throwing error to first base allows for Brendan Lawson to score from first base and extend UF’s leads to 8-6 in the bottom of the fourth.

Luke McNeillie throws a wild pitch, which allows for the Hurricanes to score a run and narrow the score to 7-6 in the fourth inning.

Aidan King’s night is done after allowing an RBI single as Miami narrows the score to 7-5 in the top of the fourth inning. King allowed five runs from eights and recorded three strikeouts in 3.1 innings. Luke McNeillie enters the game on the mound.

Karson Bowen hit a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning to extend UF’s lead to 7-4

Miami narrows the score to 6-4 after plating three runs in the bottom of the third inning. Aidan King gave up four straight hits with two outs, which included an RBI double and a 2-run single.

The Gators answer quickly in the bottom of the frame as UF takes a 6-1 lead over Miami. Kyle Jones scores from a fielding error followed by Ethan Surowiec driving in a run with a sac fly. Karson Bowen came up with an infield RBI single, while Cade Kurland delivered a 3-run homer over the left field wall.

Before the inning ends, Miami takes out starting pitcher AJ Ciscar.

The Canes hit a solo home run from the fourth pitch of the games.

Miami’s Jake Ogden hits a home run off the fourth pitch of the game to give the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Aidan King then gives up a double and a hit by pitch, but gets out of the jam with a double play.

CF Kyle Jones
SS Brendan Lawson
LF Blake Cyr
3B Ethan Surowiec
DH Caden McDonald
C Karson Bowen
1B Landon Stripling
2B Cade Kurland
RF Hayden Yost

On the mound is Aidan King

How to watch Florida baseball vs Miami

TV Channel: ACC Netowrk

Streaming: ESPN+

Florida vs. Miami will be broadcast nationally on the ACC Network on Saturday, May 30. Eric Frede and Lance Cormier will call the game from the booth at Condron Family Ballpark.

Stream Florida baseball vs Miami

Florida baseball vs Miami projected starting pitchers

RHP Aidan King (2-5, 4.00 ERA) vs RHP AJ Ciscar (4.44 ERA, 5-4)

Florida baseball upcoming schedule

NCAA Regionals, May 29-June 1
NCAA Super Regionals, June 5-8
College World Series, June 12-22

Reach Florida Gators writer Andrew Abadie at AAbadie@usatodayco.com or on X (formerly Twitter) at @AndrewAbadie. You can also find him on Facebook at Andrew Abadie Sports Reporter or on Instagram @andrewabadie_sports.

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Florida

‘She was smashed’: Florida woman accused of driving onto golf course while intoxicated

Published

18 hours ago

May 30, 2026

Press Room

‘She was smashed’: Florida woman accused of driving onto golf course while intoxicated

A Florida woman was arrested after she drove onto a golf course while intoxicated, crashed her car, and found with dozens of miniature bottles of Fireball whiskey, according to authorities.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office identified her as 34-year-old Erika Mayer, of Palmetto.

“She was smashed,” Sheriff Grady Judd said in a video shared on X earlier this week. “She was drunk — capital DRUNK. Wrecked her car. She said, ‘But I haven’t been drinking.’

The sheriff’s office said deputies responded to a single-car crash near Streamsong Golf Resort on May 14 shortly before 7 p.m. When deputies arrived, they found a red 2018 Hyundai resting on a sidewalk and a woman sitting beside the car.

Investigators said Mayer appeared impaired, displayed slurred speech, poor balance, and incoherent behavior. Deputies also detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage on her breath, the sheriff’s office said.

A witness told deputies they saw Mayer driving across one of the golf courses in the area before the crash.

Judd said deputies searched Mayer’s car, where they found 21 open mini bottles of Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey, two empty 50 milliliter bottles of 99 Brand liqueurs, and an unopened 10-pack of Fireball.

“And she had empty Fireball bottles in her pants,” Judd said, adding that she was “drunker than Cooter Brown” and “had no idea where she was.”

Deputies said they asked Mayer to perform field sobriety exercises and provide breath samples, but she refused both requests.

According to Judd, Mayer told deputies she declined the tests because she heard it was a bad idea to participate in field sobriety exercises.

Mayer was arrested and charged with DUI, DUI with property damage, and refusing to submit to a DUI test. She was also cited for failure to drive within a single lane and possessing an open container of alcohol in a vehicle.

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No one was hurt in connection with the crash, authorities said.

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