Gaza parents brave dental dilemma: Costly treatment or food on the table?

Many Palestinians in Gaza are delaying dental treatment because it is too expensive, leading to prolonged tooth pain and deteriorating health. A patient in Nuseirat described being quoted about 400 shekels for treatment, an amount he could not afford because it would cover only a few days of food for his children. When pain spread from a tooth to his jaw, he returned to a clinic seeking relief. A dentist attributed the situation to shortages of dental materials caused by the Israeli siege, which has driven up prices and limited affordable options. Patients often arrive only after infections worsen, turning simple procedures into more complicated, painful, and costly surgeries, sometimes involving swelling, pus, and spread of infection to other parts of the body.

"Many Palestinians in Gaza are forgoing expensive dental treatment, at a detriment to their health. Nuseirat, Gaza Fifty-year-old Murad Haji sits in silence in a dentist's chair among the rubble of Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp, hoping to find some relief from a pain that has plagued him for months. He holds his jaw, overwhelmed by a sharp throbbing ache. He had been given a quote of about 400 shekels ($142) for treatment an amount that could feed his children for four or five days due to escalating food costs."

"His dentist, Liza Hassouna, explains how the Israeli siege on Gaza has led to severe shortages of dental materials, significantly driving up the price of treatment and meaning that surgeries can only work on teeth at vastly inflated prices. Many patients come to us only after the infection has significantly worsened because they could not afford treatment earlier, Hassouna says. By then, what could have been a simple procedure becomes far more complicated, painful, and expensive."

"Prolonging treatment often leads to infections that spread to other parts of the body, possibly requiring surgery to deal with the problem, but due to financial constraints, many Palestinians have few options. This is what happened with Haji what initially began as a simple procedure that could have been completed within two days became a more costly and extensive operation. The toothache had developed into a far more complicated case, leading to a swollen face, an inflamed tooth, pus accumulation, and severe pain."

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