The Oklahoma Department of Health and the State Fire Marshal inspect local jails every year. But the inspections are only as effective as the rules they’re based on. Just because a jail passes inspection — doesn’t mean it’s completely safe.

“What I’m seeing on paper and what I’m seeing in the mouths, it’s two different things.”

It’s a state that ranks among the worst in oral health, and the budget crisis could be making dental treatment even tougher. Funding for several programs, including Dentists for the Disabled and Elderly in Need of Treatment, known as D-Dent, was totally eliminated.