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Julian Flores, 4, points to his teeth as he cries in pain to his mother, Cheri Flores has tried for 2 years to get authorization for the dental treatment he needed. Almost two decades ago, the state made Sacramento County the testing ground for a new model of delivering dental care to poor children. Officials envisioned a managed care system that would control costs and improve children's ability to see a dentist. Today that model persists but state data show that the county has consistently produced one of California's worst records for care. Critics contend that Sacramento's model of care forces many children to wait months or even years before receiving needed treatment, even if they have broken or rotting teeth, or are in so much pain they can't chew. -
Cheri Flores brushes her son's teeth. Julian, 4, developed tooth decay as a toddler after regularly falling asleep with a bottle. Julian has autism and his mother, Cheri, says that was the only way she could calm him after she stopped breastfeeding. -
Julian, 4, who is autistic, leaps off his bed while playing in his room. -
Julian Flores, 4, developed decay as a toddler after regularly falling asleep drinking a bottle of milk. Julian has autism and his mother, Cheri, says that was the only way she could calm him after she stopped breastfeeding. -
Cheri Flores, right, tries to get her son, Julian, 4, to eat his dinner. Flores says her son will cry in pain when he eats, and has to be sure that his food in not too hot or too cold because it will hurt his teeth. -
Cheri Flores kisses her four-year-old, Julian before getting him ready for bed. -
Four-year-old Julian Flores gets a kiss from his grandmother before leaving in the early morning for surgery for 20 root canals. -
Cheri Flores and her son Julian, 4, sit in the waiting room prior to surgery for 20 root canals at the Sutter Surgery Center in Roseville. -
Four-year-old Julian Flores entertains himself in the waiting room prior to undergoing surgery for 20 root canals at the Sutter Surgery Center. Julian has autism and has difficulty siting still. At his first dentist appointment at 18 months, he and his mom, Cheri Flores, sat in the waiting room for eight hours, she said, only to be told Juilian couldn't be seen. -
Cheri Flores and her son Julian, 4, sit in the intake room prior to surgery for 20 root canals at the Sutter Surgery Center on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011. -
Cheri Flores tries to get Julian to take oral medication prior to surgery for 20 root canals. -
Julian Flores, 4, who is autistic cries not wanting to take medication prior to surgery for 20 root canals at the Sutter Surgey Center in Roseville. -
Julian Flores, 4, is wheeled out of the intake room to the surgery area where Dr. Musser will do 20 root canals at the Sutter Surgey Center in Roseville. -
Dr. Jim Musser, left, performs surgery for 20 root canals on four-year-old, Julian Flores at the Sutter Surgery Center. -
Four-year-old Julian Flores undergoes surgery for 20 root canals at the Sutter Surgery Center in Roseville. -
Cheri Flores comforts her son, Julian, 4, in the recovery room at the Sutter Surgery Center in Roseville after undergoing surgery for 20 root canals. Flores tried for years to get the necessary authorization from Medi-Cal for her son who cried in pain that his teeth hurt since he was two years old. -
Four-year-old Julian Flores checks out his new steel crowns after undergoing surgery for 20 root canals.
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