BOOK SUMMARY
By Dwight David Johnson
Overview
“Teeth Not Included” is not just a book — it's a call to action. In this unflinching, deeply personal narrative, survivor and advocate Dwight David Johnson exposes a hidden epidemic in cancer care: the systemic neglect of oral injuries caused by life-saving treatment. Part memoir, part policy reckoning, Johnson pulls back the curtain on the financial, medical, and institutional failures that leave head and neck cancer survivors with broken teeth, shattered confidence, and no path to recovery.
What You’ll Discover
A survivor’s firsthand account of treatment-induced oral collapse
How U.S. healthcare systematically separates the mouth from the body
The bureaucratic failures that leave injuries untreated — even when policy allows coverage
The untold financial and emotional toll of survivorship in a fragmented system
A roadmap for reform, including Medicare’s CMS Transmittal 13029, which few institutions acknowledge or use
Why It Matters
Cancer care often ends with a bell ringing, but survivorship is only beginning. For too many, especially those treated for head and neck cancers, that journey is paved with silence, denial, and preventable suffering. This book demands that we recognize the mouth as part of the body — and oral trauma as part of cancer treatment.
Key Features
Lived Experience: Johnson has survived two rounds of aggressive treatment and lived to expose the cost of survival.
Investigative Insight: Backed by meticulous research, the book reveals how policies like Medicare’s Transmittal 13029 go unused by the very institutions that cause the damage.
A Survivor’s Manifesto: The final chapter issues five bold demands to the healthcare system — a blueprint for real change.
Who Should Read This?
Cancer patients and survivors
Healthcare professionals and administrators
Policy makers, advocates, and educators
Anyone concerned about equity and justice in healthcare
Download & Learn More
Explore the full book, resources, and survivor tools at:
www.stageivcapitalism.com/patient-decoder
Did you survive cancer—only to lose your teeth years later?
Were you told the radiation might damage your throat, but not your smile?
Did your oncologist say you were cured—but your dentist says you're on your own?
“Read About A Survivor’s Oral Injury Journey Through the U.S. Cancer Care System”