My dentist of 20 years calls me "his dinosaur." I'm one of only a couple of his patients who gets teeth drilled and filled, crowns implanted -- dang near everything -- without an anesthetic.

Anesthetic was never offered to me as a kid. And my Catholic upbringing suggested, "Suffer in silence, offering your pain for the souls in Purgatory."

Now, it's just a habit. But while access to dental care has rarely been an issue for me, it's becoming a crisis for many in California as the state grinds away health benefits to patch together solutions to a $17 billion budget deficit.

A recent Los Angeles Times story reminded that few dentists are willing to care for Medi-Cal patients. The current reimbursement levels make them money-losers. So, can you imagine what will happen with the additional proposed 10% provider payment cut?

The Times focused on one particular dentist, Dr. Diana Zschaschel, who not only takes Medi-Cal patients but also willingly treats those with physical and mental disabilities -- despite slaps and punches thrown her way. And no additional money for complexity or kindness.

On top of that, if the budget cuts go through, Medi-Cal dental benefits will be dropped for adults -- even adults with child-like mental capacities because of their disabilities.

"It's going to come to the point that there's not going to be anywhere people can go," the Times quotes Zschaschel. "We're going to be like in the 1800s, when people actually died of dental infections."

Bad teeth and gums are gateways to infection, including heart problems. Samaritan dentists -- like any doc who has office hours on weekends -- are almost ancient history. I may be a dinosaur for spurning dental anesthesia. But with some of the budget cuts envisioned, California may well become Land of the Health Care Neanderthals.