It'll happen some time after July 1. Bleeding gums, rotted teeth, the sheer pain and desperation. Someone will grab a brick, a fork, a two-by-four. A gruesome ride to an increasingly scarce and unbelievably overburdened California hospital emergency department -- dental repair via trauma surgery.

A Superior Court judge in Sacramento this week gave the go-ahead for a series of Medi-Cal budget cuts approved in February by state lawmakers. Come July 1, adult Medi-Cal recipients will see "optional" benefits eliminated -- dental care, podiatry, optometry, audiology, psychology and speech therapy -- for an estimated budget savings of nearly $184 million.

The media have been reporting that some of the 2.8 million low-income Californians affected by this downsizing have been scrambling to finish root canals, cavity filling, bridge work or somehow snare appointments to have all their teeth extracted. Yup, yank 'em all, the good with the bad. (Maybe you missed the news, what with Jackson,  Fawcett, McMahon and Iran.)

Teeth are hardly inconsequential gateways. I love my dentists, but also figure I've had so many crowns and fillings over the years that they don't need a time-share in Hawaii -- they could own part of the Big Island.

Research indicates poor dental hygiene may lead to heart trouble and other illnesses. Untreated tooth infections can be fatal. Translation: What was once preventable or treatable through a visit to a Medi-Cal dentist can morph into costly emergency surgery.

Sadly, as we cut, gut and redesign our health care system, we're likely to encounter more brick-in-the-kisser experiences.