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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2001)
“Cha-may weeya” Medicine Talk Siletz Community Tooth Talk by Linda Kreutzer, RDH The World’s Five Biggest Dental Myths Myth: The harder you brush, the cleaner your teeth. Fact: It’s important to use a very light touch when you brush. Pushing your toothbrush against your teeth and gums does not increase cleaning effectiveness. Myth: The stiffer your Fact: Studies show that toothbrush, the better. soft bristles are the most “soft” bristle toothbrushes skim over a lot of plaque Replace your effective. Always buy toothbrushes. Hard the teeth and miss between the gums, toothbrush every three months. You should keep your toothbrush away from your gums. Fact: If you use a gentle touch and a soft-bristle toothbrush, it’s actually good to massage your gums as you brush. Myth: Myth: It’s normal for gums to bleed a little when you brush or floss. Fact: Bleeding gums are not normal. They are a sign of periodontal disease. See your dentist. Myth: Dental X-rays are risky. Fact: The typical set of dental X-rays gives you about the same amount of radiation as a single airplane trip across the country. Health, con’t from page 1 refuse to complete the application process or fail to provide CHS with adequate justification of why you do not qualify for alternate resources, payment will be denied - even though the service may have been pre- authorized. This is why it’s important for tribal members to complete all required paperwork. Area office, ESP, clinic and CHS staff have OHP applications and can help you complete the forms. After-hours assistance is available to help you decide whether you need to visit a hospital emergency room. Please call a gatekeeper, who is a Siletz Clinic provider, at 541-444-1236. This service was established to help tribal members determine if they should go to a hospital ER, as CHS will not pay for inappropriate use of emergency rooms. Gatekeepers cannot issue CHS authorization numbers nor do they call in prescriptions. Tribal members are 16 □ Siletz News □ required to call CHS within 72 business hours after a visit to a hospital emergency room for an authorization number. A tribal member out-of-area benefit plan is being funded. Excess gaming revenue funds have been set aside for a limited benefit program for out-of-area tribal members, effective Feb. 1,2001. The tribe’s Fringe Benefits Department administers this benefit. Tribal members can access one service. Then when requests have slowed, a second round of choices will be offered. The maximum benefits are as follows: vision - $400, dentures/ dental - $1,200, and hearing - $1,400. COHO Benefits, the tribal medical plan, currently is administering the new program. To access your benefit, call Jack or Debbie at 541-444-8377, 541-444-8277, or 1-800-922-1399, ext. 377 or 277. June 2001 Health Clinic What’s Really in a Cigarette? Arsenic: used in rat poison Acetic acid: hair dye and photo developer Acetone: main ingredient in paint and fingernail polish remover Ammonia: household cleaner Benzene: rubber cement Cadmium: found in batteries and artists’ oil paints Formaldehyde: used to embalm dead bodies; often used in biology classes to embalm small animals (frogs, pigs) Hexamine: major ingredient in bar-be-que lighter fluid Napthalenes: used in explosives, mothballs, and paint pigments Nitrobenzene: a gasoline additive Phenol: used in disinfectants and plastics Stearic acid: found in candle wax Styrene: insulation and styrofoam Vinyl chloride: used to make garbage bags Carbon monoxide: poisonous gas in car exhaust DDT/dieldrin: insecticides Fiberglass: used to make the hulls of boats, pipes Hydrazine: used in jet and rocket fuels Hydrogen cyanide: used as poison in gas chambers Lead: highly poisonous metal that used to be found in some paints Mercury: a metal, poisonous to humans; most commonly used in thermometers Polonium: radiation dosage, equal to 300 chest X-rays in one year Toluene: embalmers’ glue All of these poisonous products are found in a single cigarette! If you smoke, quit now. Take action and seek help. If you don’t smoke, don’t start. Your life depends on it. If you need help, the Tobacco Prevention & Education Program wants to help. Call 541-444-1030 or 1-800-648-0449. Or call the Oregon Quit Line to speak to a teen counselor or an adult counselor toll-free at 1-877-270-STOP. As of May 9, 2001, the program has received 94 request for services, and has obligated $52,200. Of this amount, $28,800 has been set aside for vision benefits, $19,200 for dentures/dental, and $4,200 for hearing. The Health Editor’s Note - The Siletz Tribal Health Committee has approved the following modification to the out-of- area benefit plan for tribal members. Beginning July 1, 2001, tribal members will be allowed a second option. Your second option can be the same as your first choice. For instance, if your need is dental care and you do not need vision or hearing services, you can double your $1,200 benefit to $2,400. The definition of benefits has been expanded to basically the same three categories, but loosely defined. Committee members will discuss the program’s progress at its next meeting, as well as the possibility of a second round of benefit authorizations and possible benefit structure modifications. Vision benefits of $400 can be used for eyeglasses, contacts, exam, or any other optometry-related service. Denture benefits of $1,200 are re-defined as dental benefits and can be used not only for dentures, but also forextractions, orthodontic treatment, fillings, cleaning, or any other dental procedure. Hearing aid benefits of $1,400 are expanded to include audiometry services, including PE tubes. We cannot, however, reimburse individuals for services that have already been provided.
