“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
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Siletz News
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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.