Cha-may weeya
Medicine Talk
Siletz
Community
Health
Clinic
Tooth Talk
Chemawa Dental Program
by Linda Kreutzer, RDH
Western Oregon Service Unit
3750 Chemawa Road NE, Salem, OR 97305-1198
1-800-452-7823 or 503-304-7600; fax: 503-304-7677
What Causes Bad Breath?
Have you ever wondered what causes
bad breath? It’s germs, better known
in the dental business as bacteria.
Why do germs smell? The odor
from bacteria is really from its waste
products. Germs in our mouth are alive!
They eat, grow, multiply, and get rid of
waste just like any other living thing.
How can we control bacteria in our
mouths? By controlling plaque. Plaque
is the sticky, whitish deposit left behind
on our teeth after eating or drinking
things high in sugar. The more sugar
we consume, the more plaque our
mouths produce. Drinking less pop with
sugar is a great place to start.
In our dental clinic, our dental
assistant Amy tells patients, “Plaque is
made up of bacteria or germs. Germs
eat sugar and
poop acid.” Well
said, Amy.
This acid
is called
plaque.
Plaque
gets all
over our
teeth and on our
tongues, causing odor, tooth decay, and
decay of gums (gum disease). All of that
can be pretty stinky.
It’s important to do a thorough job
of brushing our teeth at least twice a
day and flossing at least once per day.
Brushing the tongue is very important.
Think of your tongue as a shag carpet.
Plaque gets “stuck” between the fibers
and begins to smell.
Plaque is a lot like battery acid - it
corrodes things. It’s not neutral like
water or basic like Alka-Seltzer. Plaque
is the most damaging thing we could
possibly leave on our teeth. It’s strong
enough to eat holes in tooth enamel,
which is 30 percent harder than bone!
Brushing is especially important in
the morning. Morning stink-mouth
is caused by the buildup of plaque
during the night. There’s been no food
or drink or tongue movement to help
clean the teeth.
Have you ever wondered why
morning breath smells like, well ...
poop? Because it is! It’s those nasty
bacteria germs going to the bathroom
all night. It’s not a nice thing to think
about, but it’s the biggest reason to grab
a toothbrush first thing in the morning.
And don’t forget to brush that tongue!
The dental clinic is open from
7:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, with lunch
from noon to 12:45 p.m. on Monday,
Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. On
Wednesday, it’s open from 7:15 a.m.
until noon.
This five-chair clinic is staffed by two
general dentists, one dental hygienist, four
dental assistants, and one receptionist.
IHS Scholarship Applications
Available, Due Feb. 28
Indian Health Service (IHS)
Scholarship Program applications for
the 2004-2005 academic year are now
available. The deadline for applications
to reach the IHS office in Portland, Ore.,
is Feb. 28, 2004.
Full-time and part-time academic
scholarships will be funded in the
following three programs:
•
Health Professions Preparatory
Scholarship awards are made to
American Indian and Alaska
Natives who have successfully
completed high school education
or high school equivalency and
have been accepted for enrollment
in compensatory, pre-professional
general education courses or
curriculum.
Health Professionals Pre-graduate
Scholarship awards are made to
American Indian and Alaska
Natives who have successfully
completed high school education or
high school equivalency and have
been accepted for enrollment
or are enrolled in an
accredited pre-graduate
program leading to a
bachelor’s degree in pre
medicine or pre-dentistry.
Health Professions
Scholarships
are
awarded only to I
individuals who are
members of a federally
recognized
tribe
(state
recognition does not qualify). To be
eligible for this scholarship, the
individual must be enrolled in a
federally recognized tribe and must
be enrolled in an appropriately
accredited school and pursuing a
course of study in a health
professional program.
IHS has about $3,733,332 to fund
these scholarships. Approximately 200
awards, 100 of which are continuing,
are for 10 months duration and the
average award to a full-time student is
approximately $20,000.
Benefits of the scholarships include:
$ 1,080 monthly living stipend (sent
directly to student)
Total “full” tuition payment to
recipient’s school
Payment of reasonable educational
expenses (as determined by school)
$400 available annually for tutorial
expenses
Up to $300 for travel expenses
Scholarship renewed if recipient
maintains good academic status
S'
Applications for these IHS
scholarships can be requested
from
Dennis
Imholt,
Scholarship Coordinator,
Portland Area Indian Health
f Service, 1220 SW Third
Ave., Room 476, Portland,
OR 97204; 503-326-5716;
dimholt@pao.portland.ihs.gov.
If you have an emergency or urgent
dental problem, please come to the clinic
any weekday at 7:15 a.m. Each morning,
we usually can see three or four
emergency walk-in patients. If there’s
no time to treat a toothache, medicine
may be prescribed to ease the symptoms.
Because we don’t have the resources
to provide complete dental care for all
of our patients, our goal is to provide
the most urgent care to those who need
it the most. In this case, appointments
will be given to diabetic patients; Head
Start children; children (0-12 years),
young adults with advanced dental
disease, and other medically com
promised patients; and Chemawa High
School students.
Appointments for routine dental
exams are available at various times.
Call the dental receptionist for details.
This clinic serves more than 20,000
Native Americans in the Portland-Salem-
Eugene area. The demand for dental
care at Chemawa has increased well
beyond our ability to provide complex
treatment. Additionally, more than 400
Chemawa High School students are
primary beneficiaries of this program.
We also have a growing number of
diabetics and elders with special needs.
This clinic can provide many types
of dental services, including emergency
services for toothaches and broken
dentures (minor repairs, patients are
responsible for fees charged by a dental
laboratory), preventive and periodontal
care (cleanings, fluoride, sealants, etc.),
routine restorative care (fillings,
including stainless steel crowns), root
canal therapy (for front teeth and some
molar teeth), and tooth extractions
(including wisdom teeth).
We cannot provide dental implants
or gold or porcelain crowns and bridges.
Higher-level services, such as implants
or bridgework, are available through
private dental offices (at patient expense).
If you have dental insurance, you
may find it more convenient to seek care
at a private office. Chemawa is not
responsible for any outside fees or
insurance co-paymeitfs.
February 2004 □
Siletz News
□
17