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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2007)
CHA-MAY WEEYA- MEDICINETALK Siletz Community Four winners will be selected from each grade. In addition to winning great prizes, the winning posters will be part of our 2008 Healthy Eating calendar. Clinic Health Your Kidneys and Diabetes Attention All 6th, 7th and 8th Graders The Diabetes Program is sponsor ing an all-tribal poster contest. The topic is nutrition. You'll receive de tails in the mail by mid-March. X.- | | | | ______ _____ ) March is Kidney Month. It's impor tant to have an annual test for kidney disease, according to the American Diabetes Association. Don't wait for symptoms. People usually have no symptoms until almost all kidney function is gone. The first sign is often fluid buildup in the feet and ankles. Prevention is always the best medicine. Ask your medical provider at your next appointment. Sealant Clinic Offered in Lane County The Diabetes Program has started a successful Jump Rope ( lub at Siletz Valiev School. Since Jan. 9, 2007, 48 students have signed up with an average attendance of 34. The program goal is to increase the opportunity for students to "move more and sit less. Students are eager to learn double Dutch rope jumping and jump rope tricks, as well as increase their personal jump rope skills. Coalition Seeks Artists for New Show The Lincoln County Breastfeeding Coalition, the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts, and the Oregon Depart ment of Human Services. WIC Program are sponsoring a special show. The Art of Breastfeeding. This juried show will be held Aug. 3-30. 2007. in Lincoln City, Ore. A smaller, open show will be held at the same time in Newport. Ore. Pictures of completed artwork should be sent to the Breastfeeding Coalition by June 14. The health message about babies is that breastfeeding is best. This show is all about educating our communities by presenting new images of breastfeeding. Artists are encouraged to consider the theme broadly, whimsically and se riously. Two- or three-dimensional works, in all media, are sought. First prize for the juried show will include the opportunity to have the art featured on WIC posters statewide. Contact Pat Lewis at 541-867-4568 or artful.feeding@yahoo.com for details. This free program began in the mid- ‘90s. Volunteers worked with the staff at the Children's Dental Clinic in Eugene, Ore. The Assistance League of Lane County has administered this school based dental program for decades. The league, along with volunteers from Lane Community College's Den tal Programs, the dentists/dental hy gienists, and dental assisting associa tions. worked each February. Children s Dental Health Month, to reach more kids. In 2000. a broader coalition of com munity groups stepped up to increase this effort. The Sixth Annual Children s Free Sealant Clinic is now organized by volunteers from those organizations listed above and Centro Latino Ameri cano, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Head Start, and River Stones Community Health Clinic. Each year, more than 80 volunteers work together to serve 60 to 95 chil dren. all in one day. Each child receives X-rays, an oral examination, sealants when prescribed, fluoride varnish, and home care supplies. This program serves children in Lane County who do not have access to dental care in their communities. If you would like to have your child seen this year, bring your child/children to LCC on March 10 between 9 a.m. and I 1 a.m. The dental clinic is located on 30th Avenue on the main campus. Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. For more information, contact Linda Eichner at the Children's Dental Clinic, 541-687-3232; or Mary Ellen Volansky at the Siletz Dental Clinic, at toothtalk@ctsi.nsn.us. Tooth Talk by Mary Ellen Volansky. RDH, MS Sippy Cups and Soft Picks “Sippy cups are not for Chardonnay ...” or milk or fruit juice. What? An other book on living with toddlers? Sadly, no. Instead of Stefanie Wilder-Taylor’s humorous book, you get this dull mes sage - my attempt to help prevent tooth decay, this time in your toddler's teeth. Milk has lactose. Fruit has fructose. Soda has sucrose. All are sugars. Sugars cause cavities - nothing tunny about that. The National Institutes ot Health offers the following tip: • • 16 Sippy cups are meant to be transi tional training tools to help children switch from bottles to cups. Sippy cups should not be used for ex tended periods of time. Unless it’s being used at mealtime, a sippy cup should be filled only with water. • Siletz News • A toddler sipping on these beverages while he or she plays will soak his or her teeth in sugar (and acid) the whole time - a surefire way to develop costly pain ful cavities in all of a toddler's teeth. All beverages that contain sugar can be placed in a sippy cup at meal time. Finally, good news. Putting milk or fruit juice in a sippy cup at mealtime is reasonable. The toddler’s saliva helps wash the sugar and acids away while eating. If you would brush your toddler’s teeth after a meal, that would be even better. Who has time, you ask? All soda pops contains acids that, in addition to the acids generated in the mouth from sugar, cause cavities. Sug arless or diet sodas have these acids even though they don't have sugar. When you come into the dental clinic, ask to see the chart comparing various soda pops to battery acid. On a scale of 1-7, where water is 7 and battery acid is 1, Pepsi is 2.5. March 2007 Soft Picks Soft Picks are just that, soft and thin picks for cleaning between teeth. Smaller and softer than toothpicks, they are pro moted as a replacement for flossing. It appears that they would be helpful. They “appear” to be helpful be cause I could only find one study, which was funded by the manufacturer. It concluded. “... Dental floss, the rec ognized ‘gold standard’ for gingivitis reduction, was matched in perfor mance ... (by) an interdental cleaner with small elastomeric fingers (sold as Soft Picks).” Soft Picks are meant for one use and then to be disposed of. I suspect some people reuse them. If you are that person, gently wash them immediately after (each) use. Disadvantages to Soft Picks: 1) They do not reach behind the last teeth - molars. These areas must be flossed. 2) They bend easily and do not regain their shape. Again at molar areas, it might take two or more to clean your whole mouth. You can find Soft Picks online at www.SunstarButler.com. Or Google for Soft Picks. They are manufactured by G-U-M Butler. A packet of 40 cost about $2.69: I have seen them cost more. Online. I found a one-time-only cost of $2.49. Wal-Mart and BiMart carry them, and you probably will find Soft Picks at most stores that sell Butler oral health care products. At this point, for those who don't floss, using Soft Picks would appear to be an improvement. Let me know what you think of Soft Picks at toothtalk@ctsi.nsn.us. I will share your suggestions or comments with patients in the clinic - anonymously.
