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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2007)
We would like to take this opportunity to share the loss of a valued employee who recently passed away from cancer. In memory of Marlene VanNoy 1940-2007 Nothing Passive About Secondhand Smoke Smoking is the single greatest avoid able eause of disease and death. In this report, The Health Consequences of Invol untary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General,' the surgeon general has concluded that: • Many millions of Americans, both children and adults, are still exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes and workplaces despite substantial progress in tobacco control. • • I. Secondhand smoke exposure causes disease and premature death in chil dren and adults who do not smoke. • Secondhand smoke contains hundreds of chemicals known to be toxic or carcinogenic (cancer-causing), including formaldehyde, benzene, vinyl chloride, arsenic, ammonia and hydrogen cyanide. • Secondhand smoke has been designated as a known human carcinogen (cancer-causing agent) by the U.S. Environmen tal Protection Agency. 2. Exposure of adults to secondhand smoke has immediate adverse ef fects on the cardiovascular system and causes coronary heart disease and lung cancer. • Concentrations of many cancer causing and toxic chemicals are higher in secondhand smoke than in the smoke inhaled by smokers. Time: Breathing secondhand smoke for even a short time can have immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and interferes with the normal func tioning of the heart, blood and vascular systems in ways that in crease the risk of a heart attack. Non-smokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work increase their risk of developing heart disease by 25 percent to 30 percent. Non-smokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work increase their risk of developing lung cancer by 20 percent to 30 percent. 3. Secondhand smoke causes approx imately 3,400 lung cancer deaths and 46,000 heart disease deaths in adult non-smokers in the United States each year.2 Most of these non-smoking children and adults never have picked up a cigarette. The scientific evidence indicates there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. If you are a smoker, the single best way to protect your fam ily from secondhand smoke is to quit smoking. In the meantime, you can pro tect your family by making your home and vehicles smoke-free and only smoking outside. A smoke-free home rule also can help you quit smoking. For more information on the effects of secondhand smoke or to quit smok ing, contact DeAnna Pearl. Tobacco Pre vention, 541-444-9659 or 800-648-0449, ext. 1659; your provider; or call the Oregon Quit Line at 877-270-7867 (toll free). 12:00-1:00 pm Location: Siletz I -tbrary Community Room Day: Third Tuesday of -Month Dec. 18th Who: Community members arc invited to attend whom are affected directly or indirectly with cancer. Cancer patients, survivors, family members, support people and care providers are encouraged to attend. Contact: 20 • Siletz News Clinic Health CHA-MAY WEEYA - MEDICINETALK Siletz Community Lin Rasar Cancer Navigator Program Siletz Community Health Clinic 1-800-648-0449, ext. 1627; or 541-444-9627 • December 2007 1 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Re port of the Surgeon Gen eral. U.S. Department of Health and Human Ser vices, Centers for Dis ease Control and Preven tion, National Center for Chronic Disease Preven tion and Health Promo tion, Office on Smoking and Health. 2006. 2 California Environmental Protection Agency. Iden tification ofEnvironmen tal Tobacco Smoke as a Toxic Air Contaminant. Executive Summary. June 2005. Good Morning, Dental Patients! Are you an early riser? Then you’ll be glad to know that the Dental Clinic now schedules appointments for 8 a.m., an additional hour each day for you to have access to dental care. To schedule a dental appointment, call 541-444-1030 or 1-800-648-0449. Tooth Talk by Mary Ellen Volansky, RDH, MS Adolescent Oral Health Care Current research suggests that the overall cavities rate is declining.1 Yet adolescents have the highest cavities rate, “78% by age 17.”2 To make matters worse for 13- to 17- year-olds, and their parents, current data further suggests that irreversible tissue damage from periodontal disease begins in late adolescence and early adulthtxid.1 If you are in this age group or older, you can improve your chances of keep ing your teeth and keeping them healthier if you follow some of the sug gestions listed below. So as you meet with friends for meals or Starbucks coffee drinks or sodas and candy bars, there are ways you can enjoy yourself and decrease the risk of doing damage to your teeth. If you and your friends are more active - skate boarding, football playing, bicycling - you will find helpful suggestions here as well. Mouth Art/Piercings The dental profession wants you to be aware of “surgical grade stainless steel jewelry (other materials can lead to infections or allergic reactions),” cleaning the sight after eating (food and bacteria can grow in the opening), and not playing with the jewelry against your teeth and gums (you risk chipping of teeth and the loss of gum and bone that holds teeth).1 The State of Oregon has set up a campaign called “Piercing Thoughts,” at www.oregon.gov/OHLA/BP/ PiercingThoughts.shmL You also can find information on licensing the artist and the facility and locating a licensed individual or facility. “Think Before You Ink” is a downloadable brochure that provides a consumer Bill of Rights and other information to know before you have a piercing or tattoo. Another brochure called “Be Aware ... of Aftercare” dis cusses the steps to take once you have a piercing or tattoo. Both can be down loaded at the Web page listed above. Mouthguards Virtually all contact sports should require a mouthguard. This plastic device is designed to absorb energy during an impact, thus decreasing the likelihood of trauma to the oral cavity and brain.1 Typically, three types of mouth guards are available: stock, boil-n-bite and custom-made. The stock mouth guards are available in different sizes, but because it’s not a customized fit it may have a poor fit. Boil-n-bite mouthguards are heated in water and placed in the mouth to mold to the shape of the mouth and teeth. These tend to be more comfortable to wear. Custom-made mouthguards are made on actual models of a person’s teeth and are most comfortable and effective. They also are the most expensive.1 The Dental Hygienists Association recommends using mouthguards in any contact sports for their ability to pre vent dental trauma and traumatic brain injury. Ask your dentist for the right mouthguard for you. Sugary Sodas Although many people choose ar tificially sweetened sodas over sugary sodas, the risk to teeth is no less profound. All sodas contain a great deal of phos phoric acid, which interferes with the body’s ability to absorb calcium, es sential for strong teeth and bones. Drinking soda through a straw, rins ing the mouth before and after drink ing, and limiting how much soda you drink can all help minimize the effects on teeth ... on all our teeth? The clinic has a poster that compares the acid in soda to water and battery acid.4 When you come into the clinic, ask us to show you the poster and you can have a smaller copy. Caught Without a Toothbrush? If you are worried about your breath, use products that are sugarless and alcohol-free and contain antibac terial agents noted for their effective ness at controlling bad breath. Sub stances such as chlorine dioxide, zinc chloride and essential oils like eucalyp tol, menthol, methyl salicylate and thy mol have shown to fight bad breath.3 Other tips for keeping your breath fresh include5 rinsing your mouth with water after eating; chewing a piece of sugarless gum to stimulate saliva flow; and snacking on celery, carrots, or apples as they tend to clear away loose ftxxl and debris during the chewing process. I American Dental Hygienists’Association, Want Some Life Saving Advice? Ask Your Dental Hygienist about Proper Oral Health Care for Adolescents, p. I, at www.adha.org. 2 TEAC"H: Teaching Early Awareness of Child Ilealth. New Parent Kit Pilot Study12007-2008, by Amer ican Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Founda tion, underwritten by Henry Schein .Inc., p. 2 3 American Dental Hygienists’Association, Want Some Life Saving Advice? Ask Your Dental Hygienist about Proper Oral Health Care for Adolescents, p. 2, at www.adha.org . A Sip All Day, Get Decay.. Minnesota Dental Asso ciation. 2002 at www.mndental.org. 5 American Dental Hygienists’Association, Want Some Life Saving Advice? Ask Your Dental Hygienist About Understanding and Elimi nating Bad Breath, at www.adha.org.
