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CHAA-MAY WEE-YA’- MEDICINETALK
Have a Safe Day
at the Beach
by Sharon Mason. Health Advocate
From seeing a thundering rip cur
rent and a blazing sun to a stinging jel
lyfish and possible shark attacks, a day
of play at the beach can be very trau
matizing. A good day at the beach can
be a wonderful experience if you know'
what to look out for.
Look out for lurking danger and
learn to avoid it by knowing what a rip
current is and keeping yourself and
your family or friends safe.
Rip currents often are called rip
tides or undertows. A rip current is cre
ated when the water is being pushed
up the slope of the beach and gravity
is pulling it back. This creates concen
trated rivers of water moving offshore.
They tend to form as waves along the
beach, causing water to become
trapped between the beach and a sand
bar or another underwater feature.
The water then collects into a narrow
river-like channel, moving away from
the shore at high speed. These waves
are very powerful. About 80 percent
of lifeguard rescues and drownings at
the beach are because of rip currents.
Learn to conquer rip currents if one
has snuck up on you by swimming
sideways (parallel to shore) in the
strong current and don't let it pull you
backwards. Remember to stay as calm
as you can and take deep hard strokes
sideways until you no longer feel the
current pulling at you. You also can
tread water until someone sees you.
Pick out a beach with lifeguards
and if there aren't any, take all precau
tions to be safe.
Have a wonderful day at the beach,
everyone.
Did You Know?
by Jamie Mason, Tobacco Prevention Coordinator
The Oregon Legislature passed a
law in June 2007 making the Oregon
Smoke-Free Workplace Law even
stronger than what it has been in the
past. Beginning in January 2009, the
number of indoor workplaces required
to be smoke-free will expand to include:
(g) Bars and taverns, including bar ar
eas of restaurants
(g) Restaurants
g) Bowling centers
(g) Bingo halls
g) Private offices and commercial of
fice buildings
g Retail and wholesale establishments
g Manufacturing plants and mills
g Truck stops
g Child and adult day care centers
g Assisted living facilities
g Movie theaters and indoor enter
tainment venues
g Hotels and motels (exception - up
to 25 percent of guest rooms can
be designated as smoking rooms by
the owner or entity in charge)
As you can see, this will be a major
change on the economy. It will cause
more people to think about quitting,
less secondhand smoke, more family
outings for people who didn t take their
families out because of a smoky envi
ronment and a lower percentage of
health problems from smoking.
Now that you are more aware of
this new law coming in less than six
months, you can prepare yourself for
it, whether that's trying to quit smok
ing or preparing yourself for not being
able to smoke in these specified places.
Businesses can get fined if an em
ployee and/or the public reports a vio
lation once the new law takes effect.
They can do this by calling a toll-free
number or completing an online com
plaint form. Complaints will be inves
tigated and violations pursued.
But we know that none of us Natives
will have to worry about this because
we know the new law.
Tooth Talk
by Marv Eden Volansky, RDH. MS
Saliva, Dry Mouth, etc.
Dry Mouth - Dr. Molly Francis
recently spoke at the Siletz diabetes
group luncheon. She had participants
sample mouthwashes used to ease the
symptoms of dry mouth. In her study
results were confirmed. Oasis Moistur
izing Mouthwash tasted best and lasted
longest. In second place was a mouth
wash called Biotene.
Biotene has been around for a long
time. This company makes several
products to ease dry mouth - gum,
toothpaste, mouth spray and a gel ad
vertised to last up to eight hours. The
gel sounds great to use before going
to sleep. Dry mouth while sleeping is
a common complaint. Many clinic pa
tients have recommended having a
glass of water on a nightstand for drink
ing during the night.
Oasis, which finished in first place,
offers only two products - a mouthwash
and a mouth spray. If you visit the
GlaxoSmithKline website (www.
oasisdrymouth.com), you can obtain
an instant coupon for this product.
Searching the Biotene website, I was
unable to locate any coupon options
for Biotene products.
Saliva - The May 2008 Journal of
the American Dental Association
(JADA) listed nine functions for saliva,1
including lubricant, buffer, antimicro
bial activity and aid to swallowing. All
of these benefits are “largely protec
tive of the oral environment.”
The American Dental Association
spent most of this issue on “how saliva
can be used in caries prevention.” So now
you can understand the importance of
saliva, the impact of dry mouth and why
there are products to ease dry mouth.
The journal looked at saliva How' and
chewing, especially chewing sugarless
gum. Saliva washes away and buffers
the acids inside our mouth. Acids are
formed by bacteria that live off the foods
we eat and acid comes directly from
some of the food we eat (i.e., soda).
Chewing increases the flow of sa
liva. The results of seven clinical car
ies investigations attest to the merits of
stimulating salivary flow, in this case
by chewing gum with sorbitol. Chew
ing sugarless gum after meals was sug-
gested for best results at reducing cavi
ties. More research was recommended.
Sports Mouth Guards - Summer
is here and with it we are drawn to out
door activities that involve contact with
hard objects (other participants, trees,
bicycle handlebars, etc.) and a risk of
injuries to your mouth and teeth.
“Studies have linked sporting ac
tivities to nearly one-third of all dental
injuries. Mouth guards offer protection
by absorbing high-impact energy from
potentially traumatic blows and dissi
pating that energy, which otherwise
would be transferred directly to the
underlying dentition.”
And. “Mouth guards also can pro
vide substantial protection to patients
receiving orthodontic treatment. By
moving soft tissue away from teeth and
preventing intraoral laceration and
bruising, properly fitted mouth guards
can assist athletes wearing fixed orth
odontic appliances.”
On the basis of the available litera
ture, the Council on Scientific Affairs
and the Council on Access. Prevention
and Inter-professional Relations (now
that's a mouthful!) recommend that ath
letically active people of all ages use a
properly fitted mouth guard in any
sporting or recreational activity that
may pose a risk of injury. Several stud
ies suggest the custom mouth guard
provides patients with the most precise
fit and the best retention.2
If you are an “athletically active"
person engaging in “sporting or recre
ational activities that may pose a risk
of injury.” you can obtain a custom-
fitted mouth guard at the Siletz Dental
Clinic. Call for an appointment with
your continuing care dentist.
Are your teeth in braces? The clinic
has pre-made mouth guards that ad
dress the special protection needs of
those with orthodontic braces.
/ JADA. "Saliva and Oral Health: The
benefits of chewing and stimulating
salivary flow. " Vol. 139, May 2008.
2 JADA. "Using mouth guards to re
duce the incidence and severity of
sports-related oral injuries. Vol.
137. December 2006p. 1712- 1720
August 2008
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Siletz News
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