Siletz news /, September 01, 2011, Page 21, Image 21

Street Dance
July 29, 2011
Siletz, Oregon
Photos by Natasha Kavanaugh
Youth of all ages (left) dance to the music
supplied by Brian Timme of Ultrasonic.
Jenifer Metcalf (below, right) talks to
Chazlynne Goodell and Britany
Robertson as another youth signs in
for the event. Metcalf is the Tribal
prevention coordinator and a member
of the Youth Services Team.
Enter online contest that encourges healthy eating
Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms
In an effort to get school children across North America to eat healthier, Del Monte
Fresh Produce will hold its second annual Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms
online contest in October and November.
This contest encourages kindergarten through 12,h-grade teachers to incorporate
healthy eating and living messages into classroom activities. Teachers can register at
fruits.com/home.aspx, submit a short essay on how they will incorporate healthy eating
messages into their lesson plans and then encourage all their fans to vote for them online.
Ten winners will be selected each Monday for six consecutive weeks in October
and November. Winners are based solely on the number of votes they receive. Winning
teachers will receive $750 in cash to purchase school supplies and $250 in Del Monte
fresh fruit coupons for classroom snacks and to use in fruit educational activities.
Tooth Talk: Cool clear (fluoridated) water,
By Mary Ellen Volansky, RDH, MS
Those words in quotation marks are
from Dr. David Satcher, former U.S.
surgeon general. He is referring to the
benefits everyone’s teeth can have with
water fluoridation, not just those children
who get taken to the dentist.
A group calling itself FIN, the Fluo­
ride Information Network, has listed a
few values for why its members support
water fluoridation in our community water
supplies. This article will address some of
those values.
FIN Value 1: “It promotes health for
all community members, even the disad­
vantaged and most vulnerable.”
The disadvantaged are those who can­
not afford dentistry and children whose
parents don’t take them to the dentist.
Maybe these parents don’t know the
importance of regular dental care or they
consider themselves too busy. Disadvan­
taged also applies to anyone who doesn’t
live near a dental office, which includes
many rural families in this country.
Vulnerable citizens can be children
because they don’t have the awareness,
freedom or money to go to a dentist. Nor
do the vulnerable have the money to buy
home care supplies.
Other vulnerable citizens are many
elderly people. They tend to suffer from
recession and root exposure. The roots
of our teeth develop cavities more easily
than the enamel that covers the crowns
of our teeth.
Elders also often are on prescription
medications, most of which decrease the
amount of saliva. Our saliva is important
as it washes the acids and sugars from our
mouths. Saliva also buffers (inactivates)
the acids so they cannot cause cavities. In
other words, vulnerable citizens are most
at risk for cavities and tooth pain.
Another group of vulnerable citizens
are people of all ages who have a disability.
They can be vulnerable to cavities and infec­
tion because of physical limitations that
make brushing and flossing their teeth dif­
ficult or impossible, a lack of transportation
to get to the dental clinic, lack of access into
a dental office or dental chair (wide operato-
ries with space for wheelchairs to move)
or special scheduling for appointments.
Water fluoridation would reduce the
rate of cavities for everyone when they
just do what they do daily - drink water.
Vallie 2: Using our local and state tax
dollars equitably and in a cost-effective
manner. In my research for this article, I
saw many references to the cost to fluo­
ridate drinking water and I wondered if
any money was saved.
The cost of fluoride in a community’s
drinking water can be as low as 40 cents
per person per year or as high as $2.70 per
person per year for the state of New York.
New York (Oregon as well) summarized
its position on paying this cost this way:
’’Every dollar spent on fluoridation on
average saves $38 in avoided dental bills.'
Where state health plans cover dental
care, this is a chunk of money that’s avail­
able for other health care services or just
plain saved taxed dollars.
Our newest dentist, Dr. Douglas
Chadwick, worked in private practice
before arriving at the Siletz Dental Clinic.
A filling in that practice cost $150. On
average, the expected life of a filing is
about 12 years, when another filling is
then needed - another $150 or more if
inflation over the 12 years is added in.
Value 3: Preventing disease.
One source listed the rate of tooth
decay reduction from drinking water
fluoridation to be between 40 percent and
70 percent.2 Another study on 12-year-old
all ages and economic strata’
children listed the reduction in cavities
of fluoridated drinking water at 37 per­
cent.3 The Center for Disease Control
credits community water fluoridation
with reducing tooth decay by 50 percent
to 60 percent in the United Sates since
World War II.4
How does fluoride make this reduction
happen? A tooth becomes de-mineralized
during the early stages of a developing
cavity. You see this as white lines or
spots on teeth, usually near the gum line
or around orthodontic brackets once the
bracket is removed. When these areas are
left unclean, the area will grow to a full­
blown cavity (brown spot or hole).
Replacing the lost minerals in a tooth
restores the tooth, not the color, and keep­
ing the area clean stops the progress of
decay into a brown spot or a hole. Fluoride
in drinking water will itself replace lost
minerals and make the surface hard again.
Also, fluoride in the mouth from
drinking water aids the absorption of
calcium into the tooth. The calcium and
fluoride strengthen teeth against cavities;
the teeth become stronger or harder and
more resistant to cavities forming.
Fluoride can help slow down bacteria,
which slows the production of acids that
cause cavities. Stopping cavity bugs is
good. Both actions help prevent cavities.5
The Center for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) states the following:
“The proper amount of fluoride from
infancy through old age helps prevent and
control tooth decay. Community water
fluoridation is a widely accepted practice
for preventing and controlling tooth decay
by adjusting the concentration of fluoride
in the public water supply.”6 CDC goes
on to say that infant formula can be made
with optimally fluoridated tap water.
CDC adds that an increased chance
exists of a child developing “mild dental
fluorosis,” defined as “white spots that are
barely noticeable and difficult for anyone
except a dental health care professional
to see.”
The Journal of the American Dental
Association, 2009, concluded from study
on enamel fluorosis and dental caries
that molars with mild fluorosis are more
resistant (to cavities) than molars without
mild fluorosis. The clinical implications
highlight the need for those considering
policies regarding reduction in fluoride
exposure to take into consideration the
caries-preventive benefits associated with
mild forms of enamel fluorosis.7
In summary, “The evidence supporting
the safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness
of fluoridation of community water
supplies comes from multiple sources
covering 50 years of legitimate research
published in peer-reviewed journals,
including both long-term studies on large
populations, recent confirmatory studies
and comprehensive literature reviews”
(fluorideinfo.org).
FIN goes on to say, “Adding fluoride
to drinking water is an important element
in promotion of dental health along with
education and access to dental care.”
If you have questions about any of
this, please contact the Siletz Dental
Clinic at 541 -444-1030 or 800-648-0449;
or contact me at maryellenv@ctsi.nsn.us.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
health.state.ny.us/prevention/dental/fluorida-
tion/cost.htm
animated- teeth.com/tooth_decay/t4_tooth_
decay_fluoride.htm.
sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect - Journal of
Dentistry, p. 2
;»dha.org/pn)Hssues/cdc_fluonde_guidelines.htm.
sciencedirect.com , ScienceDirect-Joumal of
Dentistry, p 1-2
ced.gov/fluoridation/safety/infant_formula.htm
jada.ada.org/content/140/7/855.full
September 2011
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Siletz News
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