Youth Conference
B’nai B’rith Camp, Lincoln City, Ore. • Nov. 9-10, 2013
Photos by Diane Rodriquez
Several groups of young people (above) plus Lexi Metcalf, Kaetlin Bayya,
Angel DeAnda and Frankie Rilatos (below) take part in indigenous games
during the conference. Other activities included cultural sharing, breakout
sessions led by the Change Team and the Healthy Traditions project, and a
presentation by the Siletz Youth Council.
Courtesy photo
Congratulations!
Tim Pigsley got lucky during the September bow season
Tooth Talk: The season is upon us to let cranberries help care for our teeth
By Mary Ellen Volansky, EPDH, MS
To begin, allow me to express my
appreciation for your patience while I
was gone this summer. Many of you had
appointments cancelled, more than once,
because I was in western New York for
my mother’s sudden seven-week illness
and her passing on July 25.
It was my responsibility to close up
her apartment and find a home for Lucy,
her cat. In choosing which special posses
sions of hers I wanted, I seemed to end up
wanting everything - the vase and flowers
or the dish where she placed her favorite
candy, the watch and/or the necklace, the
afghan she crocheted and/or the needle
point she worked and framed.
As the number of boxes grew, I began
to realize I was trying to collect her into
these boxes, an attempt to preserve her
and bring her with me back to Oregon.
Thank you to all who have voiced
your condolences for Mom’s passing and
my family’s loss. I’ll admit I knew I would
miss her, but the intensity of this loss has
been a surprise to me. Thank you all.
Well, we are in the midst of the season
of being busy with family and foods. As
enjoyable as all these foods and activities
are, they may provide opportunities to
miss brushing and flossing. And when we
miss completing our home care routine,
we increase the risk of developing cavities.
8
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Siletz News
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Oh, you say you never miss? Good.
For those of us who miss and for those
who don't, here are some holiday hints
that could enhance your oral health
experience now, during the holidays,
and always.
Cranberries, an all-time favorite side
dish, began its nationwide burst onto
our taste buds in the '50s. As many of
you know, or can guess, cranberries first
were eaten as a food by North American
Indians. Did you know that cranberries,
besides making a great taste sensation,
can be helpful in reducing the risk of
tooth decay?
Robert Kentta told me that cranberries
also are called “bog huckleberries.” He
suggested that in Athabascan, cranberries
might be call “Lhtuu-me’ or Tuu-me’ Dee-
chi” or words for “marsh+huckleberry.”
Algonquian people called them
Sassamanash,1 which was used for pem-
mican, wound medicine and dye.2 The
Thompson and Okanagon Indians3 used
cranberries as a food too. Cranberries
are high in vitamin C, potassium and
antioxidants.
It is when bacteria have set up com
munities on our teeth that we call those
communities plaque. Only when bacteria
are in these communities on our teeth
can the bacteria poop/excrete acids that
cause cavities. Lhtuu-me’ contains natural
enzymes that prevent bacteria from form
December 2013
ing on our teeth. Sounds great, bring on
bination of good and bad foods won’t
the cranberries.
cause us problems if they are eaten as
Of course, there is a hitch. Have you
a holiday’s special meal, eaten once in
ever eaten plain cranberries? Have you
a while.
ever eaten a cranberry off the bush? Sour
Those additions cause us problems
and bitter without, you guessed it, sugar.
when we consume these foods through
Lots of sugar, about a teaspoon per ounce
out the day, every day. And they cause us
is found in cranberry juice cocktail.4
problems when we don’t take the other
Many dentists, including Hyun
steps necessary to maintain our health
“Michel” Koo, DDS, Ph.D., at the Univer each day - exercise, brush and floss, drink
sity of Rochester Medical Center in New
water, rest, etc.
York state, with a grant from the National
Try reading labels. Look for sugar to
Institute of Dental and Craniofacial
not be the first item in the ingredients list
Research, are working on finding ways
(certainly not the first and second ingredi
for us to prevent cavities more easily than
ent, as in Hostess Snowballs).
we can now.5
Also in anticipation of this holiday
Dr. Koo is working to find the exact
season, check this out. It takes 17 muscles
substance in Lhtuu-me’ that keeps plaque
to smile and 43 to frown,6 so take the easy
from growing on our teeth. Once found,
way out and smile all the time.
this substance might be made into a tooth
You have my wishes for experiencing
paste or mouthwash to prevent cavities.
many reasons to smile, including enjoying
Most of the foods surrounding the
your favorite holiday(s), mouthwatering
coming winter holidays are good for our
foods and spending time with family and
health: grains, meats, dairy, and veggies
friends. May peace be with you.
and fruit. We all need the nutrients con
tained in these foods each day. Proteins,
1
wikipedia.org/wiki/cranberry
vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, etc. are
2
wikipedia.org/wiki/cranberry
in those foods, nutrients that build our 3 Perry, F. 1952 Ethno-Botany of the Indians in
bodies toward our overall good health.
the Interior of British Columbia. Museum and
Art Notes 2(2):36-43. (p.38)
As with cranberries, it’s what is added
4
wikipedia.org/wiki/cranberry, page 1
to them that causes us problems - salt,
5
urmc.rochester.edu/news/story/index.cfm/
sugar or fats, nitrates, sulfates or maybe
id=3048
cooking them to the point of destroying
6
2009 American Dental Association, Flossy’s
the nutrients inside. Generally, this com
Big Book of Dental Trivia