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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1987)
Page 6, Portland Observer, October 1, 1987 COMMUNITY DENTISTRY BY Dr. Edward Ward Pain: A Dentist's Arch Enemy Let us discuss tooth pain, a dentist's arch enemy. Tooth pain prevents the patient from establishing a nice, cordial relationship with the dentist. That's because a good percentage of the time when a patient seeks the aid of a dentist, the patient is already in pain. Therefore, everything the dentist does, in the patient's eyes, aggravates the patient s already painful condi tion. J im m y B row n, Juvenile C ourt Counselor, reports to the over 150 people w h o m et at King Facility Septem ber 23 on the role o f the ju stice system in dealing w ith yo uth and youth gangs. Photo by Richard J. B row n Youth Gangs Task Force Holds Community Forum by Dennis G. Payne The Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods held the 1st Community Forum on Youth Gangs Problems in Portland on Wednesday, Septem ber 23rd, at the King Neighborhood Facility. With a large banner stretched across the stage that read, "Gangs are only as strong as communities allow them to be", City Commissioner Dick Bogle opened the forum and proclaimed his faith in Portland's ability to overcome the threat of street gangs and offered a challenge to the citizens present. "W e have a tradition in this city that we don't tolerate organized criminal activities and we don't tolerate gangs. And we are sending a message out tonight to these so-called gangs: We will not tolerate them in our city." The community forum drew over 150 people, and they were presented speakers from the inner-Northeast area: Sharon McCormack, Area Crime Prevention Coordinator and Task Force Chairwoman; Charles Ford, board THE IN PERSON A M A Z IN G M A N N IN G BROTHERS OF S E A T T L E , W ASHINGTO N With Special Guest The Leggett Brothers DATE. October 9, 1987 TIME: 7:00 p.m. PLACE: Church of the Living God 6401 N.E. 10th St. FOR INFORMATION: 287-4430 DONATION: $5.00 at the door HOST PASTOR: Elder Roy Maxie member of the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods; Officer Neil Crannell, a Portland police officer who specializes in gangs; Jimmy Brown, Juvenile Court Counselor from Multnomah County's Northeast office; Diane Feldt, Director of North Portland Youth Service Center; Larry Clayton, Diversion Counselor for Northeast (Urban League) Youth Service Center; Steve Hollingsworth, Portland Public Schools police officer; and Alcena Boozer, Director of Student Discipline for Portland Public Schools. The basic theme repeated over and over at the forum was that without a unified effort, gang-related drug trafficking and violence will proliferate in Portland. Ms. Boozer stated in her remarks that, "Combating this pro blem brings to mind the analogy of a rope. Individually, the strands are weak; but when bound together, they are strong." Portland Public Schools are attempting to get a jump on youth gang growth by educating staff members, students and parents. Ms. Boozer states: "W e have been telling our students to say "n o " to drugs. Now, we're going to work just as hard so they can get an even more resounding "n o " to the invitation to join gangs." The attraction for gangs to come to Portland is largely economics, the forum was told. Officer Crannell said: "They come here primarily to sell crack (cocaine). In Portland, they can get double or triple the money they get in L.A., where so much cocaine is available." In Portland, police have seen a growing increase in gang-related shootings, robberies, assaults and drug trafficking. According to Police Bureau statistics, 19 gang-related crimes were re ported in the city between May and June of this year. Gangs that have appeared locally in the past year may be affiliated with L. A.-based groups, police report. The task force's main purpose in holding the forum was to bring to the public the work they have been doing since May and to let the public know that even though they have not formalized any plans to date to combat gang development in Portland, they have opened up inter-agency coordina tion and cooperation, and that individual agencies are actively working on programs to better serve the communities which have been impacted by gangs. Moreover, the task force is approaching the gang problem from a "city-w ide" focus, identifying gangs from the Asian and White commu nities, as well as motorcycle clubs. "W e have only begun to move towards combating this problem in Portland,” Ms. McCormack said. But the efforts of the task force have heightened the level of acknowledgement in Portland that we do have gangs and that we must be pro active now to stop their spread. The task force will continue to work on developing strategies for edu cating the communities and directing agencies resources towards proven approaches. Mayor Bud Clark's office has given the task force $10,000 to come up with a "Portland plan to combat gangs", and the task force's work for the next several months will be in this direction. Anyone wishing to volunteer to assist the task force may call the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods office at 248-4575. Patients have come into my office with pain. I have asked, How long have you had a problem with the tooth?" The patients have replied, The tooth has been bothering me for several months, but it has been severe for several weeks.” I don't care how you look at it, several months is a long time to suffer pain, especially when a visit to a dental office will result in almost immediate relief. We dentists are so sensitive about the word pain that we practice dropping the word completely from our vocabulary. We replace the word "pain” with words like "discomforting tooth” , "troubled tooth ” , "problem tooth" and "area of discomfort". Just to mention hurting tooth or "painful too th " to the patient can result in the patient becoming more apprehensive about what is going to take place in the dental office. Some patients go to the dental office with sweaty palms, queasy sto machs and other nervous symptoms anticipating that they will receive some pain. However, after the appointment, which is usually a quiet, painless and very social occurrence, sometimes the patients react with joy that every thing went so well. Sometimes, however, the patients react with depres sion because none of the presupposed or anticipated fears became a reality. Today's dentists receive special training in pain and anxiety control This training is geared towards making patients who have warranted and unwarranted fears more relaxed in the dental office environment and more receptive to dental therapy. There are patients who don't seek relief from dental discomfort be cause of economic reasons. However, there are patients who have insur ance coverage and there are patients with other means to afford dental therapy who still resist seeking the assistance of a dentist because of fear Do not wait until dental discomfort forces you to seek dental therapy Long-term maintenance of good dental health, not dental crisis intervention (emergencies), is the goal of most dentists. However, sometimes it takes an emergency visit to get the patient into the office, at which time the den tist demonstrates concern and compassion for the patient. This may be the only opportunity the dentist may have to disprove some of the myths about dental therapy. I have the greatest respect for man's fears and anxieties. However, let us put our fears and anxieties in their proper perspective, especially when they prevent us from seeking to gain better health. Dr. Ward's office is located in downtown Portland: 610 SW Alder, Suite 1008. Portland OR THE MOUNT OLIVET BAPTIST CHURCH N.E. First b Schuyler • 284 1954 John H Jackson, Minister M Ed M.D 9 30A M Church School 1 1 0 0 A M Congregational Worship 5 00 P M Vesper Service 10 00 A M Baptism Fourth Sunday 11 00 Communion Each First Sunday The American Baptist Convention, American Baptist Churches of Oregon: Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention: National, Oregon, Portland Ecumenical Ministries, American Bible Society, M EtM. Board. DENTAL CARE YOUR FAMILY CAN COUNTON. Edward E. Ward, DMD General Dentistry Dr. Edward E. Ward Prevention oriented Friendly professional staff Insurance gladly accepted Sedation for sensitive patients Fees discussed prior to treatment Visa/Mastercard accepted Convenient downtown location New patients welcome All bus lines/validated parking ADA member Phone (503) 228-3009 610 S.W. Alder, Suite 1008 Hours: M F 7AM-7PM SAT. 8AM 5PM “Convenient, affordable dental care for yo u r family. ” ALLEN TEM PLE C M E C H U R C H Corner of 8th and Skidmore Sunday School 9:15 a.m. Sunday Worship 1:00 a.m. (Christian Youth Fellowship 6:00 p.m. (second and fourth Sundays) Phillip S. Nelson (Pastor) YOU ARE WELCOME TO WORSHIP AT 84 N E k illin g s w o r t h • 281 0499 "A warm spirit of fellowship always" \r k of Safety o f God in Christ tk¡? Jídnc 400*- j H ou ’ peace with all men f. holiness without «vbid» no a ll wc t h v Lord Tuesday 7 30pm Bible Band Thursday Chou Rehearsal 7 00 p m Sunday • Sunday School 9 15 a m Morning 11 15a m Worship 6 30pm Y P W W Evangelistic 800pm Worship Tuesday Friday Noon Day Prayer Friday ,, The Pastor Speaks 7 X p m. Saturday Morning Prayer 9 00 a m Sh e wn r j * Stanare mnrrang HMD A M S w r K AAR KBUAM CM Wholesale Pricing On Groceries Gone Public Did you know that for almost 30 years you could have bought some of your groceries at wholesale prices? The Bee Company, for over 30 years, has offered the public weekly shipments of name-brand groceries at genuine wholesale prices. You'll find canned and packaged goods, pet foods, as well as frozen and close-dated deli products on the shelves. The best feature is that you do not have to buy by the case. You buy just what you want to buy, just the amount you need. Located at 800 N. Killingsworth, just east of 1-5, they are open Monday through Saturday 9:30 am to 6:00 pm. Isn't it about time you save on your grocery bill? Cox Funeral H o m e has a s ta ff d ed icated to the fam ilies in their hour of need w ith lo w cost funerals, dig n ity and liberal term s Shipping • Cremation • Buriel 2736 N.E Rodney • (503)281 4891 Portland, Oregon 97212 PHONE 283-3171 They’ll Tell You «II «bout It • • ■ i . . • . j M RI I