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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 7, 2012)
March 7, 2012 Page 8 Club Sponsors Health Screenings Dental Problems Increase ER Visits It’s a costly choice with fewer treatment options (AP) — More Americans are turning to the emergency room for routine dental problem s — a choice that often costs 10 times more than preventive care and offers far fewer treatment options than a dentist's office, according to an analysis of government data and dental research. Most of those emergency vis its involve trouble such as tooth aches that co u ld have been avoided with regular checkups but went untreated, in many cases because of a shortage of dentists, particularly those willing to treat Medicaid patients, the analysis said. The number of ER visits nation wide for dental problems increased 16 percent from 2006 to 2009, and the report released Tuesday by the Pew Center on the States sug gests the trend is continuing. Many ER dental visits involve the same patients seeking addi tional care. T hat's because em ergency rooms generally are not staffed by dentists. They can offer pain relief and medicine for infected gums but not much more for dental pa tients. And many patients are un able to find or afford follow-up treatment, so they end up back in the emergency room. "Emergency rooms are really the canary in the coal mine. If people are showing up in the ER for dental care, then we've got big holes in the delivery of care," said Shelly Gehshan, director of Pew's children's dental campaign. "It's just like pouring money down a hole.” "It's the wrong service, in the wrong setting, at the wrong time," she said. ^ 'I lo r t la n b (Obsvrlnr Established 1970 USPS 959-680 __________________________________ 4 7 4 7 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211 Charles H. Washington EDiroR.Michael L eig h to n D istr ibu tio n M anager : M ark W ashington C reative D irector : P aul N e u feld t E ditor - in -C h ief , P ublisher : P ostmaster : Send address changes to Portland Observer, PO Box3 1 3 7 , Portland, OR9 7 2 0 8 CALL 503-288-0033 FAX 503-288-0015 news@portlandobserver.com ads @portlandobserver, com subscription @portlandobserver.com The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions Manuscripts and photographs should he clearly labeled and w ill be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. A ll created design display ads become the sole property o f the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent o f the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. £> 2008 T H E P O R TL A N D OBSERVER A L L R IG H TS RESERVED, R E P R O D U C TIO N IN W H O L E OR IN PART W IT H O U T P ER M ISSIO N IS P R O H IB ITE D The Portland Observer Oregon's Oldest Multicultural Publica tion--^ a member o f the National Newspaper Association-Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New York, NY. and The West Coast Black Publishers Association A volunteer assists in a free health screening sponsored by the Oregon Lions Club. The O regon Lions C lub is working with the Oregon Li ons Sight and Hearing Foun dation to com bat preventa tive blindness and deafness in the com m unity through free health screenings. A series o f m obile health screening clinics this m onth will offer free tests in visual acuity, hearing, blood pres sure, diabetes (with a 3 hour fast) and glaucom a. Many community members lacking primary care are un aware they have health condi tions that threaten their sight, jobs, quality o f life and poten tially their lives. The mission of the Foundation is "to screen, treat, save, and restore sight and hearing, in partnership with Lions Clubs, in orderto prevent blindness and deafnessforthose in need." The screenings are sched uled Saturday, M arch 10, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the C om m unity H ealth Fair, Hillsboro P re sb y te ria n C h u rch , 172 N .E . 32nd A ve.; S unday, M arch 11, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at St. Pius X Church, 1280 N.W . Saltzm an Rd. in B eav erto n ; and S atu rd ay , M arch 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Portland Com m unity C ollege’s Cascade C am pus, 705 N. Killingsworth. T o schedule a screening, call 503-413-7329. 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