Smoke Signals February 1 -1 5, 1 995 Page 7
Health and Human Services
Dental Clinic news
Let's Talk Teeth...
By Linda Mann, RDM
February is Children's Dental
Health Month. The American Den
tal Society notes that children's
teeth are meant to last a lifetime.
The dental society has these tips for
keeping your child's teeth healthy
and decay-free.
Tooth decay is caused by bacte
ria. The bacteria is found in a
sticky, colorless film called plaque.
For tooth decay to occur, three ele
ments are needed: plaque, food
containing sugars and starches, and
a susceptible tooth. When foods
containing sugars and starches are
left in the mouth, plaque bacteria
produces acids that can dissolve
tooth enamel. The sticky plaque
holds these acids onto the teeth,
where they attack the enamel for
twenty minutes or more. After re
peated attacks, the enamel may
break down, forming a cavity.
To prevent tooth decay,
toothbrushing and flossing are';
Vocational Rehabilitation program begins
The Tribe is pleased to announce
the first phase of the Tribe's voca
tional rehabilitation services has
begun. The State of Oregon Voca
tional Rehabilitation Division
proudly stated that they will begin
offering counseling services in
Grand Ronde on Feb. 6, 1995. To
launch this joint effort an Orienta
tion Training Meeting was held Jan.
23.
Those attending included Geor
gia Isaia, State of Oregon Voca
tional Rehabilitation Division,
Rebecca Crocker, Human Re
sources Administrative Assistant,
Elders should feel secure, comfortable with surroundings
American Indians and Alaska na
tives have always respected their
elders. This is more important now
than ever before. More and more
American Indians are living into
old age. This means many good
things for families. Also, it means
living into the ages where some el
ders may appear confused and for
getful. Some people believe that odd be
havior is due to the elder preparing
for another world. Also, medical
needed daily to remove harmful
plaque from your child's teeth.
Children should clean their teeth
twice a day with a pea-sized
amount of fluoride toothpaste.
Flossing will remove plaque that
hides between teeth and under the
gumline, areas where a toothbrush
can't reach. Supervising your child
while brushing and flossing will
insure a proper job is done.
Dental sealants can help prevent
or reduce tooth decay. A sealant is
clear or shaded plastic material that
is applied to the chewing surfaces
of the back teeth where decay oc
curs most often. The sealant acts
as a barrier, protecting the teeth
from plaque and acid.
Each tooth only takes a few min
utes to seal in the dental office.
When the sealant is applied, finger
like strands penetrate the pits and
fissures of the tooth enamel. Al
though the sealant cannot be seen
with the naked eye, the protective
effect of these strand continues. As
1 a result, it : may; be several years
Bryan Langley, Tomoko Gersch,
(Mental Health); Cindy Canty,
Karen Williams (Chemical Depen
dency); Doug Colton, Sheila
Elliott, Darrell Kipp (Family Ac
tion); Dr. Glen Gerritz, Darlene
Aaron (Medical Clinic); and
Marion Mercier, Adult Vocational
Training Counselor in the Educa
tion Division.
The joint effort between the Tribe
and the Vocational Rehabilitation
Division was initiated for the pur
pose of providing services to the
disabled tribal population. The
State Vocational Rehabilitation
doctors may consider confusion
and forgetfulness as signs of pos
sible Alzheimer's disease. Either
way, family members want to be
sure their elders are feeling com
fortable and secure. Many people
combine expert advice of tradi
tional healers and medical doctors
to find out if their elder's confusion
and forgetfulness is caused by
problems that can be cured and
treated from both perspectives.
In order to provide the best pos
before another application of a seal
ant is needed. Reapplicationofthe
sealant will continue to protect
against decay and may save time'
and the expense of restoring a tooth.
Sealants are checked during your
child's dental visits.
For long-lasting, healthy smiles,
the American Dental Society rec
ommends a total prevention pro
gram including regular dental vis
its, the use of fluoride toothpaste,
daily brushing and flossing, and
avoiding frequent snacks between
meals. If these measures are fol
lowed and sealants applied to the
child's teeth, the risk of decay is
greatly reduced, and even elimi
nated. .(;,' :
Division has designated an out-stationed
counselor to the Tribe: Geor
gia Isaia. The VR Counselor will
be working out of the Chemical
Dependency office twice per
month, half days and future plans
are being formed for the Salem and
Portland areas.
The schedule for Grand Ronde is
as follows:
Feb 6 & 2 1 : Chemical Dependency
Office, 8 a.m.-l2 p.m.
March 6 & 20: Chemical Depen
dency Office, 8 a.m.-12 p.m.
Please contact Kathy Coley for an
appointment with Georgia Isaia,
879-2026. Welcome, Georgia!
sible care for the elder, you as a
family member should:
Keep a calm spirit yourself and
among your household members.
Listen to the elder talk of days
gone by, history, and recollections.
Keep the elder safe from harm
while assisting them in doing as
much for themselves as possible.
Make sure the elder eats properly
and regularly. Meal programs for
Native American elders are avail
able through Title III and Title VI
New Face
Georgia Isaia loves work in
vocational rehabilitation
Georgia Isaia wants to express her
thanks for being invited to come to
Grand Ronde and work with the
people in the community. She
looks forward to getting acquainted
with everyone who wants to par
ticipate in vocational services.
Georgia has worked with the Vo
cational Rehabilitation Division
since 1983. She began as a secre
tary in the Grants Pass office, but
was so impressed with the counsel
ing staff, what the program stands
for and what it does to help people
overcome barriers she wanted to be
more involved.
With the help of her supervisor
and others within the agency, she
worked her way up the career lad
der. First, Georgia worked as a
Human Resource Aide, assisting a
counselor with Cerebral Palsy. She
then became a Human Resource
Assistant, providing test and evalu
ation services to clients and assist
ing counselors with their office and
caseload duties.
In 1990, Georgia was selected for
a counselor training position with
the West Salem Vocational Divi
sion office. After eight months, she
qualified for a vocational counse-
2nd flnnual Molar Roller kating
party
When: friday, fjzb. 103-5 p.m.
Where: t. Michael' Church, Grand 'Rpndfz
for: Children ages 6-12
Activities: Cental tlealth fair, tooth healthy snacks,
"Tooth Talk", and special guest, Dudley the dinosaur!
please join us in celebrating National Children's
. Cental tlealth Month
of the Older Americans Act.
Make sure the elder is healthy in
mind, body, and spirit.
Try to understand that odd talk
may simply be a different way of
telling you that he or she is hun
gry, in pain, or lonely.
Sometimes a pet may be a source
of comfort to an elder. You may
have to help feed it and keep it
healthy.
Show respect for yourself by keep
ing yourself healthy. That way you
A
Georgia Isaia
lor position, and was hired by the
Mid-Willamette office in August of
1991.
Vocational Rehabilitation's mis
sion is to assist persons who have
barriers to returning to work.
Counselors work with clients to
determine what types of jobs would
be suitable and then sort out which
services will be required to help the
person overcome the barriers.
Some of the services available are
on-the-job training, formal educa
tion, job coaching, purchase of
work tools or clothing, resume
preparation, and job development
or placement. These are only a few
examples of services. Type of ser
vice is determined by evaluating
the needs of each client.
will be able to provide help to your
elders as long as possible. Contact
the tribal seniors program to get
involved.
As the circle of life continues,
show respect to your elders by car
ing for them when they are depen
dent. Above all, show them that
you love them. This can never be
overdone, especially when the el
der is confused or forgetful.
-reprinted from National Eldercare Institute