BUSINESS
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2020
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7
Dental health should be part of
plan for seniors, dentists say
Cryptocurrency company to
expand ATMs to Umatilla County
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
As Medicare’s Dec.
7 deadline for enroll-
ment approaches, Umatilla
County dentists hope people
will make plans for caring
for their oral health.
Dr. Todd Oyama of Med-
ical Center Dental in Pendle-
ton said while people tend to
think of dental care as sep-
arate from other medical
care, oral health has impacts
beyond the mouth, and has
been linked to systemic dis-
eases, such as heart disease.
“It’s all the same body,”
he said.
Oyama and Dr. Jason
Walker, also of Medical
Center Dental, said older
patients can be at increased
risk for dental problems,
for a number of reasons.
Patients’ gums can begin to
recede, leaving them more
vulnerable to decay of the
tooth’s root, known as root
caries.
As people age, their taste
buds tend to become less
sensitive, spurring them to
favor richer, sweeter foods
that are harder on teeth. And
many medications for older
adults cause dry mouth,
which speeds tooth decay.
Walker said he often sees
patients who came in reg-
ularly for cleanings while
their employer paid for their
dental insurance, but after
they retired decided that
since they haven’t had any
signifi cant issues with their
teeth in the past, they can
skip paying for cleanings
and checkups.
“All of a sudden, they’ll
come in and say, ‘This is
hurting,’ and they’ll already
have quite a bit of decay,”
Cryptocurrency used to
be the province of the tech-
savvy, but it could be more
accessible to Umatilla
County residents in 2021.
Daniel Polotsky, the
CEO and founder of Coin-
Flip, said the company
recently expanded into
Oregon with a cryptocur-
rency ATM in Roseburg,
and he expects the com-
pany will be installing
ATMs in Umatilla County
in the next six to 12 months.
“We’re trying to make
the process of cryptocur-
rency super simple for
everyone,” he said.
In layman’s terms, cryp-
tocurrency is a type of dig-
ital money that is not tied
to a specifi c country or
government.
Cryptocurrencies, such
as Bitcoin, are based on
blockchain
technology,
which authenticates the
currency by creating a sort
of public, decentralized
ledger recording the his-
tory of a unit of currency as
it is transferred from per-
son to person.
Polotsky said Coin-
Flip’s ATMs around the
world allow people to put
in the currency of the gov-
Hermiston Herald, File
As Medicare’s deadline for enrollment approaches, local
dentists hope people will make plans for caring for their oral
health.
“DENTURES ARE BETTER
THAN NOTHING, BUT OUR
OWN TEETH ARE IDEAL.”
Dr. Todd Oyama, of Medical Center Dental
in Pendleton
Walker said.
He suggested that if they
are able, retirees should con-
tinue to come in twice a year
for a cleaning to address the
hard plaque buildup that
home care won’t take care
of, and to catch major prob-
lems before it’s too late to
save a tooth or multiple
teeth.
“Dentures are better than
nothing, but our own teeth
are ideal,” he said.
Oyama said good home
care is also important for
people of all ages, including
regular brushing and fl oss-
ing, fl uoride mouthwash and
a healthy diet.
Open enrollment for
Medicare runs to Dec. 7.
People can sign up for the
fi rst time, or shop for cover-
age that better fi ts their cur-
rent needs. Eastern Oregon
residents have new options
available this year through
Summit Health, a partner-
ship between several East-
ern Oregon hospitals that is
providing Medicare Advan-
tage plans.
Oregon residents can
visit healthcare.oregon.gov/
shiba/Pages/index.aspx, call
1-800-722-4134 (toll-free),
or email shiba.oregon@ore-
gon.gov to fi nd answers to
questions or the nearest Ore-
gon Senior Health Insurance
Benefi ts Assistance volun-
teers who can help them
enroll or change their plan
before Dec. 7.
Hermiston-area residents
can also call Good Shepherd
Health Care System directly
at 541-667-3509 to schedule
assistance.
By GARY A. WARNER
OREGON CAPITAL BUREAU
Pending federal approval,
the fi rst 35,100 of a COVID-
19 vaccine shots could be
administered in Oregon
on Dec. 15, the governor’s
offi ce confi rmed on Mon-
day, Nov. 30.
The vaccine, created by
Pfi zer, is being sent to states
in advance of expected
approval by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration. A
total of 6.4 million doses of
the vaccine are being sent to
states in quantities based on
their per capita percentage
of the U.S. population.
The fi rst shipment of
shots in Oregon will be used
to inoculate doctors, nurses
and other health care work-
ers and medical facility staff
who are working around
COVID-19 patients.
State health offi cials have
cautioned that vaccines for
all the general public who
want one will likely take
months.
Inoculation
requires
two shots given 19-23 days
apart. On Dec. 31, Ore-
gon would receive another
35,100 doses for the sec-
ond shot to be given to those
who had started the inocula-
tion process.
An additional 52,650
doses in the shipment would
be used as the fi rst shot
for the next group of vac-
cine recipients. At a recent
news conference, Gov. Kate
Brown said Oregon has
about 300,000 health care
workers.
Additional doses of the
Pfi zer shot will arrive reg-
ularly beginning in January
2021. After health care per-
sonnel, a draft proposal of
the state’s vaccine plan calls
for inoculation of at-risk res-
idents of congregate care
facilities, such as nurs-
trading at $16,581.20 per
bitcoin after a high of
$19,391 a few hours ear-
lier. The unpredictable
nature of the decentralized
currencies means the inter-
net is rife with stories of
people who became mil-
lionaires by investing in
the right currency at the
right time, and people who
lost their life savings by
betting on the wrong cur-
rency and watching it fi z-
zle out.
The Federal Trade Com-
mission cautions that while
cryptocurrencies
come
with benefi ts, such as ano-
nymity and a lack of bank
fees, they also don’t come
with the same govern-
ment-backed protections as
a traditional bank account.
Scammers are frequently
asking their victims to pay
in cryptocurrencies, the
FTC warns on its website,
because victims are unable
to get their money back
by disputing a credit card
charge or other recourses
they have with traditional
methods of payments.
“Cryptocurrency pay-
ments typically are not
reversible,” the website
states. “Once you pay with
cryptocurrency, you only
can get your money back if
the seller sends it back.”
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First vaccinations coming
to Oregon in mid-December
ernment where they are
located and receive one of
nine different popular cryp-
tocurrencies in their digital
“wallet.” They can then use
those cryptocurrencies to
purchase items from sellers
that accept them.
“You put in cash, and
then get cryptocurrency
to your wallet before you
even get to your car,” he
said.
Some of CoinFlip’s
more than 1,400 ATMs
also allow users to turn
their cryptocurrencies back
into U.S. dollars.
According to CoinAT-
MRadar, which provides
a searchable online data-
base of cryptocurrency
ATMs, there are currently
about 12,429 such ATMs
in the world. The site does
not yet list any in Umatilla
County, but lists several
in the Tri-Cities in Wash-
ington. Polotsky said most
ATM providers, includ-
ing CoinFlip, look for con-
venience stores and other
locations that are open 24
hours a day and have high
foot traffi c.
Cryptocurrencies
are
known for their volatil-
ity compared to traditional
currencies — according to
Fox Business, on Thanks-
giving Day Bitcoin was
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ing homes, along with staff
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If a second vaccine from
Moderna becomes available,
as expected by year-end, the
number of people inoculated
can be increased.
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A WORC taxi will get you to and
from your job anywhere in western
Umatilla County.
Anyone who comes in through the end
of December, can get four FREE punch
cards, which equals 40 one-way rides
to/from work.
Visit https://hermiston.or.us/public-transit
to find out how to sign up, and how WORC and the HART
bus service work together to connect Hermiston.