Your dental health

There is an old saying about life. ‘No one,’ it goes, ‘gets out of here alive.’ But since we all have to go, we may as well do it with all of our teeth. For a normal adult, that means 32. They are molars, premolars, canine and bicuspid.



But the truth – the painful truth for millions of Americans – is that too many of us are not getting out of here with a full allotment of teeth. And while leaving without a full set is bad, it need not be that way. But too many of us, unfortunately, are the problem in this regrettable scenario. We are neglecting our teeth and it is killing us – figuratively and, sometimes, literally!



Of the approximately ten thousand patients who were treated last year at Denver’s Clinica Family Health Services, “almost all of them” had oral health issues that went beyond routine, says Clinica Vice President of Dental Services, Dr. An Nguyen.



“We definitely see patients who have gone without care for too long,” says Nguyen. Few Clinica patients are dropping in for routine checkups and cleanings. “By the time they see us, they’re looking at tertiary care.” That is when a patient requires extractions, has serious gum disease or both.



In Colorado and across the nation, we are failing – some of us quite miserably – at basic dental health. We are not only suffering unnecessary physical pain because of simple neglect of our teeth but also socially because of the aesthetics, the cosmetics of bad teeth. And one of the major reasons is the simple fear of the dentist.



The fear most people have of visiting a dentist is two-pronged says Denver dentist, Dr. Eloisa Lovato, owner of Comfort Dental in Jefferson County. “For most people it’s based on money; fear of cost, fear of pain.” Lovato also says there a psychological component that is hard – impossible for many – to overcome. “Many people feel they don’t have the same control with a dentist as they have when they’re sitting with a doctor or in a doctor’s office. They just feel very vulnerable.”



But the fear people have of dentists, says Lovato, is built up over a lifetime of misconception. “The lion of the mind is sometimes more powerful than the lion of the jungle.” Today a visit to a dentist can actually be pain-free, says the Denver native. “That’s why I like where I’m at because we can control the costs and the fear.” Lovato says she also likes to talk with her patients because it helps them overcome some of their anxiety.



Poor dental hygiene is an issue that spans every ethnic and socio-economic class. “People have priorities and oral health isn’t necessarily one of them,” says Dr. Tyrone Rodriguez, President of the Hispanic Dental Association, an organization that represents more than 2,500 Hispanic dentists in the United States and Puerto Rico. But, he says, a dentist becomes a person’s highest priority “when their situation becomes complex.” And when they reach this point, “discomfort and fear are quickly overcome.” Or, he says, at least managed.



Lack of knowledge about dental health often becomes generational. Parents who ignore their own basic dental maintenance are also likely to ignore that of their children. “Parents don’t see anything to worry about if a child has a cavity,” says Rodriguez, a pediatric dentist. A young child nursing a cavity is ignored with the rationalization that “it’s only a baby tooth.” But a baby tooth is just as important as a permanent one. Rodriguez says good dental health begins in childhood.



Rodriguez says it is never too early to instill good habits. Instead of putting a baby to bed with a bottle of milk, he says, substitute it with water. Milk digests as glucose – sugar. Nobody needs more sugar. Also begin dental visits around age two to three.



Poor dental health comes with a steep price and no one pays more for this unnecessary neglect than children. Those in poor families pay the most. According to the Centers for Disease Control, kids from lower-income families are two times more likely to have tooth decay than those from higher-income families.



The cost of poor dental health care in the U.S. is also staggering. According to Oral Health America, children with a dental issue accounted for more than 51 million missed school hours in 2013. Adults with similar problems were off the clock to a tune of 164 million hours in the same year.



“It is a silent epidemic,” says Rodriguez. “The impact it has on education, achievement and advancement is immense. You can’t expect a child to be engaged if they’re in pain and discomfort.”



Another thing keeping people away from the dentist is lack of dental insurance. More than 130 million adults and children have none. And while many cheer the fact that millions of Americans who had no health care will now be getting it, Congress failed to include dental health in the Affordable Care Act. “It is one of our challenges,” says Rodriguez. Policy makers, he says, need to know that dental health is tied to bigger health issues.



Numerous studies have shown that oral health is like the canary in the coal mine. Decades ago, canaries were released into mines to determine if the air was breathable. If they died, it meant bad air. Conversely, bad oral health can be a harbinger of other health issues.



Heart specialists have for years believed that clogged arteries and stroke “may be linked to inflammation and infections that oral bacteria can cause.” Gum disease has been linked to premature birth and low birth weight. It is also more frequent in people with diabetes. Dentists are also among the first to see the initial signs of oral cancer. A check for oral cancer is now a routine a part of each visit.



Rodriguez says some dental health issues among immigrant children can be traced to something as simple as water. Because water in their countries is often bad, they drink bottled water which contains no fluoride, an agent long believed to fight tooth decay. A lack of fluoride has accelerated tooth decay.



Another barrier keeping thousands from visiting a dentist is language. Many Latinos, especially immigrants, hesitate to see a dentist because they cannot communicate their issues. There is also something else keeping immigrants and their children away from dentists, says Rodriguez, whose parents also immigrants.



“A lot of immigrant parents are reluctant to sign up for dental care because they are afraid their information may be shared with authorities,” he says. “They don’t want to be deported and don’t want their family split up with a deportation.” The government says this would not happen but, nonetheless, it is a fear has not gone away.



Rodriguez says he would like the media to play a role in educating people on good dental health. In addition to an Ad Council campaign on dental health that is now running and urging regular brushing and flossing he would also like to see a dramatic increase in the number of Latino dentists.



“There are not enough,” he says flatly. The most recent census says that the U.S. Latino population is the fastest growing ethnic minority in the country. The same cannot be said for the Latino dentist population. “You’re looking at a (Latino dental) population of seven to eight thousand trying to help a population of 50 million.”



Rodriguez says he would like to see more programs like the kind that allowed him to become a dentist. It forgave part of his student loan in exchange for working in an impoverished or designated community. A program like this could make the difference between a community – rural or urban – having a dentist or having none.



Source: http://www.lavozcolorado.com/detail.php?id=7543



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from paul_fjeldsted http://paul-fjeldsted.livejournal.com/8759.html