health
Show of hands: Support Who loves to f loss? continued from page 1
By Jennifer Wallace
In my line of work, I hear a lot of confessionals on a daily basis. No I’m not a priest, but a dentist! I hear over half (and that’s being generous) of my adult patients admit before I even take a look in their mouth, they hate or refuse to attempt to floss. In addition to brushing, flossing has been the gold standard of care for preventing cavities between the teeth. It’s also an important and effective way to remove plaque and biofilm from below the gum line that causes periodontal disease. The patient’s ability to perform regular and effective self-care is important to the long-term success of therapeutic and restorative treatment and overall mouth/body well-being. Not to stray too far off the original subject, I’d like to say that your dentist isn’t just interested in looking at the health of your teeth. There is a significant reason why the dentist also asks about your medical history, medications you may take or any other changes/ concerns since your last dental checkup. It’s because of the mouth/whole body connection. Systemic “whole body” problems can be detected or worsened when bacteria forms a biofilm under the gums resulting in gum pockets that further trap bacteria and debris. That bacteria not only inflames the gums but kills cells and can invade connective tissues and blood vessels. Your body’s immune system creates white blood cells to fight this but the combination of the bacteria and those blood cells along with toxins and proteins can line the arteries. According to The Journal of Dental Research, severe periodontal infection (gum disease and bone loss), if untreated, may increase the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, complications of diabetes, adverse pregnancy outcomes and respiratory disease. So in essence, it’s hard to treat the mouth effectively without a healthy body’s immune system to deliver positive results. Now that I have your attention, I understand that lots of people find flossing difficult, and some don’t really have the dexterity to do it well. I hear
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patients say “It is so time-consuming, and I don’t seem to be very good at it or I know I should be flossing but my teeth are too tight.” What if I told you that I can introduce you to a way of flossing that has not only been proven as more effective than traditional string flossing in the professional journals but also in my own practice on Lady’s Island. The water flosser is significantly better than brushing alone, which most children and young adults do, or they brush along with string flossing. Additionally, research has demonstrated that patients who present with gingivitis, mild to moderate periodontitis, diabetes, and good oral hygiene can benefit from using a water flosser. A healthy pocket is 1-3 mm in depth with no bleeding. Traditional brushing and string flossing can reach 1-2 mm below the gum line. Water flossing can reach up to 6 mm! Need the scientific proof? A study was done to compare the plaque removal efficiency of the Waterpik® Water Flosser to string floss. Seventy subjects participated in this randomized, single use, single blind, parallel clinical study and had not used any form of oral hygiene for 23-25 hours prior to their dental appointment. Patients were put in two groups: WaterFlossers or waxed string floss. Both groups were instructed to manual brush for two minutes. Group 1 used the Water Flosser with 500 ml of warm water and group 2 used waxed string floss cleaning all areas between the teeth. Subjects were observed to make sure they covered all areas and followed instructions. Scores were recorded for the whole mouth, marginal, interproximal, facial, and lingual regions for each subject. Results proved the Waterpik® Water Flosser was more effective than string floss for overall plaque removal on all surfaces of the teeth. I would suggest you ask your dentist or dental hygienist to recommend tools that can tailor your at home hygiene regimen to not only improve your overall health but make your dental visits easier. Jennifer Wallace, DMD, is at Palmetto Smiles of Beaufort: 843-524-7645.
Prior to receiving the infusion of stem cells at the Medical University of South Carolina, Elaine Senn went through weeks of chemotherapy and radiation that destroyed the immune factors in her blood. As a result, she needs an extensive amount of blood and blood products. Over the last two months, the Beaufort community has rallied around the Coosa Elementary School media assistant and former assistant girls’ basketball coach at Beaufort High School, dedicating a halfdozen blood drives in her honor. The next event is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. next Tuesday, April 29 at Battery Creek High School. Several more blood drives have been set for next month. The dates include May 2 at Whale Branch Early College High School in Seabrook, May 9 at Beaufort High and May 12 and 13 at Beaufort Memorial Hospital. In addition to the dedicated blood drives, donors also can give blood at The Blood Alliance Donor Center, 1001 Boundary Street. Even with health insurance, the Senns will rack up tens of thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses for their combined cancer treatments. However, a recipient benefits plan offered to through The Blood Alliance allows a donor to dedicate their donation account credits to Senn’s account. The plan will
reimburse 20% of the distribution cost incurred by The Blood Alliance for blood products shipped to the hospital for Senn’s use. “Acute lymphoblastic leukemia requires very aggressive treatment,” said Beaufort Memorial Medical Director of Laboratories Dr. Brad Collins, a pathologist specializing in blood diseases. “To kill all the cancerous cells in her bone marrow, they also have to kill all the normal cells.” Leukemia is just one of several blood disorders that require large amounts of blood for treatment. “These kinds of blood drives help create awareness of the need for donors,” said Karen Wyman, regional manager for The Blood Alliance, the sole supplier of blood and blood products for six hospitals from Mount Pleasant to Hilton Head Island. “The next donation is always the most important one because you don’t know what’s going to happen in the next two days that would create a need for blood.” Now recovering from the transplant, Senn is expected to remain in the hospital until later this week. Once she is discharged, she will need to stay within a 10-minute drive of MUSC for another 75 days to be able to survive any kind of medical crisis. “The support we have received from the community helps keep us moving forward,” Mark Senn said. “The doctors have given us a 35 to 50 percent chance for long-term remission. That’s a whole lot better than zero.”
BHS VOICES Presents: Littleof Shop
HORRORS
Spring Concert & 10 Year Reunion rossignol’s 817 Bay Street 524-2175
www.facebook.com/ rossignolsgifts
April 30th & May 1st
7:00PM
$7 @ the door or $5 w/ canned goods BHSvoices@gmail.com for more info
the island news | april 24-30, 2014 | www.yourislandnews.com
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