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Displaying entries tagged: Dental Care
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Fluoride
July 31, 2007 - 10:46
- Dental Care - Panera
I had my first appointment with my new dentist yesterday. The appointment went well, the staff was very nice and the office was modern. They had LCD TV's everywhere and I could look at my xrays on a computer in the cleaning room. After signing the ordinary paperwork involved in any initial visit I sat for a short duration of time in the reception area. During that period of time, I was able to gather enough information to determine that the other patient waiting in that homey yet modern room shared the same first name as myself. This discovery allowed me to advert a potentially devastating mishap, as the other me jumped right up when our name was called. She had to revert to a last name confirmation before allowing one of us to enter the next stage of the appointment. I had the correct last name, so I advanced, but the three of us shared a good laugh prior to my departure.
Once in the cleaning room my dental hygienist came right over and introduced herself. We established good rapport and then the xrays began. The device she used was uncomfortable at times but she explained that since it was digital, it produced hardly any radiation; that thought made me happy and the pain went away. After the xrays, the dental hygienist scraped away tarter and explained I need to brush behind my teeth better, much better. She gave me a child's toothbrush, since I apparently brush too hard. She told me to use Colgate, because that's the best brand. After that, I got to meet the doctor. He was very nice and I will trust the dental guidance he will inevitably give me throughout my tenure as his patient. Worthy to note, the doctor answered my concern that I sometimes feel a little crowding in my mouth by referring me to an orthodontist. I can go at my pleasure, so I think I will choose fall or winter.
The reason I mention my seemingly routing initial dental visit is due to something that was brought to my attention on two completely separate occasions during my appointment. First by the dental hygienist when she examined my mouth and secondly by the doctor when he did he examination; both asked me where I grew up, followed by the response, "I can tell you grew up in a city that had fluorinated water". With such a weird comment, I inquired why they would say such a thing, as I assumed all cities had fluorinated water. I quickly learned that the vary city I pay a water bill in is the largest city in the US to not have fluorinated water (their words, I did not verify that statistic). What I did do though is a little research on the history of, as well as the pros and cons of fluorinated water. There is a lot of information out there, so I will just give you how I see it. It has been determined by the EPA that 0.7 - 1.2 mg/L of fluoride is beneficial to children as they grow up. It has previously been determined that the maximum healthy amount of fluoride in water is 4 mg/L. It is now thought that 4 mg/L is too high, so let's just say 3 mg/L is the new "safe" number. The CDC offers a decent website (for some reason I found the actual city of Albany located under Onondaga County) that you can use to check your areas fluoride levels and whether or not your community participates in program to ensure your drinking water is optimally fluorinated, the link is: My Water's Fluoride. With that said, you can easily see whether or not the amount of fluoride you receive is optimal or not. I think it is a shame that the city of Albany does not increase the cities fluoride levels. All of the opposition to communities fluoridating their water use scenarios that could exists if children were exposed to too much fluoride, a problem that would be very unlikely with todays advanced water monitoring systems. The bottom line is that it stinks for all these kids around me, because someday when their at an initial dental appointment, they are not going to be as lucky as I was to come from a city that had some additional layer of tooth decay prevention available to everyone. I would recommend parents talk to their dentist for more information.
As if yesterday couldn't get any more exciting, the nice lady at Panera gave my friend and I a free bag of cookies after our meal. Panera sits very high on my list of quick and comfortable places to eat. I will also go as far as saying I currently eat more Panera that you ever have, or ever will.
I leave you with a self candid from the cleaning room. Good night.
Once in the cleaning room my dental hygienist came right over and introduced herself. We established good rapport and then the xrays began. The device she used was uncomfortable at times but she explained that since it was digital, it produced hardly any radiation; that thought made me happy and the pain went away. After the xrays, the dental hygienist scraped away tarter and explained I need to brush behind my teeth better, much better. She gave me a child's toothbrush, since I apparently brush too hard. She told me to use Colgate, because that's the best brand. After that, I got to meet the doctor. He was very nice and I will trust the dental guidance he will inevitably give me throughout my tenure as his patient. Worthy to note, the doctor answered my concern that I sometimes feel a little crowding in my mouth by referring me to an orthodontist. I can go at my pleasure, so I think I will choose fall or winter.
The reason I mention my seemingly routing initial dental visit is due to something that was brought to my attention on two completely separate occasions during my appointment. First by the dental hygienist when she examined my mouth and secondly by the doctor when he did he examination; both asked me where I grew up, followed by the response, "I can tell you grew up in a city that had fluorinated water". With such a weird comment, I inquired why they would say such a thing, as I assumed all cities had fluorinated water. I quickly learned that the vary city I pay a water bill in is the largest city in the US to not have fluorinated water (their words, I did not verify that statistic). What I did do though is a little research on the history of, as well as the pros and cons of fluorinated water. There is a lot of information out there, so I will just give you how I see it. It has been determined by the EPA that 0.7 - 1.2 mg/L of fluoride is beneficial to children as they grow up. It has previously been determined that the maximum healthy amount of fluoride in water is 4 mg/L. It is now thought that 4 mg/L is too high, so let's just say 3 mg/L is the new "safe" number. The CDC offers a decent website (for some reason I found the actual city of Albany located under Onondaga County) that you can use to check your areas fluoride levels and whether or not your community participates in program to ensure your drinking water is optimally fluorinated, the link is: My Water's Fluoride. With that said, you can easily see whether or not the amount of fluoride you receive is optimal or not. I think it is a shame that the city of Albany does not increase the cities fluoride levels. All of the opposition to communities fluoridating their water use scenarios that could exists if children were exposed to too much fluoride, a problem that would be very unlikely with todays advanced water monitoring systems. The bottom line is that it stinks for all these kids around me, because someday when their at an initial dental appointment, they are not going to be as lucky as I was to come from a city that had some additional layer of tooth decay prevention available to everyone. I would recommend parents talk to their dentist for more information.
As if yesterday couldn't get any more exciting, the nice lady at Panera gave my friend and I a free bag of cookies after our meal. Panera sits very high on my list of quick and comfortable places to eat. I will also go as far as saying I currently eat more Panera that you ever have, or ever will.
I leave you with a self candid from the cleaning room. Good night.
