Tuesday, July 10, 2012

The Morning Drill: July 10, 2012



Good Tuesday morning!

On to today's dentistry and health headlines:

Significant rise in tooth decay seen in East Iowa kids


Tooth decay — the most common childhood illness in the United States — is multiplying for the first time in 40 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, and Iowa is in lock step with the rest of the country.

“I have noticed that there is more rampant decay in the patients that I see,” said Dr. Ritu Bansal, director of St. Luke’s Hospital Dental Health Center in Cedar Rapids, which treats low-income children and developmentally disabled patients.

Tooth decay in 6-year-olds at St. Luke’s is more than four times the national average for that age, said Bansal. “I’m not talking a cavity here or there,” said Bansal. “In our unit, 42 (percent) to 60 percent of kids who come in have significant decay.”

Dr. Rebecca Slayton, head of pediatric dentistry at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry, said it is common to treat children with cavities afflicting every tooth in their mouths. The UI treats children on Medicaid, private insurance and those who are uninsured. “The problem has become greater in the past five to 10 years,” Slayton said.

Hygienists take issue with ABC's 'The View'

On July 6, the ABC television program "The View" featured a segment that "grossly misrepresented" the educational requirements and annual salary of dental hygienists, according to the American Dental Hygienists' Association (ADHA).

In the "Where Are The Jobs?" segment, financial expert Regina Lewis outlined what she considers to be a number of "hot" job prospects, including healthcare and retail. Then, in response to this question from co-host Sherri Shepherd -- "What about people who don't have college degrees?" -- dental hygienists topped Lewis' list (it's about three minutes into the show).

"Dental hygienist is a great example," Lewis said. "I only care if you know how to use this tool on that tooth." In addition, the graphic displayed behind indicated that the average hygienist's salary is $45,000.

Dental hygienists took to the ADHA Facebook page and the show's message boards in droves following the program, upset at the inaccuracies and misportrayals of the profession and taking the program to task for not doing its research.

After more than 40 years, Dr. Clyde Young still provides the soundtrack for Legion games

An 89-year-old native of Salisbury, Dr. Clyde Young is well known around Newman Park during the American Legion Baseball season as the trumpet man. Although Young cannot remember the first time he played at Newman park in the 1960s, he does recall that it seemed to be appreciated, and he was asked to return.

And return he did. Becoming a permanent fixture at the park, Young can be seen retiring to his “perch” in the top row of the stands after giving a rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner,” where he can observe the game and every once in a while can be heard adding his own unique “spark” to the occasion.

A children’s dentist for 43 years, Young says he was fortunate enough to have been able to make a living out of the two things that he really loved to do: dentistry and playing his trumpet. Young said there weren’t many doctors who could claim to have former patients that remembered their dentists with fondness, but he could. Similarly, Young has received compliments during his years performing at the ball field.

“At my age particularly, I’m flattered to be invited and to be of service,” Young said.

John Williams dies at 66; former Rams lineman later started dentistry practice

John Williams, a Los Angeles Rams lineman in the 1970s who went to dental school during his off-seasons and started a dentistry practice in Minneapolis after he retired from football, has died. He was 66.

Williams, who had recently undergone a kidney transplant, died Sunday while taking a walk near his home, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. The Hennepin County medical examiner's office confirmed his death.

Born in Jackson, Miss., on Oct. 27, 1945, John McKay Williams was a high school football star in Toledo, Ohio. A three-year letterman at the University of Minnesota, he was an All-America and All-Big Ten offensive lineman in 1967, when the Gophers went 8-2 and won a share of the conference title.

In the 1968 NFL draft, the Baltimore Colts picked him in the first round, 23rd overall. He played four seasons with the Colts and went to two Super Bowls, winning a ring with the team's 16-13 victory over Dallas after the 1970 season.

Enjoy your morning!

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