
Dental Care Education
Got Sensitive Teeth?
September 7, 2018 by Sandra Holifield, Oral Health Outreach Manager
Got Sensitive Teeth?
Think you won’t ever be able to have ice cream again? Well, good news, you don’t have to live with sensitive teeth!
There are several reasons why your teeth may become sensitive, ranging from mildly-severe worn tooth enamel to something a bit more detrimental such as a fractured tooth.
Here are some other possible causes:
If you find yourself with some sensitivity, there are options for you depending on your certain situation, and you should always consult your dental professional for detailed answers. Don’t live with the possibility that it could get worse!
Your dental professional may suggest some of the following treatments for sensitivity:
Sensitive Toothpaste: This is specially designed to help fill in microscopic tubes in your tooth enamel, which helps to insulate the nerve and help protect it from cold and hot foods or drinks.
Fluoride Varnish: This would help relieve sensitivity by adding a protective layer over the sensitive area.
Desensitizing Agents: This treatment can be received at a dental office. Desensitizing treatment is stronger than over-the-counter sensitivity products.
Gingival Grafting: If your sensitivity is due to brushing too hard or trauma that has removed gum tissue, you may need surgical intervention to help replace the tissue that generally does not grow back on its own. This is called grafting which it is a minor surgical procedure done with a specialist in office under local anesthetics.
Root Canal: If you have sensitivity due to a large cavity, there is also hope for you! The tooth could undergo a root canal to save it. This is also a procedure done in office under local numbing and helps preserve your smile!
How do you prevent tooth sensitivity?
Most of these situations that cause sensitivity can be avoided. If you brush with proper technique and a soft bristled toothbrush, the chance of brushing away the gum tissue is minimal. Ask your dental hygienist how to brush properly and effectively! Brushing also helps prevent tooth decay, or cavities, which helps reduce the need of a root canal in the future!
Prevention is the key to a less expensive and less painful dental situation! If you have any questions about tooth sensitivity or any other issues with your teeth, gums, or mouth, your dental professional is ready and willing to answer them for you!
Mouth Healthy. (n.d.-a). Sensitive Teeth. Retrieved from https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/s/sensitive-teeth

Primary Care Education
Washing your Hands
August 25, 2018 by Dr. Hampton M.D., COMTREA Pediatrician
One in Five People Don't Wash Their Hands
Sadly one in five people don't wash their hands, and of those that do, three out of ten people use soap. Only about one person washes their hands for 15-seconds or more. The result – “waste” matter including bacteria such as E. coli can be found on just over a quarter of our hands.
Germs from Flushing the Toilet Can Jump Six Feet
It's not just the door and toilet handles you need to watch out for in public restrooms. Every time a toilet is flushed and the lid is left up, a fine mist is sprayed into the air that contains all types of bacteria causing diseases.
Air movement including hot air dryers can blow around the bacteria. It can be inhaled or deposited on your clothes, creating a potential mobile source of infection.
Q: Who created soap?
A: The Romans.
We have them to thank because it's like a “do-it-yourself'” vaccine. When you use soap correctly to wash your hands it drastically decreases the chance getting sick.
Q: What is the proper way to wash your hands?
A: Get your Hands Wet. Scrub your hands for 15 -20 seconds to kill germs. Rinse and Dry.
Q: How long is 15-20 seconds?
A: It is the same time that it takes to sing the happy birthday song, twice!

Dental Care Education
Dental Health IQ and How it Affects Your Children
August 17, 2018 by Sandra Holifield, Oral Health Outreach Manager
Having been in the dental field providing screenings and care for over 13 years, I have been able to see the trend of a caregiver’s (parent or grandparent, etc) dental health IQ and dental decay. Here are some of the findings:
While these points may be known to some parents, they are not known to all. I have heard several excuses for children having health problems, anything from “He will cry if I don’t give it to him” referring to candy or a bottle at night, to “well, it didn’t hurt me as a child”. These thought processes can be very damaging to your children.
So what can you do? Stand up and make a change. Your children are important to you; make the necessary changes in their lives, if not your own, that will provide them with the education and environment that will cause change.
The numbers don’t lie. Over the past year, I have personally been working with several school districts providing dental screenings and collecting data. The average rate of dental needs (one or more areas of possible cavities) hovers around 30-35%. This is alarming! Every third child that was screened has suspected dental decay or other dental related problems!
Why is this an issue? Primary teeth, or baby teeth, have several very important jobs. They do fall out and are replaced by adult teeth, so why even bother fixing them or putting the effort in to preserve them? The simple fact is, children need their baby teeth!
These teeth hold the place for adult teeth to erupt; they help guide the adult tooth into the proper place. They have nerves and can cause life threatening abscesses just like adult teeth. Children with dental issues can run fevers, suffer from infections, and lose attention in school due to pain.
Even today, the value placed on body health far outweighs the value of dental health. The stigma that you can live without teeth is rampant. The mouth is most definitely part of your body! There have been several links discovered with oral health and medical issues such as:
Alzheimer’s
Stroke
Arteriosclerosis-- Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 2003; 23:1245
Heart Disease--Journal of Periodontology, Dec. 2007; 78(12)2289-302
Diabetes
Preterm labor in pregnant women
Preeclampsia in pregnant women
You obviously want to protect your children from these health issues, and it could be as simple as taking them to a dentist on a regular basis and maintaining their dental health at home through routine home care. Children should see a dentist before the age of one…many general dentists will not see a child until the age of three or four, but this does NOT mean that they should not be seen by a dental professional. If this dentist does not see infants, then find a dentist that will. I have personally discovered two-year-olds and younger with rampant decay and abscessed teeth!
Here are some helpful hints to helping your child maintain their dental health, and help protect their overall health in the future.
As more and more research is conducted, the evidence points to the link between dental and overall health. If you become proactive in your child’s dental care, you may be saving them the heartache of major medical issues in the future. You love your children, no doubt about that. Sometimes it is hard to know or follow through with the right care. Fight the fight and pick your battles with your children, but do not let the important things fall through the cracks! Dental health care is definitely one of these important battles.
As a registered dental hygienist, I perform dental screenings for the WIC program in the St. Genevieve Health Department on Mondays, and can provide free dental screenings to your children. We also have other dental hygienists available at the Hillsboro WIC office in Jefferson County. Please call COMTREA at 636-232-2334, for more information.

Meet Our Familytrea
MaryBeth Pugh, Housing Manager
August 4, 2018
I have been at COMTREA for two years. I started as a Community Support Specialist, and now I am the Housing Manager.
I have been married to my high school sweetheart, Ben, for one year. He is a Senior Software Engineer and I am still trying to understand what he actually does. We have two cats that we love. I have six siblings, two nieces, and two nephews. I love spending time with family and friends, cooking, floral design, watching “The Office,” crafting, tattoos, traveling, and yoga. I hope to return to school in the fall to start the MSW program at UMSL.
As Housing Manager, I work with the Department of Mental Health and various grants to find stable housing for individuals with disabilities. I am the processing center for the Supportive Community Living and Shelter Plus Care grants in Jefferson County. I also assist clients in finding and utilizing community resources.
Currently, Jefferson County has been awarded $10,000 by the Missouri Housing Development Commission to host Project Homeless Connect. This event will take place September 20th, 2018 in Festus, MO.
Project Homeless Connect is an event that aims to connect individuals in Jefferson County to services they need in one place, on one day. Our goal is to provide a safe and welcoming environment where individuals can have their various needs met.