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Sue Curfman, President and CEO Dental Education: "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth"Why does it seem like your children’s teeth fall out all at once? When should my child expect to lose their two front teeth? Tooth losing patterns may vary from child to child, but typically follow the same pattern and timing. With infants, you might see a little smidge of a tooth start showing around the six month mark. But do not worry if your child is older and has not had anything visible begin to poke through their gums. In most cases, they may be on their way! Some children have been known to be toothless all the way up until their two year birthday! If you are worried, most children should go to see the dentist at the age of six months, and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends they see a dentist prior to their first birthday. Take this opportunity to speak to a dental professional about any questions or concerns you may have for your child. They can help with questions about pacifier use, sippy cups, thumb sucking or other habits and nutritional needs for your child. So, when does the old holiday song, “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth” come into play? Well, most likely your child will start singing this tune around the age of 6 or 7. This is the most typical age when the two front teeth have wiggled their way out of your child’s mouth and under their pillows for the Tooth Fairy! Even if they lost their two front teeth a while ago, rest assured, they may be singing this tune even around Christmas. And unfortunately, you may not be able to give them what they really want for Christmas since their two front teeth will decide when they feel like appearing. Additionally, you may notice that children lose all of their back teeth around the same time. Between the ages of nine and twelve, your child will lose about twelve teeth. Children will have twenty primary teeth in their childhood, and thirty-two teeth as adults. Their first adult tooth should appear at the young age of 6 years old. This is why having a parent helping them brush their teeth is so crucial. Most kids don’t develop the needed brushing dexterity and ability until age 8 or 9, which is necessary for removing plaque and keeping them healthy, even if they insist they don’t need help! Whether your child is just starting to teeth or is singing “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth,” remember that your role in their dental health can be crucial. Happy Holidays! Dental Education - Is Thanksgiving Food Bad for You?Is Thanksgiving food BAD for you?? The short answer is it could be! But, that does not mean you cannot partake! Many traditional Thanksgiving foods can be slightly harmful for your teeth, but there’s hope. As long as you take care of your teeth, you can indulge, especially since it’s only once a year. It seems that the general public tend to know what foods or drinks are good and bad for you. What do you do when you don’t know? Go ask the professionals! Several websites offer great advice for navigating your holiday meals. Some of the worst foods to partake of on your holiday retreat would be starchy and sugary foods. Items like candied yams, stuffing, candied nuts, and rolls all contain sugar or starch. These can help feed the bacteria responsible for cavities. And yes, unfortunately, this includes the infamous pecan pie! It’s always best to eat these foods followed by a swish of water or even brushing, if possible. Another cavity culprit is soda! We should all know by now that soda contains sugar and acids that help bacteria hosting the perfect environment to thrive. Again, if you drink soda, swish with water or brush, if possible. Now that we have an idea of what foods to either avoid or swish after eating, let’s look at foods that might actually be good for your teeth! The following advice is available on www.colgate.com about the best foods for your oral health around this grateful holiday. Some foods that actually combat the bacteria include some holiday appetizers like cheese, raw veggies, and mixed nuts. Cheese helps buffer the acid that is needed to break down foods, but this acid can have a negative effect on your teeth if left too long. Eating cheese after drinking soda, for example, would help prevent those negative effects caused by the acid in soda. We also recommend indulging in fresh fruit trays. These can meet your sweet treat needs, but not create damage to your oral health. Lastly, let’s talk about drinks. Although there are several options to quench your thirst around the holidays, there are two main drinks that we would recommend: water and tea. Water is always the best choice when you are thirsty, holiday or not. Tea contains fluoride and helps keep you hydrated, a home run for oral health! So, eat well, drink well, and make great Thanksgiving meal choices. You will have those pearly whites for many Thanksgivings to come!
LOCAL AGENCIES REACH JEFFERSON COUNTY HOMELESS POPULATIONImagine not knowing where your next meal would be coming from or searching for a decent place to sleep where you are safe from the elements. Jefferson County’s homeless population lives this every day. On Thursday, September 20 at Elks Lodge in Festus, MO, dozens of local agencies joined arms to provide services to this population, reaching 88 homeless individuals including 19 children and 50 households. “Seeing so many Jefferson County agencies come together to assist and support our homeless population was an amazing experience to be a part of,” said MaryBeth Pugh, Housing Manager at COMTREA. “It may have only been a one day event, but Project Homeless Connect gave hope to so many people who do not know where to turn in times of crisis.” Project Homeless Connect offered services to the homeless population including ID cards via the DMV, acquiring birth certificates, clothing needs, a hot meal, dental services, veteran services, and other services. All of these services were provided at either a very low cost or no cost at all to those who qualified. COMTREA was awarded a $10,000 grant to launch the event as a way to help this underserved population with their basic and everyday needs. Other Missouri counties, including Cape Girardeau, offer Project Homeless Connect annually. COMTREA and other local agencies hope provide similar events to our homeless population on a frequent basis. COMTREA Dental Receives Award from the Suburban St. Louis Nurses’ Association
The COMTREA Tooth Titans Mobile Team accepted an award from the Suburban St. Louis Nurses’ Association on October 11, 2018. COMTREA was nominated for work with Parkway Schools and future work with the Rockwood School District. Representing Comtrea Dental was Makenzie Beckham, Renee Blanken, Dr. Garland, and Sandy Holifield (left to right). Not in attendance to receive the award was Tiffany Grant, Kamrie Reynolds, Danielle Greenlee, and Kate Poleos, Tooth Titans staff at COMTREA. NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH – OctoberFor the time it takes you to read this sentence, the National Domestic Violence Hotline will have received two calls from victims of abuse. The leading victims of domestic violence are women, regardless of age, race, religion, nationality, educational background or economic status. One in three women experience abuse by their intimate partner. On a national scale, one in four women will experience domestic or sexual violence. In Missouri, 140,000 domestic violence incidents were officially reported in 2012. A parent could expect one of their four daughters to experience domestic violence. A classmate could expect one or more of their female friends to experience domestic violence. A homeowner could expect one of their adjacent female neighbors to experience domestic violence. Walk away. Leave the relationships. Find a new place to live. Talk to someone. Get help. How many mothers, daughters, and friends did not survive the last 24 hours at the hands of their perpetrator or abuser? For a victim, leaving the abusive situation may be the most difficult decision of their life, even if it is to preserve their own life. On average, a victim will return to the abuser seven times before successfully breaking the cycle. Resources, support, provision, finances, and safety are often the leading factors for leaving a situation. Abusers use the power of fear to control the minds and emotions of victims. If I leave, I will not survive. If I leave, I will lose my family. If I leave, I will be at fault. In order to combat the fear of leaving, domestic violence shelters provide victims a safe place to escape. Shelters offer resources, support, counseling, safety, and family to the most vulnerable and in-need community members. According to 79 shelters in Missouri, over 10,000 victims and their children received safe shelter, while 17,500 of those in need were turned away due to lack of resources. The domestic violence shelter in Jefferson County, A Safe Place, a division of COMTREA, saw a 24 percent increase from 2016 to 2017 in families referred to other agencies because of full capacity. A Safe Place, a division of COMTREA, was able to provide 6,289 nights of safety in 2017, but the demand greatly exceeds the shelter’s capacity. Recognizing this crisis, a Friends of A Safe Place Foundation was created and launched a capital campaign for Mary’s House of Hope at A Safe Place with the purpose of building additional housing for survivors of domestic violence in Jefferson County. The build will offer apartment style living spaces. Residents may stay for two years, as they participate in a self-empowerment program and receive counseling, employment assistance, support, and resources to transition to an independent, sustainable life. Help break the cycle of domestic violence in Jefferson County by raising awareness, by talking about it openly, volunteering at A Safe Place domestic violence shelter, a division of COMTREA, and by donating to build transitional housing. Learn more and donate to building housing for survivors at www.comtrea.org/campaign. If you are a victim of domestic violence, call the 24 hour national hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE or A Safe Place, a division of COMTREA, at 636-232-2301. |
  
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