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Noteworthy News

There are 4 new proprietary programs opening in Florida and they have already sought initial accreditation from ADACODA. Sanford Brown in Jacksonville, Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando.

An important positive note for the new year is the start of an expansion at the Robert E. Speir Healthcare Education Center on the Grand Strand campus of Horry-Georgetown Technical College on the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. The $7.4 million addition is a triple play for the area. First, there is the construction itself, expected to start about midyear and continue for 15 or more months.
The 22,000-square-foot addition will provide more space for the growing health care programs - still a hot employment market - and a new low-cost dental program. The expansion recently cleared a hurdle with the S.C. Budget and Control Board, which allows the college to finish construction design work and seek bids.
Make no mistake, this addition is a milestone for HGTC's health education programs and for indigent dental services for the community. Phil Render, HGTC assistant vice president and dean of academic affairs explained the significance of the expansion in a recent report in The Sun News.

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On Saturday, November 7, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. The landmark vote marks one step in the efforts of Congressional leaders and the Obama Administration to pass comprehensive health reform legislation.

The American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) is committed to keeping the dental hygiene community informed on health reform matters that impact the profession. ADHA respects that there are many opinions on health reform within the dental hygiene community. This update is not intended to sway recipients in one direction or the other on the issue, but is offered as a means to update dental hygiene professionals about the oral health provisions contained in H.R. 3962 and to offer an overview of ADHA’s engagement in the process thus far.

Health reform legislation in the House and Senate touches on many facets of the health care delivery system. The following offers a brief overview of oral health provisions contained in H.R. 3962:

Norine Dowd, RDH, BHSc, FDHA Liaison to The Florida Board of Dentistry, informs us that
RDH's cannot use the Diagnodent, ViziLite Oral Cancer screening and Oral Brush Biopsy.

The following Board of Dentistry rule changes will be effective July 20, 2009

1) Dental Hygienists can apply fluoride varnishes without supervision
2) Dental Hygienists can apply dental sealants under general supervision

Florida Dental Hygiene Association
Tami Miller, Executive Director

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : May 1, 2009
Contact: DOH Communications
(850) 245-4111

THE STATE OF FLORIDA OPENS TOLL FREE SERVICE FOR RESIDENTS AND VISITORS TO RECEIVE INFORMATION ON SWINE FLU

The Florida Flu Information Line is 800-342-3557

TALLAHASSEE—As of 11 a.m. today, the State of Florida has opened a toll-free telephone service where residents and visitors can call to receive health information about swine flu.

The number for Florida residents to call is 1-800-342-3557.

The line will be staffed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily until further notice. After hours calls will be handled by an automated service.

As Florida responds to swine flu, the Florida Department of Health offers the following recommendations:

People with respiratory illness or fever should stay home from work or school to avoid spreading infections, including influenza, to others in the community. .
Avoid close contact with people who are coughing or otherwise appear ill.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
Wash hands frequently to lessen the spread of respiratory illness.
Symptoms of swine flu are rapid onset fever, cough, fatigue and in some cases vomiting and diarrhea.
If you think you have the flu, please call your health care provider and discuss whether you need to be seen in their office or an emergency department, or stay home.

Swine flu is not transmitted by food and you cannot get swine flu from eating pork products.

The State of Florida is receiving frequent updates from the CDC, and working with local health departments to monitor the situation and immediately follow up on suspected cases. The Florida Department of Health has created a webpage with information at www.doh.state.fl.us, and the CDC has a web page at www.cdc.gov/swineflu.

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Update from the American Dental Hygienists’ Association

This e-mail is another update from the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) on issues related to health reform. This week Congress will return to session after an August recess where dialogue on health reform took center stage across the country. As part of our effort to keep the dental hygiene community informed on health reform matters that may impact the profession, ADHA is submitting this update.

Certainly health reform has proven to be a highly charged issue with passionate advocates on both sides. This update is not intended to sway recipients in one direction or the other on the issue, but is being offered as a means to update dental hygiene professionals about the role that oral health plays in pending health reform legislation and offer an overview of ADHA’s engagement in the process thus far.

Is your head where your heart is?

Is your head where your heart is? It may be now. A strong connection between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been suggested in recent clinical studies. As many as 75 percent of adults in the United States have been affected by periodontal disease and an estimated 80.7 million adults (1 out of every 3) have been a victim of CVD in 2006 according to the American Heart Association. From the 80.7 million adults in the United States, 38.2 million are less than 60 years of age, which is almost 50 percent.

According to the latest study "Oral Body Inflammation Connection" presented during the 57th Annual Meeting of the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), The AGD's Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD, July 8-12, 2009 there is a powerful link between perio disease and heart disease. The revelation was made a a team of experts and the observations are believed to be proof that there is a mouth-heart connection.

The discussion will be one of the first discussions held at the AGD's annual meeting that integrates both dentistry and medicine because the disease is common to both health management groups. "It is critical for all dentists and physicians to collaborate in helping patients reduce inflammation, which can become a target factor for cardiovascular disease," says Dr. Slepian. Both Drs. Slepian and Gottehrer, with the help of an expert doctoral panel will discuss the correlation between periodontal disease and CVD. Information presented during this session will provide dentists with hands-on knowledge regarding how to communicate with physicians in order to collaborate and create more proactive management periodontal disease treatment plans (including non-surgical options), which can then improve periodontal and associated physical health by reducing CVD.

CVD has a wide range of categories, which affect adults in the United States every day including high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure. A recent study that will be cited during the presentation explored the existence of bacteria known to cause periodontitis and the growth of blood vessel walls, which is a symptom of CVD. After examining the subjects used, the investigators found a positive connection between the growth of blood vessel walls and the existence of bacteria found in dental plaque, causing periodontitis.

Occasional Smoker, 47, Signs Tobacco Bill

President Obama does not discuss the fact that he still occasionally smokes, a habit he very publicly tried to kick during his race for the White House.
But there he was on June 23, 2009, talking about cigarettes. As he signed legislation bringing tobacco products under federal control for the first time, the president conceded that the new law, aimed at keeping children from starting to smoke, could have helped him three decades ago.
Mr. Obama noted that 90 percent of smokers began on or before their 18th birthday.
“I know — I was one of those teenagers,” he said, standing beneath a punishing afternoon sun at a Rose Garden ceremony. “I know how difficult it can be to break this habit when it’s been with you for a long time.”
With that, Mr. Obama moved on. He did not mention whether he still smokes, a topic that has been a subject of considerable curiosity, and family drama, for years. Instead, he talked about the dangers of the addiction and its causes.
“Kids today don’t just start smoking for no reason,” he said. “They’re aggressively targeted as customers by the tobacco industry. They’re exposed to a constant and insidious barrage of advertising where they live, where they learn and where they play.”
The new law, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, allows the Food and Drug Administration not only to forbid advertising geared toward children but also to lower the amount of nicotine in tobacco products, ban sweetened cigarettes that appeal to young taste buds and prohibit labels like “light” and “low tar.”
When Mr. Obama entered the presidential race, he said his candidacy had been contingent on a deal with his wife, Michelle, that he quit smoking. The couple discussed his habit on “60 Minutes,” where Mrs. Obama declared, “I hate it.”
“That’s why he doesn’t do it anymore, I’m proud to say,” she continued. “I’m the one who outed him on the smoking. That was one of my prerequisites for, you know, entering this race, is that he couldn’t be a smoking president.”
Now there are few touchier questions inside the White House than whether Mr. Obama is still smoking. One senior administration official declined to answer, but pointed out that the president spoke Monday in the present tense, saying, “I know how difficult it can be to break this habit,” as opposed to “I know how difficult it was to break this habit.”
As Mr. Obama shook hands with some of the guests at the bill-signing ceremony, he wandered near a group of reporters. Dan Lothian, a correspondent for CNN, asked, “Mr. President, how difficult has your struggle been with smoking?”
The president, a mere few feet away, did not reply.
Several minutes later, the question came up at the daily White House press briefing. When asked directly if Mr. Obama was still smoking, the president’s press secretary, replied: “He struggles with it every day. I don’t honestly see the need to get a whole lot more specific than the fact that it’s a continuing struggle.”

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RDH Talk

Welcome! RDH talk was created for hygienists everywhere to be able to connect & visit
with one another; its a place to just talk and become friends with other RDH's. You can ask advise on products, equipment, share concerns, good news and more!

Spread the news to your colleagues, its fun, informational on available when you are. If interested you have to sign up: Click here

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Suspected Meth Mouth American Dental Association Applauds Legislators for Introducing “Meth Mouth” Bill

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16, 2009—Dr. John S. Findley, president of the American Dental Association (ADA), applauded Capitol Hill legislators today for introducing a federal bill aimed at understanding and treating “meth mouth”—a condition where teeth can become blackened, stained, rotting and crumbling from methamphetamine use.

To read the full press release, please visit ADA.org at this link: http://www.ada.org/public/media/releases/0902_release05.asp

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Obama Signs

The SCHIP bill became law on Feb. 4. It adds 11 million children to the program. SCHIP was established in 1997 to provide coverage for health care services to children and pregnant women from families that are not Medicaid-eligible but are unable to afford private insurance.

A motivation for starting the program was that people completely dependent on government programs had no incentive to work toward independence if getting a job meant losing health care for themselves or their children. SCHIP allowed children in families with incomes up to 200 percent (about $46,000/yr income) of the federal poverty level to enroll children, expecting co-pays from parents in the upper ranges.

Currently, most states offer a dental benefit as part of their state CHIP program, but the benefit is optional and subject to being eliminated when state budgets become constrained. A “dental wrap” benefit will enable children of families that meet income and other eligibility requirements for SCHIP and receive medical benefits through an employer-sponsored medical insurance plan, to access just dental coverage through SCHIP.

President Barack Obama signed a bill that reauthorized and expand SCHIP to an additional 4 million children. “In a decent society, there are certain obligations that are not subject to tradeoffs or negotiation, and health care for our children is one of those obligations,” he said. Notably, the measure passed both chambers with bipartisan support.

Bad news for smokers. The expansion is to be funded by a 62-cents-per-pack increase in the federal cigarette tax.

As things stand, parents will seek and get health care for their children when it’s needed. If they are uninsured, clinics and hospitals write the expense off as uncompensated care and then increase charges for patients who pay. In some way these expenses can and must be paid. SCHIP is not a bad program, especially in these economic times.

ADHA President Diann Bomkamp, RDH, BSDH, remarked, “The collective effort within the dental community to advocate for the inclusion of dental benefits in SCHIP demonstrates the strength of collaboration and the positive impact it can have on the patients we serve. Those efforts resulted in dental coverage for millions of low-income children who desperately need access to preventive and other oral health care services.”

For additional information on SCHIP visit: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/home/schip.asp

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Consumers Want to Buy Products That Dental Hygienists Recommend
www.Gumbrand.com offers robust suite of dental products for consumers.

Sunstar Americas, Inc., an international leader in mouth and body care products, has commissioned a survey by Mintel International Group Limited to demonstrate consumers' desires to purchase products recommended by their dental hygienists.

The 1,957 people who participated in the online survey distributed in March of 2007 were asked about their relationship with their dental hygienist; the majority said they trust their dental professionals completely. What's more, 81 percent said they trust the product recommendations of their dental hygienist.

The study also found that women are more likely to visit their dental hygienist than men (47 percent to 39 percent), and that 69 percent of those women are more likely to shop for oral care products for themselves and the entire household.

"We know how hard dental hygienists work to educate their patients on the appropriate products to use, and this confirms patients are listening," said Ann Foppe, Professional Marketing Director of Sunstar Americas, Inc."Gumbrand.com has our entire suite of products online and is perfect for patients who are having a hard time finding the product recommended by their dental hygienist. It's a quick and easy shopping experience, with everything in one location."

The upgraded Web site is not only easy to navigate, it has product and oral health information for consumers as well as dental professionals. There are downloadable product pages which dental hygienists can use to check off recommendations and give to their patients as a reminder on which products to buy. A small tip card directing patients to the Web site is also available to download.

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