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                                  Dental News
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               Dental News from the American Dental Association

                      Rosy future for dentistry predicted

The future for dental practice looks better than has been predicted, according
to findings of a professor at the University of Iowa.
    Dr.  John Reinhardt, chair of the Department of Operative Dentistry,  says
the  increase  of natural teeth among older Americans and the higher number of
cavities in this group,  coupled with  decreasing  dental  school  admissions,
should offset previous gloomy predictions about the future of dentistry.
    Although  fluoridation  has  accounted  for  a  reduction  of  cavities in
youngsters, fluoride's effectiveness appears to lessen with age, concludes Dr.
Reinhardt, citing a recent VA hospital study conducted in Boston.
    Since older Americans are keeping their teeth longer,  researchers suggest
that teeth are exposed much longer to the elements that cause decay.  Receding
gums in older Americans also make natural teeth more susceptible to decay.
    Dr.  Reinhardt predicts that by the year 2030,  people aged 65 to 74 years
old will retain an average of l5.3 teeth.  The same group had only ll.4  teeth
in l98l and 7.4 teeth in l960.
    The  number  of  people visiting dentists is also on the rise,  up from 50
percent in the early l970s to 63 percent in l986, according to Dr. Reinhardt.

                        Hepatitis B as serious as AIDS

Americans need to take hepatitis B as seriously  as  they  do  HIV  infection,
according to Dr.  Louis W. Sullivan, secretary of the Department of Health and
Human Services.
    Sullivan,  speaking at the National Forum on AIDS and Hepatitis  B,  said,
"Even  health  care  workers,  who  should know better,  have a problem taking
hepatitis B seriously.  A Centers for Disease Control survey of hospitals with
vaccination programs found that only 36 percent of health  care  workers  have
received the vaccination."
    As  many as l2,000 health care workers contract hepatitis B annually while
caring for patients and as many as 300 of those die in a year of liver-related
illnesses, according to research.
    Both the AIDS virus and the hepatitis B virus can be spread through sexual
intercourse,  contact with infected blood and the use of contaminated needles,
and both can be transferred from mother to infant.
    Records indicate that approximately 300 million people carry the hepatitis
B virus worldwide,  compared with about l5 million carriers of the AIDS virus.
Benefits of belonging

                              Brochure Available

The American Association of Dental Schools has a  brochure  "Function,  Aging,
Oral  Health -- An Overview of the Dental Issues Affecting the Health of Older
Persons," that is of interest to all dentists who come in contact with elderly
patients in private care, nursing homes or hospitals.
    Up to 25 copies are available free of  charge  from  the  AADS.  For  more
information  or  to  request  a  copy,  contact Mercedes Bern-Klug,  Director,
Geriatric Education Project,  American Association  of  Dental  Schools,  l627
Massachusetts, NW, Washington, DC 20036, 202/667-0433.

                              Resource directory

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) has published the Resource Directory for
Older People, a comprehensive listing of 200 national organizations that offer
health  information,  social  services,  consumer  advice,  legal aid or other
assistance to older Americans and their families.
    In addition to containing the  address  and  telephone  number  (toll-free
whenever  possible)  of  each  organization,  the  directory  contains a brief
description of each group and information about services  they  provide.  Many
of the groups listed distribute free or low-cost pamphlets or brochures.
    To receive one free copy of the Resource Directory for Older People,  send
a  postal  card  to  the  NIA  Information  Center/Directory,   PO  Box  8057,
Gaithersburg,  MD  20898-8057.

             Tomorrow's  elderly  not ready for the rocking chair

Tomorrow's elderly persons will not  be  separating  from  the  mainstream  of
society, according to a professor at the University of Massachusetts.
    In  a  recent article in The Gerontologist,  Dr.  Robert Morris notes that
"most elders,  as a group,  are better educated and healthier  and  have  more
income and freedom to live where they wish than did their forebears."
    Dr.  Morris forecasts several trends on the social, economic and political
impact of his findings.  He sees "the  steady  decline  of  confidence  in  or
anxiety about the Social Security system." Furthermore, he forsees a change in
attitudes  about  the  public's responsibility for the elderly,  an increasing
labor shortage  (particularly  in  low-technology  work,  including  low-skill
healthcare  workers) and changes in attitudes of older persons themselves away
from retiring toward reengagement in mainstream society.
    In the 2lst century,  Dr.  Morris would "reintegrate the interests of  the
aged ... with those of other age groups" and would "...view the elderly as the
spearhead  or  vanguard  of  renewed  efforts  to  meet  common  human needs."

                          Cigarette consumption down

Americans will smoke fewer cigarettes this year than in any year  since  l942,
according to a projection by an economist at the Agriculture Department, which
oversees tobacco growing in the U.S.
    Per  capita  cigarette  consumption is expected to fall to 2,936 pieces in
l989 from 3,096 in l988, versus 2,585 in l942 in this country.
    Continued rises in wholesale prices for cigarettes,  prospects for  higher
taxes,   increased  smoking  restrictions  and  an  increase  in  anti-smoking
activities could contribute to further drops in the U.S. rate of smoking.
    Higher retail prices by manufacturers  are  also  forecast,  as  cigarette
companies  try  to recoup increased costs.  Over the past seven years,  retail
prices for cigarettes have increased 6-13 percent annually,  faster  than  the
over-all inflation rate.
    Cigarette  smokers  have been limited sharply because 42 states now either
prohibit smoking in certain places or separate  smokers  and  non-smokers.  In
addition,  airlines  have  limited  smoking  on  most  flights  and  cigarette
advertising has been curtailed.
    U.S.  production of cigarettes was also expected to fall  to  685  billion
pieces  this  year,  down  l0  billion  from output in l988,  according to the
Agriculture Dept.  Smokeless tobacco use criticized More than one in five  men
in  college  use snuff or chewing tobacco,  nearly twice the number who smoke,
according to a nationwide survey by  a  Penn  State  University  professor  of
health education.
    He  predicts,  "Unless  we do something,  by the year 2000 or 20l0,  we're
going to experience an oral cancer epidemic."
    A l986 U.S.  Surgeon General's report said smokeless tobacco plays a  role
in  tooth decay,  gum disease and oral cancer and is believed to have the same
addictive potential as cigarettes.

                         Are you chemically addicted?

Thanks to Dental Teamwork for the following checklist to
determine if you are chemically addicted:

o  Do you lose time from work because of drugs or alcohol?
o  Is chemical dependency making your life unhappy?
o  Is chemical dependency affecting your reputation?
o  Have you ever felt remorse after drinking or taking a drug?
o  Do you turn to unsavory companions in an inferior
   environment when drinking or taking drugs?
o  Does your chemical dependency make you careless of your
   family's welfare?
o  Has your ambition decreased since drinking or taking drugs?
o  Do you crave drugs or alcohol at a definite time daily?
o  Do you want a drink or to take a drug "the next morning"?
o  Does the chemical dependency interfere with sleeping?
o  Has your efficiency decreased since you became dependent on
   a chemical?
o  Is drinking or drug abuse jeopardizing your job or business?
o  Do you turn to chemicals to escape from worries or troubles?
o  Do you drink or use drugs when you are alone?
o  Have you ever had a complete loss of memory because of
   alcohol or drugs?
o  Has your physician treated you for symptoms related to
   chemical abuse?
o  Do yo use chemicals to build your self-confidence?
o  Have you ever been in a hospital or institution because of
   chemical abuse?


If you answered yes to one question, you may be chemically dependent.

If you  answered  yes  to  two  questions,  chances  are  you  are  chemically
dependent.

If  you  answered  yes  to  three  questions,  you  are  definitely chemically
dependent.

Source:  adapted from a questionnaire developed by the Johns Hopkins Hospital,
Baltimore, which is used to determine if a patient is an alcoholic.


                               CPR rules updated

Because  of  concerns  about  infection  control,  new national guidelines say
laymen can skip the mouth-to-mouth phase of cardiopulmonary  resuscitation  to
avoid  possible  transmission of the AIDS virus from victim to rescuer or vice
versa.
    The guidelines,  issued by a committee of the American  Heart  Association
and  published in JAMA,  update previous CPR recommendations issued in l985 by
suggesting that  anyone  attemption  CPR  should  first  try  compressing  the
victim's chest before resorting to blowing air into the person's mouth.
    The  guidelines  emphasize that there are no known cases in which the AIDS
virus has been transmitted through CPR.  But they  note  that  "a  theoretical
risk" of transmission does exist.
    Such  a  risk  would be greatest if either the rescuer or the victim had a
cut in or around the lips or mouth,  or other injuries that  could  result  in
exchange  of  blood  during  mouth-to-mouth  resuscitation.

                           Turtle  saved  by dentist

A turtle, whose shell damaged when it was run over by an automobile, was saved
from further injury by a Cambridge (MD) dentist and a local veterinarian.
    Luckily for the turtle,  the vet was the person whose  car  ran  over  the
creature.   After  the  accident,  she  examined  the  turtle  and  found  its
undershell was broken into two pieces.  She had never treated a turtle  before
and didn't know how to repair the damage.
    By  chance,  a dentist was at the veterinary hospital consulting on a root
canal for a dog.  He overheard the vet discussing  her  problem  with  someone
from the Chesapeake Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.
    The  dentist  offered  to  take  the turtle to his office and patch up the
shell using dental acrylic.  He splinted the shell and glued it back  together
with a substance normally used for making dentures and repairing teeth.
    The  turtle  was  released  a  few  days  later  when  it appeared to have
recovered from its ordeal.
















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