News from Boyett Health Services

Boyett Health Services

March 2012

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Family Table Cooking Show

Family Table is a cooking show featuring Dr. Boyett's talented wife, Sandra Boyett. The show had been discontinued previously for a time, but is airing again on the new local cable channel 55, owned by Steve Jackson. Sandra's show will air on Mondays from 7-7:30 pm and 7:30-8pm weekly, as well as random bonus spots throughout the week.

The recipes highlighted on the show will soon be added to the Boyett Health Services recipe page for easy reference; or you can access them through her personal cooking blog, The Family Table. Enjoy!

Helpful Hints

Helpful hint #1: Deductibles start over at the beginning of each year. If you see another provider, it is always helpful to ask them for a receipt of payment toward your deductible. Often when we verify your insurance, we find that your deductible paid at other offices may not have been applied to your insurance by the time you see us in our office. In this case, if we do not have a receipt showing you have paid toward the deductible, we will have to collect toward that balance here in our office. If you DO have a receipt, we can readily use that to get an accurate status of your deductible balance. It is always handy to get a receipt - Just in case! :)

Helpful Hint #2: Prescriptions - We have always had a policy in our office regarding prescription refills. This policy states that in order to get refills on prescriptions a patient must, a) bring all their bottles (not a list) with them to their visits, b) come in for routine testing that is required for certain medications.

It is very important that you bring all your medication bottles with you to each visit. By looking at the bottles (even those we did not prescribe in our office), we are able to determine whether or not the patient is taking their medications as directed. We are also able to see if a patient is taking similiar medications prescribed by multiple doctors that are not necessary or may be causing side effects. Many medications can have adverse side effects on internal organs. It is our responsibilty to make sure your levels are not elevated, indicating damage, before we prescribe more medication.

Every policy we employ in our office regarding prescription refills is for the benefit of the patient. We take our responsibility for your care very seriously.

Top o' the mornin' to ya! May love and laughter light your days, and warm your heart and home. May good and faithful friends be yours, wherever you may roam. May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures. May all life's passing seasons bring the best to you and yours! (Irish blessing)

When I think of the month of March, I think of St.Patrick's Day and the tradition of wearing green. Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in celebration of St Patrick's Day as early as the 17th century. Saint Patrick is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish, and the wearing and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs have become a ubiquitous feature of the day. The green is also believed to be a sign of honor to the Emerald Isle. Whatever the reason, wear your green, or you might just find yourself pinched! :)

May you be blessed and healthy this March! Enjoy the new signs of Spring!

Whooping Cough on the rise

Pertussis, or whooping cough, seems to be making a comeback. The CDC recently reported the highest number of cases in nearly 40 years, and 39% of those cases are in kids aged 10 to 19.

In 1940, the Chicago Daily Tribune announced, "Childhood Cough Is Given Knockout Blow," and over the next 40 years reported cases of whooping cough dwindled to about 1,000 nationwide. A childhood scourge for centuries, this sometimes fatal disease seemed destined to become little more than a memory in the U.S. But in recent years, the number of reported cases of whooping cough, also known as pertussis, has resurged.

By the end of 2011, health care providers in Illinois had reported nearly 1,400 cases of the illness, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. A decade before, they had reported only 194 cases. Ten years before that, the number of reported cases was only 74. In California, nearly 10,000 cases of whooping cough were reported in 2010, the most since the 1940s, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ten babies died. Ohio, Michigan and other states have also experienced outbreaks.

Why, at a time of high vaccination rates among school children, does whooping cough appear to be coming back? And why are the victims older, for the most part, than those who became ill in the pre-vaccine era? Researchers say there is evidence that clusters of unvaccinated children play a role. Better diagnosis and heightened awareness also may have led to increased reporting of cases, said Dr. James Cherry, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of California Los Angeles.
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?? DENTAL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ??

As a dental office, we are routinely asked the same questions on a regular basis. We thought it would be helpful to cover some of these questions in the natural progression in which they might be asked in order to give rest to some common misconceptions.

Is it true that if my teeth aren't hurting, then I don't have cavities?

False. Cavities occur when bacteria attacks the top two layers of the tooth. The bacteria form an acid that softens up the enamel and the dentin. When these two layers become soft, parts of the layers can disintegrate from the natural saliva found in a person's mouth. The area that disappears is the called the cavity. The initial stages of this process are quite painless. By the time you begin to feel pain, it's often too late for a simple procedure. Once a tooth has become severely painful, the only options are to repair it with Root Canal and a crown or to extract it.

The very best way to find cavities while they can still be treated and repaired is to see your dentist for regular hygiene visits (cleanings).

What does a hygiene visit (cleaning) consist of?

During a regular hygiene visit, we will first take x-rays to see if there are any cavities that may be between the teeth that cannot be seen otherwise. We will also clean your teeth, by flossing and removing the plaque and calculus that may be present above the gum line. Once cleaned, your teeth are polished and an oral exam begins. The oral exam allows time to check each tooth and the gum pockets around your teeth, and also screen for oral cancer. Once this is complete, a treatment plan is formed. The treatment plan is a very important part of a hygiene appointment. In a treatment plan, we document any cavities we've found and the dental work that will need to be completed in order to restore those cavities. It is imperative that we catch cavities while they are small. The longer a cavity is left undetected and untreated, the bigger it becomes and the more difficult and costly it becomes to restore. Typically, a cavity doesn't begin to hurt until it's too late. Often we find that once a tooth begins to hurt, it will likely either need to be extracted or have a Root Canal performed on it.

How often should a person have their teeth cleaned?

The recommended amount of time between routine dental cleanings depends upon the state of the patient's oral health. Usually, the doctor will recommend that a patient should have routine cleanings every 6 months if no periodontal problems are found. If periodontal issues are detected during any cleaning, it is then recommended that a patient have routine visits every 3 months in order to adequately monitor the condition.