|
Why would we Spend $2400 on Equipment and
Over $3000 in Staff Training for a Procedure
We Hope Never to Use on ANY OF OUR PATIENTS?
We now have an AED in the office. What's an AED, you ask? It's an Automated Emergency
Defibrillator. You know the devices you see on ER and other medical TV shows where they put the paddles on the chest and try to shock the heart into restarting. Well, the
AED is an automated version. If a person collapses due to Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) or Ventricular Fibrillation, the machine reads the electro-cardiogram (EKG or more properly ECG)
for a treatable arrhythmia. If it recognizes a treatable pattern, the voice instructions from the AED tell us to stand clear of the patient and press the Yellow button and the AED
delivers a shock, reads the result and either advises additional shocks or advises that normal heart beating has resumed.
In contrast, if it measures any other type of heart rhythm, then it tells
us "No Shock is Needed by the Patient" and proceeds to prompt use in delivering CPR.
We are working with the building we are in and with the neighboring
buildings to alert them that we have an AED. We will be closing the office on Wednesday Jan 17th from 10 AM to 2 PM for our formal
training with the AED, our recertification in CPR and our update on all of our Medical Emergency Procedures.  While we have only needed to use these protocols 2 times in 17 years
in our office, we skills train and review these procedures with our staff and with outside teachers, either at a Continuing Education course outside the
office, or by bringing an expert in to review procedures in our office. By the way, both emergencies were unrelated to our dental care -- two
different patients who fell at different times outside of the office. One patient fell down the block from us and our hygienist Nadine brought her
in to the office to get emergency evaluation by me and to call an ambulance, The other emergency was for a homeless woman who
knocked on our door for help after breaking a leg following being hit by a car.)
Sudden Cardiac Arrest is unpredictable and occurs at any age. The worse place to be if you or
someone you know has a SCA is New York, Chicago or Los Angeles. This is due to the delay
that is inherent in an Ambulance getting to the scene with all of the traffic and street congestion.
FOR EVERY MINUTE DELAY, the chance to recover goes down by 10%. Patients shocked after 5 minutes have only a 50% chance of surviving to leave the hospital care that must be given
after a SCA. After 9 minutes, there is less than a 10% chance of survival, even with CPR. SO
TIME IS THE CRITICAL FACTOR and the life-saving shock must be given as soon after SCA as
possible. That is why I have invested in this equipment and training for me and my staff. We still hope to never have to use, but it is available and we are trained in what to do.
There are studies to show hundreds of people who were saved by AED's in airports, on planes while in flight and used by untrained people who witnessed a SCA occur in public buildings with AED's available.
So we have bought the top of the line Phillips FR2+ AED. To learn more about it, click on this link for a demo:
http://www.medical.philips.com/main/products/resuscitation/products/fr2plus/fr2plus_demo.asp
Are You a Candidate for Cosmetic Dentistry? If you have been thinking about improving your smile, take a few
moments and ask yourself the following questions to see if cosmetic dentistry is right for you.
- Are you embarrassed about smiling in front of people?
- Do you ever put your hand up to cover your smile?
- Do you dislike your smile in photographs?
- When you look through magazines, do you envy the models’ smiles?
- Do you wish your teeth were whiter?
- Do you think you show too much or too little of your teeth when you smile?
- Would you like to change the way your teeth or gums are shaped?
- Do you have gaps or spaces between your teeth?
- Are you considering braces for that perfect smile?
- Do you have crooked or misaligned teeth?
If the answer is “yes”
to any of these questions, you may be a good candidate for cosmetic dentistry. Call our office today to schedule a personal consultation.
The Health of Your Mouth Mirrors Your Overall Health
Your mouth is a mirror that reflects your overall health and well-being, according to Donna E. Shalala in the Surgeon
General's Report on Oral Health. It's also a key determinant of your nutritional status and your self-esteem. "Oral health
means more than sound teeth. Oral health is integral to overall health," she said.
The report, which was the first that the U.S. Surgeon General has undertaken to assess the nation's oral health, is intended
to "alert Americans to the full meaning of oral health and its importance to general health and well-being."
But what is oral health?
First of all, the word "oral" refers to the mouth, which includes not only the teeth and gums and
their supportive tissues, but also the roof and the floor of the mouth (the hard and soft palate), the tongue, the lining of the
mouth and the throat (called the mucosa), the lips, the salivary glands, the upper and lower jaws, and the chewing muscles.
Oral health also involves the branches of the nervous system, the immune system and the vascular system (blood vessels) that serve this part of your body.
So consequently, oral health means more than just being free from cavities and gum disease. Oral health, the report states,
means overall health in the tissues that "allow us to speak and smile; sigh and kiss; smell, taste, touch, chew and swallow;
cry out in pain; and convey a world of feelings and emotions through facial expressions."
Oral health and overall health -- an intricate interrelationship
The health of the oral tissues is indicative of the health of organs and systems throughout your body. Your dentist and other healthcare providers can gather an enormous amount of
information about your overall health simply by examining these tissues.
- A thorough oral exam can uncover nutritional deficiencies, microbial infections, immune disorders and some forms of
cancer.
- Clues to a disease can be discovered by analyzing saliva under a microscope.
- Facial nerves have counterparts elsewhere in the body.
- The jaw bones and jaw joint function like other musculoskeletal regions of the body.
Conversely, research is showing us that disease within the mouth (especially periodontal (gum) disease's connected to
ailments throughout the body. Infections in the mouth are a gateway for disease-causing bacteria to enter the bloodstream and provoke a number of diseases, including:
- Heart disease and stroke
- Respiratory infection
- Diabetes
- Stomach ulcers
- Low birth weight or premature births
The answer?
Decay (also called caries or cavities) and periodontal disease are the most common, widespread dental
diseases. They're also the most preventable. Community prevention programs, such as fluoridated drinking water, dental
hygiene instruction in schools, nutrition education, and tobacco cessation programs, save billions of dollars per year in public
health costs, according to the report. And best of all, they help most people keep their natural teeth for a lifetime.
Source - "Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General"
|
