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The members of the Hawaii Dental Association are actively working to improve the quality of oral health care for people throughout the state. Dentistry Today highlights the activities of our dentists as they introduce exciting advancements to improve the quality of dental care for patients, educating the public about methods for improving oral health and providing services to needy patients across the state.
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Health benefits of fluoridated bottled water approved by FDA The FDA said it would allow bottlers of fluoridated water to make the health claim that it may reduce the risk of dental cavities or tooth decay.
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No proof that mercury in dental fillings cause harm An FDA panel renewed the debate over the safety of mercury and silver amalgam dental restorations in September 2006 because some members stated, "There are too many things we don't know."
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Resolution of Community Water Fluoridation The Council of State Governments Intergovernmental Affairs Committee passed a resolution in 2006 to encourage every state to implement the recommendation by the U.S. Public Health Service to insure that community drinking water contains 0.7 to 1.2 ppm fluoride for the safe and effective prevention of tooth decay.
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Many toddlers at risk for Baby Bottle Caries Syndrome Babies that use a bottle of milk , juice or anything but water at bedtime are at 90 percent risk for developing Early Childhood Caries.
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Pacifiers reduce risk of SIDS A new study published in the British Medical Journal reported in 2005 that use of a pacifier during the first year of life reduced the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome by 90 percent.
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Michigan town votes to restore water fluoridation Mount Pleasant, Michigan voters, by a margin of 63% to 37%, opted to fluridate their drinking water on November 8, 2005.
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Cancer Therapy May Cause Jaw Necrosis Bisphosphonates, Aredia and Zometa, intravenous chemotherapy drugs have been shown to cause serious necrosis of the jaw bones and may result in serious infections following routine tooth extractions or dental implant surgery. Prolonged use of osteoporosis drugs, Fosamax and Actonel, may cause similar complications in some patients.
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Dentists Can Help Brighten Smiles Dentists have been helping more and more patients select the proprer teeth whitening products to brighten smiles.
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Dental Samaritans Make House Calls for the Homebound The Hawaii Dental Association's Dental Samaritans teamed-up with Meals on Wheels to delivery hot meals and provide free oral cancer screening and oral care supplies to homebound elderly on Oahu.
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Big Smiles for Leeward Kids Dentists and dental hygienists from the Hawaii Dental Association's Dental Samaritans helped 400 kids attending Leeward schools preserve their teeth and brighten their smiles on Children's Dental Health Day.
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Crystal Meth Rots Teeth The growing use of highly addictive crystal methamphetamine is causing an increasing number of drug abusers to experience rotting and brittle teeth.
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New Tobacco Cessation Tools for Hawaii's Dental Patients In addition to lung disease and oral cancer, scientific evidence continues to show that chronic tobacco use adversely affects periodontal treatment, dental implants, bleaching and other cosmetic dental procedures.
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Community Water Fluoridation on the Rise in America Many communities across America and even states as large as California are reaffirming their support for community water fluoridation programs to prevent dental caries.
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Young Dentists Improve Access to Care in Kalihi The Kokua Kalihi Valley Dental Clinic attracts recently graduated dentists from the mainland to provide much needed dental care to needy patients.
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Toothbrushes Can Cause Mouth Injuries A new government study published in 2004 found that nearly 2,500 people a year are treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries incurred while misusing a toothbrush.
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Dental Samaritans Help Iraqis Members of the Hawaii Dental Association joined a community effort led by the Chun family to help thier brother in combat, Dr. Mark Chun, provide dental supplies and oral health education to Iraqi adults and children in Baghdad.
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Dental Samaritans Provide Free Mouthguards to Athletes The Dental Samaritans and Dr. Mel Choy, Director of the Hawaii Academy of Sports Dentistry, provided free sports mouthguards for 64 athletes at the Boys and Girls Club of Hawaii clubhouse in McCully on February 6, 2004.
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Dental Samaritans Give Kids A Smile Dental Samaritans, volunteer members of the Hawaii Dental Association, participated in the National Give Kids A Smile Day on February 6, 2004.
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Doctors Recommend Soft Drinks be Restricted in Schools The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a policy statement that encourages the restriction of soft drinks in schools to protect children's health.
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Honolulu City Council Bans Water Fluoridation By a vote of 7-2 on January 29, 2004, the members of the Honolulu City Council passed Bill 66 to ban the addition of any medications to the county water supply. This ban includes the use of fluoride to prevent tooth decay.
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Hawaii's Dentists "Give Kids A Smile" The Dental Samaritans of the Hawaii Dental Associated joined forces with the Boys and Girls Club of Hawaii and Oahu Head Start to provide free oral screenings and dental health education on February 21, 2003.
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Orthodontists Put Smiles on Hawaii's Economy The American Association of Orthodontists has brought 17,000 people to Hawaii for their annual meeting at the Hawaii Conventiion Center. This will be the third largest event in the history of the facility.
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Bright Teeth, Bright Life Julia Roberts and Tom Cruise are known for their awesome smiles.
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Dentist Helps Disabled Man The generosity of an anonymous dentist helped a disabled man with his acute dental problems.
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Dental Amalgam Lawsuits Dismissed by Judge New York State Supreme Court Judge William Roy Feb. 18 dismissed two amalgam-related lawsuits against the ADA, stating that the plaintiffs had failed to show a "cognizable cause of action."
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Dental Samaritans are Saving Young Smiles Dentists and hygienists representing the Hawaii Dental Association's Dental Samaritans teamed-up with Oahu Head Start and the Boys and Girls Club of Hawaii to provide free oral screenings and dental health education to hundreds of Oahu's low-income children.
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Fluoride Toothpaste Really Works! Extensive research by the Cochrane Oral Health Group proved that flouride toothpastes are more effective than non-fluoride tothpastes at reducing cavities.
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Southern California Fluoridates Drinking Water California's largest water agency voted Tuesday to add fluoride to the water it supplies to 18 million customers from the Mexican border to the Central Coast.
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Careers in the Dental Profession "Something to Smile About" is a new campaign launched by the American dental Association to attract and encourage qualified students into dentistry, dental assisting and dental hygiene careers.
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Maui Oral Health Center Opens in Wailuku The new Maui Oral Health Center at 752 Lower Main Street in Wailuku provides training for dental assistants and dental care for low-income families. Services available at the center include general dental care, teeth cleaning, fluoride supplements to prevent decay, dental sealants to protect teeth, X-rays of teeth, nutritional counselling and health screenings for a donation of $1.
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Teach Kids to Brush Right Parents are the most important part of a child's oral health care.
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Kids Healthworks The Discovery Health Channel began airing a new show for parents in April 2002 called Kids Healthworks.
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Medicaid Failing Children's Dental Care "The dental Medicaid program is broken," the ADA last week told the first-ever Senate hearing on children's access to oral health care. Some Medicaid programs reimburse dentists 30 cents or less for a dollar of care, and many states set inadequate fee structures and then leave them in place for as long as 15 to 20 years, Dr. Chadwick noted.
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Teen Smoking on the Decline While one in four high school students in the US continues to smoke cigarettes, smoking has been declining since 1997, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recently released Youth Risk Behavior Survey
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Small Business Advocates Support ADA Defamation Lawsuit The defamation lawsuit the ADA filed against a Los Angeles attorney on May 14, 2002 has earned plaudits from the Small Business Survival Committee.
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Dental Amalgam Does Not Cause Autism All major scientific and health research organizations agree that the mercury contained in dental amalgam restorations is safe, even for pregnant women. There is no scientific basis for any link between dental amalgam and autism.
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162 Million Americans Drink Fluoridated Water Almost two-thirds of Americans who get their water from public water systems now receive optimally fluoridated water, according to a February 22, 2002 U. S. Centers for Disease and Prevention Control report entitled, "Populations Receiving Optimally Fluoridated Public Drinking Water - United States 2000."
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FDA Reports on Safety of Dental Amalgam Fillings The FDA supports the use of silver amalgam dental restorations inspite of the current controversy regarding the presence of mercury in this material.
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"Saving Young Smiles" Targets Oral Health of Children Hawaii's "Saving Young Smiles" will team up with The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, which launched its new "Youthful Smiles" program in February 2002. These programs bring together a coalition of national organizations in dentistry, public health, policy and resource centers and family advocacy groups to focus on improving the oral health of adolescents.
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Dentistry Made Fun for Kids The ADA Kid's Corner is a healthy place for kids to hang out and learn more about their teeth while having fun.
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The Silent Epidemic Surgeon General David Satcher, MD warns of a silent epidemic in dental and oral diseases.
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Community Water Fluoridation Facts The Hawaii Department of Health, Dental Division provides facts on community water fluoridation
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Oral Health Topics The American Dental Association provides valuable information on oral health topics.
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ADA Supports Fluoridation with Facts For over five decades, the American Dental Association has continuously endorsed the fluoridation of community water supplies and the use of fluoride-containing products as safe and effective measures for preventing tooth decay.
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Majority of State Legislators Oppose Water Fluoridation A number of legislators pointed out that they were stating very general positions on complex issues without hearing testimony on each subject. They said their views may shift if they hear compelling new arguments.
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Oral Health Report Highlights Hawaii Hawai'i scored a B-minus on a national report card on oral health released this week, although the report ignores the fact that Hawai'i's children have some of the worst rates of dental decay in the nation.
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Kamehameha Football Star Chooses Dentistry Senior defensive guard will play for the Oregon Ducks and plans to major in pre-dentistry.
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ADA Public Information Webpage The American Dental Association maintains a webpage with current topics of interest to the public. These topics are linked to news stories about oral health.
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Direct Reimbursement Plans Promote Quality Dental Care During the next several years, Direct Reimbursement plans provided by employers have the potential to become the vehicle of choice for financing much of the dental care in the United States.
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Soft drinks affect oral health Scientific studies show an association between the risk for tooth decay and soft drink consumption.
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Community fluoridation and sealants recommended for children The Task Force on Community Preventive Services, a national public health task force, on November 30, 2001 strongly recommend fluoridation and school-related dental sealant programs to prevent and control tooth decay.
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HDS donates $500,000 to community programs Hawaii Dental Service, started by dentists in 1962, recently donated half a million dollars to five non-profit agencies in the aftermath of the terrorist attack.
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Oral Health and Learning A free factsheet that highlights the connection between oral health and learning is available for health care professionals, program adminstrators and policy makers.
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Water Fluoridation Proven to be Cost Effective Studies published by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the University of Georgia reaffirm the benefits of community water fluoridation.
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Volunteer Dentists Applaud State for Saving Charity Clinic Oahu's dentists are grateful for state funding to keep essential dental program open at The Queen's Medical Center.
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Lanai Approves Water Fluoridation State health officials are moving to make Lanai the first civilian population in recent Hawaii history to have fluoride in community drinking water. Dr. Mark Greer, chief of the state Dental Health Division, said money for the project is coming from the state tobacco settlement fund and the Lanai Water Company.
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Dentists Donate Dental Care In 1998, the Dental Health Division of the Hawaii Department of Health reported findings from their studies that indicated Hawaii's donate approximately $29,000 of dental care delivered in their private offices to the public every year. Several thousands of dollars of free dental services are also provided in hospitals and charity clinics in every urban center in Hawaii.
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Dental Samaritans Care for the Needy The Hawaii Dental Association publicly launched its Dental Samaritan program on June 7, 2001 with exclusive television news coverage by KGMB health reporter Angela Keen. HDA President Glenn Okihiro was interviewed at the Aloha Medical Mission's dental clinic housed at the Institute for human Services to underscore the types of partnerships the volunteer program is designed to establish in under-served dental communities throughout the state.
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Archived Articles from previous months
