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January 2023 Newsletter
What´s New at Savon
Quote Of The Month: “January is the worst month. You are fat and broke from the holidays, paler than ever, and you can‘t feel your own face when you walk outside.” (Anonymous)
Congratulations To:
E. Salazar of Goodyear, AZ and C. Seal of Sun City, AZ Winners of our December early payment drawings for 1 free additional year of membership.
Congratulations to our winners and thank you to everyone that entered the drawing.
To Your Health With Jourdin Hendershot:
Dry Mouth
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Have you recently noticed that your mouth feels like the desert? If so, you could be experiencing Xerostomia (dry mouth). Dry mouth is caused due to the lack of saliva and it‘s something that should not be ignored.
A persistent dry mouth can affect many you in many ways including how you sleep, how your food tastes and it can also be harmful to your teeth.
Did you know that saliva in the mouth serves many purposes? It helps moisten the mouth, reduce infections of the mouth and throat and it also helps prevent tooth decay.
According to the National Library of Medicine, an adult produces between 0.5 – 1.5 liters of saliva a day. Saliva production is natural and for the most part goes unnoticed unless you are experiencing a dry mouth.
Dry mouth doesn‘t just mean that your mouth is dry. Aside from the dryness, you may also experience:
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- Your saliva may feel thick
- You may have soreness in your mouth
- You may have bad breath
- You may have difficulty speaking or swallowing
- You may have a burning sensation on your tongue
- Your taste may become altered
- You may have increased plaque, tooth decay, or gum disease
In the past, dry mouth was diagnosed as part of the aging process. However, now it‘s associated with many different conditions such as:
- Over–the–counter medications
- Chemotherapy treatment
- Nerve damage to the head and neck area
- Autoimmune diseases
- Depression
If your dry mouth continues it‘s time to consult your doctor or dentist for an oral examination. Most of the time medications need adjusting but, in some cases, blood tests and imaging scans may be needed.
While you wait for any results, it‘s best to try and create saliva flow by sucking on hard candy or chewing on gum. You can also try to sip on water regularly, use an over–the–counter saliva substitute and add moisture into the air at night with a humidifier!
If you have questions you would like to discuss with Jourdin, feel free to drop her an email by clicking here.
The above health material is provided as an information service. It should not be used for diagnostic purposes nor is it intended to take the place of the important relationship between you and your doctor.
Grandma´s Kitchen With Grandma C.:
Simple Homemade Chicken & Dumplings
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Ingredients
- 2½ to 3 cups cooked chicken
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tbsp butter
- ½ cup fresh shredded carrots
- ½ tsp parsley flakes
- ½ tsp garlic salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 cup milk
- Salt & Pepper to taste
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Put chicken broth, garlic salt, pepper, shredded carrots and parsley flakes into a large pot and bring to a boil.
While the broth is coming to a boil, place flour, baking powder. seasonings and salt into a large mixing bowl.
Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a fork, then add the milk, mixing until the dough forms a ball.
Roll out the dough on a heavily floured surface using a floured rolling pin. Roll it thin, then cut it into 2” squares with a pizza roller.
Use a floured spatula to lift them from the cutting surface and drop them into the broth one at a time. Boil for approximately 15 — 20 minutes.
Add the cooked chicken to the pot, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 1 — 2 minutes, remove from heat and let it sit for a couple of minutes to thicken, then serve!
Enjoy! And remember, if it looks and smells good, eat it!!
If you have a recipe that you would like to share with Grandma C., drop her an email by clicking here.
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Copper Star Dentistry |
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Our spotlight for January goes to the city of Peoria, Arizona and shines on Copper Star Dentistry
Dr. Paul Owens and the excellent staff at Copper Star Dentistry has been providing excellent care to our members since 2003.
The office is warm and inviting and the staff does its best to make sure that every patient's vist exceed their expectations.
The practice is located at 11001 N. 99th Ave Suite 113, Peoria Arizona. The phone number is 623-583-7075.
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Say thank you to your dental office for the excellent manner in which you are treated by nominating your dentist!
Fun Facts:
Crazy, Zany Facts We Bet You Didn´t Know
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- Women make up 70 percent of the population that lives in “absolute poverty.” That means they live on less than $1.00 a day to survive.
- Worldwide, every 90 seconds, a woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth. (The numbers climb steeper among women of color.)
- Linda Lou Taylor of Indiana holds the Guinness World Record for the most married person. She‘s been married 23 times.
- The world‘s most expensive dessert from New York City‘s Serendipity 3 cafe came in at a whopping $25,000.
- On average, a human being will spend up to two weeks kissing in his/her lifetime.
- In the 1830s, ketchup was used medicinally.
- “Dreamt” is the only word in the English language that ends with “mt.”
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Come back for more in next months issue!
Dental Talk - A Member Blog Forum:
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Come blog with us! Dental Talk with Savon is a fun forum to post your interesting topics! Your comments are welcome, it´s free to use and no membership is required.
Some of the topics include;
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These are just a few of the topics. Our blog site contains many other interesting topics. Please join us!!
Here’s Your Answer
Questions From Our Members
E. Blake of Oakland, California asks:
“I took my 4 year old to the dentist for her first visit. The check-up went fine, but the doctor told me that if I didn't break her of thumb sucking real soon she would need braces later on. Is that really possible?”
Savon’s Answer
First, we need to say that we are not dentists here but we do have a great group of dentists that we get advice from.
Thumb sucking, finger sucking or the use of a pacifier puts unnecessary pressure on the teeth, as well as the bone and soft tissues of the mouth. Because these parts of the mouth are still growing, it can cause issues with jaw growth and tooth movement. Extended thumb sucking can lead to what we know as “Buck Teeth”.
You should pay close attention to your child‘s thumb sucking habit. Your child may be a passive sucker, where the thumb simply rests gently against the mouth. If your child falls into this category, there is less of a chance for damage to occur. But if your child aggressively sucks his thumb, pressure will be placed on the mouth and teeth, leading to improper alignment and mouth and jaw growth. It can also affect the shape of the face if not stopped early enough.
Tooth Talk With Tommy The Wisdom Tooth
SmileDirectClub hit with lawsuit over NDAs
A direct reprint of an article by Melissa Busch, DrBicuspid.com associate editor
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The attorney general of Washington, DC, is suing SmileDirectClub for allegedly making injured and dissatisfied customers sign nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) to receive promised refunds for their clear aligners, according to a complaint filed on December 5.
Washington, DC, Attorney General Karl Racine filed the lawsuit in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia against the online orthodontics company. Racine claims that SmileDirectClub violated DC law by reportedly forcing consumers who wanted refunds to sign confidentiality agreements, prohibiting them from writing online reviews and preventing them from filing complaints with regulators and law enforcement, according to the suit.
“These NDAs prohibited consumers from sharing information about the harms caused by SDC‘s (SmileDirectClub) products, under threat of lawsuits and fines,“ according to the suit. “This stifling of complaints prevented other District consumers from having complete, accurate information about SDC“s products when making purchase decisions.“
In the lawsuit, the attorney general is seeking a court order to invalidate the NDAs and stop SmileDirectClub from engaging in what Racine says are unfair and deceptive business practices in the future. Additionally, Racine is seeking restitution for customers, civil penalties, fees, and costs.
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After the first 30 days of clear aligner therapy, SmileDirectClub requires consumers to sign NDAs to get any money back, according to the lawsuit. In addition, the lawsuit alleges that the agreement prohibits consumers from making any negative comments about the company or its products; requires them to delete any negative reviews, social media posts, or comments they have already made; and imposes penalties, including fines of $10,000 per violation and threats of litigation.
Though SmileDirectClub‘s marketing includes thousands of positive reviews, independent dentists have filed reports with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concerning patients who experienced painful and permanent damage to their teeth. Reports include a patient who reportedly experienced irreversible pulpitis after wearing SmileDirectClub aligners and another who ended up with a dead tooth because the movement of the tooth was allegedly done too quickly and without dental professional supervision, according to the suit.
Other patients have filed complaints about SmileDirectClub with the Better Business Bureau or law enforcement, alleging how aligners damaged their teeth, caused severe pain, and in some cases, individuals needed expensive dental procedures or surgery to fix problems caused by the aligners. One patient purportedly paid $18,000 to fix the damage the aligners caused to her teeth, according to the suit.
In the suit, Racine alleges that SmileDirectClub violated Washington, D.C.‘s Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA) by doing the following:
- Failing to disclose that customers must sign confidentiality agreements before they can recover refunds after the first 30 days of receiving clear aligner therapy and attempts to conceal the existence of NDAs by including a gag clause, which prevents a person from acknowledging the agreement
- Forcing customers to sign agreements to receive refunds, which suppresses negative information about the company‘s products and deprives consumers of the opportunity to make fully informed decisions about treatment
- Failing to disclose that SmileDirectClub‘s positive reviews have been filtered and that some of the most negative ratings and reviews have been removed through the company‘s use of NDAs, which require customers to delete any negative reviews or comments already posted
- Requiring NDAs interferes with the ability of regulators and law enforcement officials to protect the public, monitor the company‘s compliance with the law, and remedy any misconduct
“These consumers were promised perfect smiles, but many suffered pain or didn‘t see improvements,“ Racine said in a press release from the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. “Forcing consumers to be silent about shoddy products and services in this way is illegal, and that‘s why we‘re going to make SmileDirectClub pay."
Until next time; brush, floss and keep smiling!
The above material is provided as an information service and is not intended as medical advice.
News You Need To Know
New Schedule Of Benefits Goes Into Effect 04/01/2023 And Will Be Available For Download Soon
We are in the process of examining the Schedule of Benefits and the new Schedule of Benefits will be available on our website by April 1, 2023
The last update to the Schedule of Benefits was September of 2021. We worked very hard to keep the fees that you pay for dental care as low as possible and we are confident that the plan has stayed true to our mission statement; “To provide quality and timely dental care at a price that is fair and reasonable to the member and the dentist.”
You may download the new Schedule Of Benefits for your state by following this link or by visiting the members page at WWW.MYSdp.com.
The next examination of the Schedule of Benefits will be in the fall of 2025.
Thank you for your continued trust in Savon Dental Plan and rest assured that we will continue to work hard to protect that trust.
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