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October 2020 Newsletter
What´s New at Savon
Quote Of The Month: “Why are mask wearers still complaining about non mask wearers 6 months later? Shouldn´t the non mask wearers all be dead by now? ” (Author Unknown)
Congratulations To:
J. Finkel of Gilbert, Arizona and S. Rodgers of Peoria, Arizona Winners of our September 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:
Outdated Medication
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When was the last time you cleaned out your medicine cabinet? If you´re anything like me and don´t get sick often, then this is probably not real high on your priority list.
So, now go ahead and open that medicine cabinet. What did you find?
- Leftover antibiotics?
- Eye-drops from last year?
- How about that cough medicine that expired years ago?
Medications have expiration dates for a reason. If the medication is correctly stored, the drug manufacturer guarantees the effectiveness of their product up until the expiration date. Expired or improper storage can alter the chemical make-up of the medication.
For example, aspirin loses its potency and may smell like vinegar. Cough syrup will develop small sugar crystals. Certain antibiotics have an ingredient called “tetracycline”. If this ingredient is expired or stored incorrectly, it can be toxic to the kidneys.
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There are right and wrong ways to store medications. Most medications come with instructions on the label or package like “refrigerate” or “keep out of the sun”.
A general rule of thumb is to store medications in a cool, dry, dark location. Do not refrigerate unless directed. Keep medications in their original containers. Lastly, always remove the “cotton fluff” from inside the bottle.
According to the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), here are the proper ways to dispose of medications if a take–back option is not available.
- Flush down the toilet-
- Medications that can be flushed down the toilet should be specified on the package.
- Visit: https://www.fda.gov/media/109643/download (this is the list of medicines that can be flushed)
- Household Trash-
- Mix with an unappealing substance (coffee grounds or cigarette ashes)
- Place in a sealed container (sandwich baggie)
- Throw it into the trash
- If need be, scratch out personal information
Just as we throw out our expired food, our medicine cabinets need to be purged regularly too. You may not know this, but expired medication no longer has its full effect and it can be harmful.
If you are still unsure of how to safely store or throw away your medications, please ask your primary care physician or pharmacist.
Remember, before taking any medication, always check the expiration date. If you notice that the medication has expired, throw it way.
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.:
Hearty Potato And Sausage Soup
Now that fall is finally here, it´s time to enjoy some of our favorite comfort food!
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Ingredients
| 1 yellow onion, diced |
½ lb beef smoked sausage or kielbasa |
1 TBSP butter or margarine |
| 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced |
2 carrots, grated |
2 baking potatoes, peeled and cubed |
| 3 cups cabbage, chopped |
4 cups beef broth |
1 can petite diced tomatoes (do not drain) |
| 2 cups water |
1 tsp Italian seasoning |
1 tsp dried parsley |
| 1 bay leaf |
1 tsp garlic powder |
1-2 TBSP cornstarch |
| Salt and Pepper |
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Saute` onion, butter, celery and sausage in the bottom of the soup pot. If using kielbasa*, skip the butter as kielbasa has its own oil. Saute` for approximately 5 minutes.
Add broth and water and bring to a boil. Add potatoes, cabbage, carrots and seasonings. Reduce to medium–low heat and simmer 15-20 minutes.
Add diced tomatoes. Mix cornstarch with a few tablespoons of water and stir into the soup.
Salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer another 5 minutes to thicken and remove from heat.
Serve with a sliced baguette or some garlic toast!
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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Majestic Dentistry |
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Our spotlight for October goes to the city of Anthem, Arizona and shines on Dr. Jacob Holly at Majestic Dentistry
Dr. Holly took over Majestic Dentistry a couple of years ago and has been providing excellent service to our members ever since.
Dr. Holly loves meeting new families and giving them more reasons to smile! The friendly and compassionate team is always looking forward to getting to know thier patients on a personal level and providing the service and treatment they deserve.
Your oral health is important to them, so be assured that they will always work toward finding the best dental solution for you!
The practice is located at 42104 N. Venture Dr Ste B134 Anthem, AZ 85086. The phone number is 623-551-6300. We also invite you to visit them on the web.
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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:
Strange Facts About Halloween We Bet You Didn´t Know
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- The first Jack O´Lanterns were actually made from turnips.
- Halloween is the second highest grossing commercial holiday after Christmas.
- Samhainophobia is the fear of Halloween.
- Fifty percent of kids prefer to receive chocolate candy for Halloween, compared with 24% who prefer non-chocolate candy and 10% who preferred gum.
- The owl is a popular Halloween image. In Medieval Europe, owls were thought to be witches, and to hear an owl´s call meant someone was about to die.
- Trick–or–treating evolved from the ancient Celtic tradition of putting out treats and food to placate spirits who roamed the streets at Samhain, a sacred festival that marked the end of the Celtic calendar year.
- In 1974, eight-year–old Timothy O´Bryan died of cyanide poisoning after eating Halloween candy. Investigators later learned that his father had taken out a $20,000 life insurance policy on each of his children and that he had poisoned his own son and also attempted to poison his daughter.
- Both Salem, Massachusetts, and Anoka, Minnesota, are the self–proclaimed Halloween capitals of the world.
- Mexico celebrates the Days of the Dead (Dias de los Muertos) on the Christian holidays All Saints´ Day (November 1) and All Souls´ Day (November 2) instead of Halloween. The townspeople dress up like ghouls and parade down the street
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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
J. Garcia of Santa Fe, New Mexico asks:
“When I finished my dental appointment and went to check out and pay my bill I noticed that I was being charged $15.00 for a COVID-19 surcharge. Can you explain what this is, and what´s the difference between that and the normal Bio–Hazard Disposal Fee?”
Savon’s Answer
Dental centers, as a rule, have always maintained a clean and sterile environment.
The Bio–hazard fee that we have always allowed helped offset the relatively minor cost of the chemicals needed to sterilize the operatories. With the new stricter government regulations for COVID-19 sterilization, the cost of the chemicals needed have sky-rocketed.
Most dental and medical facilities are now charging a COVID-19 surcharge to cover these additional costs. Although it´s not popular with patients, this additional fee has been approved by the agencies that help control and regulate the medical industry.
The surcharge is not only showing up at medical facilities, you can also find it added to your bill at many restaurants. It is our hope that this additional cost will go away at some point as we find our way back to “normal” life. If it doesn´t go away then we will have no choice but to incorporate it into the Schedule of Benefits at some future point.
Tooth Talk With Tommy The Wisdom Tooth
Is A Probiotic The Key To Better Oral Health?
An article By Melissa Busch, DrBicuspid.com assistant editor
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Weissella cibaria strain CMU, a probiotic lactic acid bacterium, may improve gingival bleeding and reduce levels of periodontal germs linked to diabetes and other diseases, according to a study published on September 2 in BMC Oral Health.
Supplementing with W. cibaria may improve overall oral health, the authors wrote. “W. cibaria treatment could lead to an improvement in the bleeding index and the suppression of propagation of some oral bacteria in people without periodontitis,” wrote the group, led by Mi–Sun Kang, an employee of OraPharm in Korea, which provided the supplement OraCMU for the study.
Using the good to fight the bad
When normal gingival sulcus transforms into pathological periodontal pockets, it causes changes in bacterial distribution in the oral cavity and, eventually, damages tissue and causes inflammation. In recent years, evidence has shown that probiotic bacteria may competitively inhibit the attachment and growth of pathogens, lower the metabolism of environmental pH, and have direct antimicrobial effects. Therefore, researchers believe probiotics may be beneficial in dentistry, such as in preventing or treating caries, gingivitis, or periodontitis by improving the bacterial environment in the oral cavity.
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A recent study showed that a strain of lactobacilli bacteria found in Sichuan pickles may prevent microbes that cause tooth decay and caries.
Knowing the potential, OraPharma and a team from Kangwon National University in South Korea set out to evaluate the effects of W. cibaria CMU, which is commercially available as an oral care probiotic in Korea, on periodontal health and the oral microbiome.
About 90 adults between the ages of 20 and 39 who did not have gum disease participated in a randomized, double–blind, placebo–controlled trial. The participants underwent scaling and planing and were given a probiotic or placebo. They had to take the tablets daily before bed after brushing their teeth for eight weeks. Also, they were instructed not to have any food or drink after taking the tablets. Bleeding on probing, probing depth, and gingival and plaque indexes, as well as the bacterial environment in the gingival sulcus, were analyzed in the participants, according to the authors.
Adults who took the probiotic not only experienced less bleeding on probing after eight weeks but also showed significant improvements in bleeding in their maxillary buccal and lingual sites, Kang and colleagues found.
Also, those who took the probiotics had fewer oral bacteria, including a dramatic reduction in their levels of Fusobacterium nucleatum, a periodontal germ linked to other diseases, including bacterial vaginosis. Recent research has shown that patients who experience inflammation due to periodontitis may experience more severe COVID–19 complications.
On to something
Though supplementation with W. cibaria may have its benefits, the study did have limitations, including the fact that the participants had healthy mouths. Therefore, the findings could not be generalized to those with gingival disease. More studies are needed to better determine whether probiotics are beneficial for all patients, the authors wrote.
Nevertheless, “W. cibaria CMU is considered an oral care probiotic that can improve oral health and prevent oral disease,” they wrote.
Until next time; brush, floss and keep smiling!
The above material is provided as an information service and is not intended as medical advice.
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