JONAS GERARD - Rapid River Magazine

R A P I D R I V E R A R T S & C U L T U R E
healthy lifestyles
It’s Always an Inside Job
Janet! I’m glad to see you. The receptionist
told me that you called.
This isn’t your usual six-month
dental check up time, is it? What
seems to be the matter?”
“Dr. Kaplan. I have a pain
in my tooth.” Janet craned her head
around as the dentist approached the
dental chair where she was reclining.
“I didn’t want to do like I did the last
time and come too late. I don’t want
Novocain and I don’t want my tooth
drilled if I can help it.”
“Good for you. I’m glad you came
right away,” Dr. Kaplan said as he
selected a dental pick from the instrument
tray. “Open wide and let’s take
a look.”
Janet held her mouth open while
Dr. Kaplan looked at her upper and
lower teeth, occasionally pressing
down or scraping slightly with the
dental pick. When he relaxed for a
moment, she spoke.
“I didn’t tell you which tooth.”
“I didn’t ask. I wanted to see for
myself.” Dr. Kaplan smiled. “It’s that
upper 1st molar on the right, isn’t it?”
“But how can you tell which
tooth it is? What are you looking for?”
“ A hole. Or more likely, since you
came in right away, a soft, brown spot
– down in a crevasse or hiding between
your teeth. Those are harder to see.”
“A brown spot? You mean a stain?
I don’t drink coffee.”
Dr. Kaplan smiled. “No, not a
stain. A place where the calcium and
phosphorus is being leached out of
the dental enamel. It makes a soft
spot which sometimes turns brown.”
He turned and reached for another
instrument. “But you came in plenty
of time. Do you floss?”
“Yes, several times a week.”
“Good. That keeps the plaque
down.”
“Plaque? Like I get in my arteries.”
Dr. Kaplan laughed. “No, It’s
an accumulation of bacteria on your
teeth, usually around the base of each
tooth where it’s hard to clean. If it’s
not brushed off, it hardens into calculus
– that crusty stuff on teeth. But
yours don’t have any,” he said, pointing
to her mouth. “The bacteria hide
there and use the acids in your mouth
to break down the enamel on the top
and sides of your tooth.”
“What acid? I haven’t been eating
anything acid, have I?” Janet didn’t
understand.
“This is where you come in, my
dear.” Dr. Kaplan looked serious as he
pointed at her. “It’s not that kind of
acid. It’s the acid made when sweets get
in your mouth and coat your teeth – for
extended periods of time. The bacteria
break down those sweets into acids and
use them to eat away at your teeth.”
“Mercy! How can I prevent that?”
“Brush your teeth – and floss.
And eat foods rich in calcium – green
veggies, for instance. Fortified low fat
dairy is good but it also contains sugars
– so it’s a two-edged sword.” Dr. Kaplan
was counting on his fingers. “Oh,
yeah. That brushing – use a fluoride
toothpaste. Fluoride helps lock in
the calcium into the enamel, makes
BY MAX HAMMONDS, MD
it harder to leach out. And – see your
dentist – that’s me,” he said with a grin.
“I can treat your teeth with fluoride
and sometimes sealants, in case you
are the kind of person who gets small
cracks in the enamel. And one more
thing.”
Janet looked perplexed. Dr. Kaplan
seemed so serious.
“Give your teeth a rest. No snacks,
not constant eating. Take a mouth
break. Give your saliva a chance to
neutralize the acid in your mouth
– especially since most snack foods are
sweets that become acid.” Dr. Kaplan
was preparing a soft paste of something.
“I can help you with the outside
of your teeth – with fluoride treatments
and sealants and cleaning. But I
can’t help you with the inside.”
“The inside? You mean inside my
teeth?” Janet asked.
“Yes, the inside,” he said. “The
same sweets that coat the outside of
your teeth, cause inflammation of the
small arteries and tubules that feed the
inside of your teeth. That’s how the
calcium and phosphorus get to the inside
of your teeth to replace that which
gets leached away. When those arteries
and tubules clog up, the nutrients – the
calcium and phosphorus can’t get in.
And the tooth can become soft – inside
out. That I can’t help you with. ” Dr.
Kaplan held a little tooth mold in his
hand. “The food choices are up to you.
I know you want to take good care of
your teeth. Make good choices.” He
held up the mold. “Okay, now. Open
wide.”
30 April 2011 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 14, No. 8
Let’s Move! Along the Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy
(ATC) and the
National Park Service (NPS)
are promoting Lets Move!,
the nationwide initiative led
and launched by First Lady Michelle
Obama, through two signature programs:
A Trail to Every Classroom,
and the new Appalachian Trail Community
TM program.
“Let’s Move! Along the Appalachian
Trail is the perfect inspirational
tool to begin a lifetime of outdoor
activity, adventure and self-discovery,”
says Julie Judkins, Community
Program Manager of the Appalachian
Trail Conservancy.
The Trail To Every Classroom
program is a professional development
opportunity for K-12 teachers that
focuses on building place-based service-learning
curriculum on the
A.T. Students engaged through
the Trail to Every Classroom
program will be encouraged to
achieve the Presidential Active
Lifestyle Award with a portion of
their daily activity taking place on
the A.T.
Increasing physical activity
is one of the 5 pillars of the Let’s
Move! initiative, and the A.T. provides
not only a lifelong physical
activity for students and families, but
also a learning laboratory for lifelong
study and active citizenship.
The Appalachian Trail Community
program provides tools and support
to local communities that capitalize
on the Trail as a community asset
for outdoor recreation. The program
gives communities the opportunity
to grow rural economies that sustain
heritage and quality of life.
For more information about the Trail
To Every Classroom program or the
Appalachian Trail Community program,
visit www.appalachiantrail.org. For
more information about the Let’s Move!
initiative visit www.letsmove.gov.