Why Are Pediatric Dentist Visits Important?

pediatric dental visits

It’s incredibly important to schedule regular pediatric dentist visits if you have young children. This is because of how common cavities are. Not only do more than 50 percent of children experience tooth decay before they turn five (according to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry), but cavities are five times more common in children than asthma.

Scheduling Pediatric Dentist Visits

According to the CDC, an estimated 42 percent of children between the ages of 2 and 11 have cavities that are untreated. It’s important that your child have their teeth checked for cavities on a regular basis. Untreated cavities can lead to pain and infections as well as issues speaking, eating, and even learning. A pediatric dentist can identify the beginnings of tooth decay and help address it before it gets any worse.

How to Prevent Cavities

It’s important that you don’t just rely on the dentist. After all, cavities can cause serious discomfort, which means you’ll want to help prevent them altogether. The following are a few tips to help you prevent your child from getting cavities:

  • Use fluoride toothpaste: Fluoride helps to prevent tooth decay, so be sure to buy toothpaste for your kids that contains fluoride.
  • Brush twice a day: Get your children in the habit of brushing their teeth twice a day. They should brush for at least two minutes in the mornings and in the evenings before going to bed. They should also floss to make sure plaque doesn’t build up between their teeth.
  • Consider applying dental sealants: A dentist can apply dental sealants to the back teeth of your child. These sealants are effective for four years and can help to reduce decay in the permanent molars by as much as 81 percent.

Dental Health is Important to Your Children

The last thing you want is for your children to suffer from dental cavities. Cavities can be incredibly uncomfortable and even painful. Not to mention that they’ll spend even more time at the dentist getting their cavities filled, potentially missing school as a result.

Be sure to promote dental health to your kids and schedule pediatric dentist visits twice a year. For more health awareness advice, visit us at The Benefits Store today.

National Burn Week: Feb 6-12th, 2022

In recognition of 2022 National Burn Awareness Week, Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey encourages families to practice safe-cooking habits.

National Burn Awareness Week runs Feb. 6-12. This year’s theme from the American Burn Association is “Burning Issues in the Kitchen.”

How to prevent injuries causes by burns in the kitchen:

Keep your stovetop clear.

Dress appropriately. Wear short or close-fitting sleeves when cooking to avoid a burn.

Never leave the stove unattended. Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, grilling or broiling food.

Keep children safe in the kitchen. Have a “kid-free-zone” of at least three feet around the stove and areas where hot food or drink is prepared or carried.

Monitor your appliances. After cooking, check the kitchen to make sure all burners and other appliances are turned off.

Have a Plan of Action For All Burns

1. Stop Burning Immediately

  • Put out fire or stop the person’s contact with hot liquid, steam, or other material.
  • Help the person “stop, drop, and roll” to smother flames.
  • Remove smoldering material from the person.
  • Remove hot or burned clothing. If clothing sticks to skin, cut or tear around it.

2. Remove Constrictive Clothing Immediately

  • Take off jewelry, belts, and tight clothing. Burns can swell quickly.

3. See a Doctor

  • The doctor can test burn severity, prescribe antibiotics and pain medications, and administer a tetanus shot, if needed.

Resources for American Burn Week:

  • For more information, contact the American Burn Association:

#NBAW

www.ameriburn.org

312-642-9260

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4 Warning Signs of an Eating Disorder

An estimated 9% of people in the U.S. will have an eating disorder in their lifetime. Additionally, there are over 10,000 deaths resulting from an eating-related disorder every year, making eating disorders the second deadliest mental illness behind opioid overdoses. Unfortunately, few people realize how severe eating-related disorders are in the U.S., which is why February was designated as Eating Disorders Awareness and Screening Month.

Signs of an Eating Disorder

It’s important that you be able to identify if a loved one is struggling with an eating-related disorder to get them the help they need. With that in mind, the following are a few signs that indicate someone may have an eating disorder:

  1. Significant weight loss: If a person has lost too much weight, it could be the result of anorexia, which is a disorder in which a person stops eating. Someone who weighs less than 85% of their ideal body weight could be suffering from anorexia.
  2. Binging without weight gain: If you notice that someone will purge when they eat, meaning that they will eat a substantial amount of food at any given time, but they never gain weight, they may be struggling with bulimia. Bulimia is a disorder in which a person will binge on food, then immediately purge it from their system.
  3. Preoccupied with self-image: Individuals who spend a lot of time looking at themselves in the mirror, making negative comments about their weight, or who are preoccupied with their perception of the ideal body may have some sort of eating-related disorder. 
  4. Eating patterns have changed: If the eating patterns of a person have changed, there could be an issue. For example, if they no longer eat family meals, are obsessed with counting calories, eat smaller portions or no longer eat at all, go to the bathroom after every meal, or binge certain foods, they may have an eating-related disorder.

To help someone who is struggling with an eating-related disorder, you need to be able to identify the signs so that you can get them help. For more health tips, visit us at The Benefits Store today.

Low Vision: What You Should Know

Having “low vision” is not the same as being “blind.” For example, your doctor may tell you that you have a blind or blank spot in the center of your vision that limits your ability to read or see people’s faces; nevertheless, you can still get around using your side (or peripheral) vision.

What Low Vision Means

As we age, our eyes change too. In most cases, regular eyeglasses or contact lenses can correct many of these vision changes. However, if your eye doctor tells you that your vision cannot be fully corrected with ordinary prescription glasses, medication, or surgery and you still have some usable vision, you have what is called “low vision.”

Having low vision means that even with regular glasses, contact lenses, medication, or surgery, you may find it difficult to perform everyday tasks, such as reading your mail, shopping, preparing meals, and signing your name.

Why is it important to raise awareness about age-related eye diseases?

Many people think that vision loss is a normal part of aging and are unaware of what they can do to protect their sight. Lifestyle factors—such as not smoking; maintaining a healthy weight; engaging in physical activity; controlling diabetes; eating a healthy diet that includes fish high in omega-3s and dark, leafy greens; and protecting eyes from the sun—can all help prevent the onset or delay the progression of eye disease. Comprehensive dilated eye exams should also be a part of a person’s routine health care, especially if he or she is over age 50.

What are the most common age-related eye diseases and conditions?

The most common eye diseases and conditions that affect older adults include age-related macular degeneration(AMD), cataract, diabetic retinopathy, dry eye, glaucoma, and low vision. Many of these diseases and conditions do not have noticeable symptoms in their early stages. They can be detected through a comprehensive dilated eye exam. Treatment is most effective when an eye disease is diagnosed early.

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The California Indoor Radon Program: Fast Facts

indoor radon program

Monitoring your home’s indoor radon levels is extremely important to the health and safety of you and your family. Although radon is naturally occurring and will be found in every home at some level, you need to make sure it doesn’t build up to a dangerous level. That is because radon is an invisible, scentless gas that can lead to the development of lung cancer as a result of over-exposure. To help spread awareness about the dangers of radon, January has been designated as National Radon Action Month.

The California Indoor Radon Program

The California Indoor Radon Program was established by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to collect and maintain information about the presence of radon throughout the state. The following are a few things you should know about the program:

  • The goal of the program is to reduce human exposure to radon in both residential and school structures.
  • The program helps spread awareness to residents of the state about the risks of radon and encourages radon testing.
  • The CDPH collects information from the California Geological Survey to identify areas with excessive indoor radon levels. Various maps and reports are prepared to identify low, moderate, and high radon potential areas.
  • The program has been in place for more than two decades.

Testing for Radon 

It’s estimated that the average concentration of radon is around 1.3 picocuries per liter. Outside, it’s around 0.4 picocuries per liter. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns people to avoid long-term exposure to radon levels of over 4 picocuries per liter. Radon testing can be done using a radon level detector.

A short-term detector uses activated charcoal to absorb radon from indoor air. It takes upwards of a week to complete such a test. Long-term tests take up to three months or longer and are done using alpha-track detectors.

Test Your Home’s Radon Levels

According to the EPA, around 21,000 lung cancer deaths in the Unites States are caused by radon exposure every year. As such, be sure to check your indoor radon levels. For more health awareness information, visit us at The Benefits Store today.