For Better Health THE NEWTOWN BEE, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2024
ments so they keep their bacteria count low,” Cono said.
What Foot And Ankle Issues Warrant A Doctor’s Visit
Get Insured With Medicaid And CHIP Your child may qualify for free or low-cost health coverage through Medicaid and CHIP. The Connecting Kids to Coverage National Campaign wants families to experience the security that comes with knowing their child’s dental care and other preventive services are covered. Medicaid and CHIP cover more than 39 million children in the United States and have helped ensure that more than 94% of the nation’s children have health coverage, even when their family may experience barriers to access such as language differences and low health literacy. Enrollment is open yearround, meaning your family doesn’t have to wait to see if you qualify. Dental care isn’t the only thing covered — preventive care, emergency care, behavioral health care, vision care, vaccines, prescriptions, and pre- and post-natal care are all covered when your child is insured through Medicaid and CHIP. Eligibility varies by state and depends on family income and how many people are in your household. In most states, children up to age 19 with family income up to $80,000 per year (for a family of four) may qualify for Medicaid or CHIP. You can learn more about finding coverage at InsureKidsNow. gov and explore the Find a Dentist tool to find care near you. Your child’s smile shouldn’t be a source of stress. For peace of mind, take care of even the tiniest teeth with regular check-ups, healthy habits and health coverage, such as Medicaid and CHIP. Provided by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. This article utilizes content from Statepoint.net.
ing pains and injuries or deformities difficult. But foot and ankle surgeons stress that pain isn’t normal and if it lasts more than a few days or is severe enough to limit your child’s walking, it should be evaluated. Foot problems commonly experienced by children include f lat feet, ingrown toenails, calcaneal apophysitis and plantar warts. When you’re at risk for falling: Falls have become the leading cause of injury deaths among Americans 65 and older, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the reasons falls occur are numerous, painful foot conditions are a contributing factor, as they make it difficult to maintain balance and coordination. Fortunately, many such conditions are treatable. See a foot and ankle surgeon to alleviate pain and reduce your risk of a life-changing fall. When you can benefit from medical advances: A loss of cartilage once meant a loss of functionality. Today, joint reconstruction surgery with cartilage regeneration offers real hope for long-term functionality, nurturing the body’s own ability to heal itself — with a little boost from technology and a knowledgeable surgeon. Likewise,
Taking Care Of Teeth Brings Families Peace Of Mind By Jenna ViSCa Tooth decay is the most common preventable chronic disease among children in the United States. If left untreated, it can negatively affect a child’s physical and social development, as well as their school performance. Toothaches and cavities can cause pain, infection, and ultimately affect overall wellness, including children’s behavioral health. Mental health and oral health can be intertwined; mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression can lead to poor oral health, and dental health problems often exacerbate behavioral health issues. As a parent or caretaker, there are steps you can take to protect your child’s oral health today — and overall health tomorrow. Through the dental health benefits provided through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), children will have access to essential oral health care, including regular cleanings, f luoride treatments, fillings, X-rays and more. Schedule Routine Dental Care Routine dental care is essential to preventing and treating many of the most common oral health issues children experience. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that a child’s first pediatric dental visit occurs before their first birthday and that as they get older, they see the dentist twice a year for cleanings, X-rays and treatment. Regular dentist visits can help identify and treat potential issues early. Once your child is old enough, visits can also include preventive care such as sealants, which help stop cavities from forming. Newtown Smile Dentistry owner Dr Sean Lee wishes that more families knew about the importance of routine preventative care, such as checkups, X-rays, and pro-
StatePoint encourages families to be proactive in teaching dental hygiene in order to protect their child’s physical and social development, as well as their school performance. They say toothaches and cavities can cause pain, infection, and ultimately affect overall wellness, including children’s behavioral health. —photo courtesy of StatePoint.net fessional cleanings. He says that routine X-rays help make sure teeth and other structures in the oral cavity are in good health, while routine professional cleanings help clean teeth in ways home care products cannot. Pursuing restorative needs also prevents further complications from cavities, cracked teeth, and more. “Smaller problems are easier to fix than bigger problems, so being proactive is always better than being reactive to a bigger problem,” Lee said. Use the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ “Find a Dentist” tool to find dental providers in your area that accept Medicaid and CHIP. Practice Healthy Habits At Home Encouraging good dental hygiene is another way you can reduce your child’s chanc-
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es of experiencing negative side effects from poor dental health. Helping them brush their teeth twice a day and f lossing regularly can keep cavities, gum disease and tooth decay at bay. “Children are typically higher at risk for cavities if routine check ups and oral hygiene instructions are not implemented on a regular basis,” Lee said. “Developing a good rapport and trust with a dental professional at an early age can help to fight apprehension and ensure good oral health throughout their lifetime.” During pregnancy, you can even positively impact the health of your baby by taking care of your own teeth and gums. Daily brushing and f lossing and regular dentist visits contribute to overall health and protect your baby’s teeth. Dr Giovanni Cono of Brookview Dental says that
it is very important for kids to keep up with good dental habits, otherwise their teeth are susceptible to decay. “Children should start f lossing as soon as they have their permanent teeth coming in because, with their baby teeth, there’s a lot of space in between them. So f lossing is not a very big issue in normal conditions. But f lossing is very, very important for anytime we have crowding in our teeth. If you don’t f loss, we’re gonna have decay. It’s so important,” Cono said. “We only have one set of teeth after all.” Cono also says that he wishes more people knew that research suggests a link between heart disease and dental plaque. “So it’s very important for families, not just kids but adults as well, that they take care of their dental hygiene and make regular appoint-
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By Statepoint Most people have a foot or ankle problem at one time or another. So how do you know when to seek help? Many symptoms — even those you can tolerate — require the professional attention of a foot and ankle surgeon to keep the underlying condition from worsening. According to Danielle Butto, DPM, FACFAS, a board-certified foot and ankle surgeon and a Fellow Member of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS), “It’s important to remember that foot health is an important part of your overall health. You need to take care of your feet, which includes going to the doctor when you have pain, sustain an injury or develop a condition needing professional evaluation and treatment.” Here are five examples of when you should make an appointment with your foot and ankle surgeon. When you have diabetes: Living with diabetes means being more prone to a variety of conditions that affect the feet, including foot sores and ulcers. At the same time, diabetic nerve damage makes it harder to detect when there’s a problem. Regular visits to a foot and ankle surgeon should be part of your holistic diabetes treatment plan. The doctor can screen for the loss of protective sensations in the feet, as well as diagnose and treat any structural issues leading to ulcers and wounds. Swelling, temperature and color changes in the feet, and calluses, are all telltale signs an ulcer may be around the corner and warrant a trip to a foot and ankle surgeon. When children experience pain: When it comes to pediatric foot problems, early intervention is key to longterm successful treatment. As a parent, you may find distinguishing between grow-
new surgical techniques for ankle arthritis, including arthroscopic ankle surgery, total ankle joint replacements and bone or cartilage replacement, are helping people stay active. Finally, platelet-rich plasma therapy can promote the healing of bones, cartilage, blood vessels, tendons and tissue for many patients, and is associated with easier recovery than traditional treatments. If you suffer from a foot and ankle ailment, ask your healthcare provider about game-changing medical advances. When pain is sidelining you: It’s important for athletes and fitness enthusiasts to rest and recover rather than push through foot and ankle pain caused by an overuse injury. If the pain doesn’t improve in three to seven days however, it’s time to see a foot and ankle surgeon for evaluation and treatment. With the highest level of education, training and board certification, foot and ankle surgeons are the leaders in surgical and non-surgical foot and ankle care. For more information, or to find a foot and ankle surgeon near you, visit FootHealthFacts.org, the patient education website of American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. This article is courtesy of Statepoint.net.