What Does A Dentist Do

Live Wire: Care offered for low-income patients

Q: Is there any group that can help low-income people who need eyeglasses and dentures? - R.L., Fayetteville

Q: Is there a dentist in the Raeford area that will help low-income people? - N.P., Raeford

A: Stedman Family Dental Center in Stedman and Anderson Creek Dental in Spring Lake both provide discounted care to qualifying low-income people. You can call the Stedman center at 483-3150 and the Anderson Creek office at 893-5402.

Elsewhere in the region, similar dental services are provided at CommWell Health offices in Dublin, (910) 879-1020; Dunn, (910) 567-2646; and Salemburg, (910) 525-4628. For other such centers in the region, check bphc.hrsa.gov.

There are other local dental services available for low-income children up through age 21.

For eye care, R.L. could call a social worker for the blind to see if he or she can offer help directly or point you in some helpful directions. In Cumberland County, those workers are Calvin Harris (677-2302) and Betty Gholston (677-2307).

The Vision Resource Center in Fayetteville may also be able to help. Its number is 483-2719 or check visionresourcecentercc.org. The organization says it provides opportunities and resources to improve the quality of life of blind and visually impaired adults and children in the region.

Another program that might help - Vision USA, which offers free eye exams and low-cost eyeglasses to eligible low-income families. For information, call (800) 766-4466 or check aoa.org/x5607.xml.

EyeCare America, the nonprofit public service foundation of the American Academy of Opthalmology, has eye-care programs for qualified seniors and those at particular risk for glaucoma, including blacks and Hispanics over the age of 40 and who have a family history of the disease.

According to the group, eligible seniors who haven't seen an opthalmologist in three or more years may be able to receive a referral for eye care at no cost for up to a year. Eligible seniors who are diabetic are referred to retina specialists.

But it doesn't cover the cost of eyeglasses. For information about it, check eyecareamerica.org or call (877) 887-6327.

Q: I enjoy watching "Family Feud" and know that if a family wins five times they get a car. But do they get one car and have to decide which of them drives it? Or does each family member get a car? - R.G., Shannon

A: They get just one car so perhaps they feud with each other over who gets to drive it.

Root Canal Treatment: What Does Your Family Dentist Do? | Health

&Laquo; A must have, during the festival of Diwali is a box of sweets. A Diwali without a box of sweets is incomplete. Sharing the Diwali sweets with our dear ones, neighbours, friends, servants, maids and sometimes even strangers is an integral part of the tradition of Diwali and it symbolizes the primary essence of the festival. The most popular gift that people give each other during the festival of Diwali in India is sweets. From the role as offerings to Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha during the Diwali puja t

by Melville Jackson

However terrified we are to pay our family dentist a visit, when a toothache grips us, we are forced to go through the painful procedures of a dental correction. One of the most common advanced dental correction procedures is the root canal treatment.

This treatment is taken up only when the tooth decay condition has reached a state of debris collection and pulp tissue accumulation that can lead to complete tooth loss. Therefore, this treatment can actually help reinforce life into the decaying tooth.

It is important to know what the root canal system is all about. Most of us know the three components of a tooth viz. a outer hard protective enamel, a middle sensitive dentin and the soft inner tissue layer referred to as dental pulp. The most vital part of a tooth is this dentin which is composed of nerve tissue, blood vessels and nerves. Dental pulp may get severely damaged due to oral bacterial action that reaches the pulp through dental caries. A hard blow to the face or a tooth fracture that might have grown into the pulp can also cause extensive damage to the dental pulp.

A typical root canal treatment involves careful removal of the dead pulp tissue that is accumulated in the pulp chamber. Often a certain amount of debris gets collected in the hollow area below the pulp chamber. During a root canal treatment, the area is entirely cleaned.

After removal of the dead and unwanted tissue, the narrow channels that exist below the pulp chamber are cleaned and made hollow. The roots are often filed with suitable nickel titanium files to ensure its flexibility and strength to the teeth at the end of the treatment.

So how would you know that the toothache you just had yesterday was an indication of root canal decay? Here are the most common symptoms of an infected nerve in your tooth. You may be afflicted with minimal or severe pain in the tooth. Discoloration of the tooth may also occur along with swelling and irritation in the tissue surrounding it. Ultimately, it is the results obtained in a radiograph that will indicate the infection to the dentist.

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