Craig Maxey

Enhancing Oral Health and Smiles

Guest Post

Dental treatments play a crucial role in maintaining oral health, enhancing smiles, and preventing various dental issues. From routine check-ups to advanced cosmetic procedures, the field of dentistry offers a wide range of treatments tailored to meet individual needs. Let’s look into some common dental treatments that contribute to healthy teeth and confident smiles.

  1. Dental Cleanings and Check-ups:
    Regular dental cleanings and check-ups are the foundation of oral health. These appointments allow dentists to identify and address any issues early, preventing potential complications. During cleanings, dental professionals remove plaque, tartar, and surface stains, promoting healthier gums and teeth.
  2. Teeth Whitening:
    A bright smile can boost confidence. Teeth whitening treatments are popular for enhancing the appearance of teeth by removing stains and discolorations caused by factors like food, beverages, and smoking. Both in-office and at-home options are available for achieving a whiter smile.
  3. Fillings and Restorations:
    Cavities and decay are common dental concerns. Fillings and restorations involve removing damaged tooth material and filling the space with dental materials such as composite resin or porcelain. This not only restores the tooth’s structure but also maintains its natural appearance.
  4. Dental Crowns and Bridges:
    Dental crowns are used to cover and protect damaged or weakened teeth, while bridges replace missing teeth by anchoring artificial teeth to adjacent natural teeth. These treatments enhance both function and aesthetics.
  5. Dental Implants:
    For those with missing teeth, dental implants provide a long-lasting solution. The dental implants are artificial tooth roots surgically placed into the jawbone, supporting replacement teeth that look and function like natural teeth. Consult your dentist to determine if you are a good candidate for dental implants.
  6. Orthodontic Treatments:
    Orthodontic treatments, such as braces and clear aligners, correct misaligned teeth and improper bites. These treatments not only improve aesthetics but also contribute to better oral health by making teeth easier to clean.
  7. Root Canal Therapy:
    Root canal therapy saves teeth that are infected or severely damaged by removing infected tissue and sealing the root canal. This treatment alleviates pain and prevents the need for tooth extraction.
  8. Gum Disease Treatment:
    Gum disease, or periodontal disease, can lead to serious oral health issues. Scaling and root planing, as well as other treatments, help manage gum disease and prevent further damage.
  9. Cosmetic Dentistry:
    Cosmetic dentistry focuses on enhancing the appearance of teeth. Treatments like veneers, bonding, and gum reshaping can improve the shape, color, and alignment of teeth, resulting in a more attractive smile.
  10. Oral Surgery:
    Oral surgery encompasses various procedures, including tooth extraction, wisdom tooth removal, and corrective jaw surgery. These treatments address a range of oral health issues and promote overall well-being.

Choosing the right dental treatments depends on individual needs, goals, and oral health conditions. Regular communication with a dentist is essential to develop a personalized treatment plan that supports optimal oral health and helps achieve the smile you desire. Whether it’s preventive care or addressing specific concerns, dental treatments play a significant role in maintaining a healthy, confident smile.

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It is Time to Help the Neglected Primary Home Caregiver

Guest Post, HealthIT

“Approximately 87% of Americans who need long-term care receive it from informal, or unpaid, caregivers.” [Caregiving in the U.S. 2009 – National Alliance for Caregiving in collaboration with AARP]

The vast majority- 80%- of elderly people receiving assistance, including many with several functional limitations, live in private homes in the community and facilities like those at terrazaseniorliving.com, not in institutions.

These statistics offer a window into healthcare in the United States. A significant portion of elder care is done in the home by unpaid caregivers, when in reality, the elderly could be a lot more safe in facilities like the one at www.oceanhillsseniorliving.com/living-options/independent-living/. These caregivers shoulder the burden of healthcare with little or no resources. The time is right to provide these champions of homecare the tools that they need.

Some additional numbers to frame homecare in the U.S.

It is large

“An estimated 43.5 million adults in the United States have provided unpaid care to an adult or a child in the prior 12 months.” [2015 Report – Homecare in the U.S.” AARP]

Centered on family

“A vast majority of caregivers (85%) care for a relative or other loved one:” [Caregiver Statistics: Demographics]

Expensive

“At $470 billion in 2013, the value of unpaid caregiving exceeded the value of paid home care and total Medicaid spending in the same year, …” [AARP Public Policy Institute. (2015). Valuing the Invaluable: 2015 Update.]”

Who are the caregivers?

• The majority of caregivers are female (60%)(i).
• They are 49 years of age, on average (i).

Why are they unpaid?

Taken from the HHS handbook on Medicare and Home Health Care:
“… Medicare covers the following services if they’re reasonable and necessary for the treatment of your illness or injury: …”

Note the words: “… illness or injury…”;

In other words, Medicare pays for treatment, not for elderly care giving.
The primary caregiver and caregiving tasks

The following characteristics particularly apply to primary caregivers:

Have no perceived choice in taking on the role of caregiving. (i)
Have the caregiving responsibility for over four years. (i)
Perform many caregiving duties, including nursing level tasks (i)
Have another job (i)

Current software tools for primary caregivers

The evidence of home caregiver neglect can be seen in the limited software tools available. There are three categories of tools currently available.

Three-Ring Binder

To those who have lived in a world of electronic documentation, the popular, recommended, health management approach is difficult to embrace: the three-ring binder. Three-ring binders are correctly recognized as a flexible and extensible way to manage caregiver information.
Disparate Software Tools

Another approach to healthcare information management is to cobble together a set of disparate software tools to address different caregiving needs. An example of this is reflected in the following AARP post: 9 Need-to-Know Technologies for Caregivers. In this post, several different software tools are offered to help with essential caregiving “Medication management” and “Care Coordination” tasks.

Tools for Caregiving Agencies

There are several caregiver software products on the market today. These products tend to focus on the needs of institutional caregiving, agencies like the ones at www.residencesatplainview.com/community/your-retirement-community/ that provide caregivers who go into the home for a fee or offer their services in a facility. A large focus of these tools centers on the management of staff and client accounts, specifically agencies must bill their clients and pay their caregivers. Quite appropriately, agencies logically seek software that features these billing and payroll capabilities.

Conclusion

The time is right to build effective software tools for primary home caregivers.
These tools are needed.
It is timely.
It is the right thing to do.

About the Author

Craig Maxey, Founder and CEO of Red Boat Care Software

Over 35 years in software engineering and user interface/product design.  Principal of White Pond Design, LLC.  BS, MS Electronic Engineering; BS Physics.

References

(i) Caregiving in the U.S. (2015) AARP (http://www.aarp.org/ppi/info-2015/caregiving-in-the-united-states-2015.html)