In my week two blog, I focused my attention on the health care crisis, but most importantly I focused primarily on oral health care. Last week I wrote that “I am sure that everyone agrees that health care is a major problem, especially in today’s society. Many people tend to focus only on their medical needs, therefore neglecting their dental needs. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about 90% of adults will have tooth decay problems after the age of 40, Only about 75% of adults make it to age 60 with some of their original teeth left and the other 25% lose all of them, and about 15% of all adults will have advanced periodontal disease (which includes gingivitis, periodontitis, etc.). With this being my intended profession, I believe that I could do the most about this issue because I am fully interested and concerned about it. Louisiana is also one of the 16 states that are funded by the Center of Disease Control to strengthen their oral health programs. This, in turn, shows that there is a lot to be done about the dental care of Louisiana residents. As of now, Louisiana does not have a current oral health plan, despite the fact that it is of much need. However, there are school-based dental programs that can be a start to better oral health in Louisiana”.

I plan to implement or try to implement the school-based dental program in a nearby school district.  The school- based dental program is a program that provides sealants to children of families that may not be able to afford the expenses of dental care.  Sealants are coatings applied to the surface of the back teeth to protect them from tooth decay. Sealants keep germs and food particles out of the grooves of these surfaces. Children that would be eligible to participate in this program are those that qualify for the free or reduced-cost lunch program.  I feel that this program can teach children and families, as well as, show them the importance of maintaining their oral health. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention state that this program can help to verify the unmet need for sealants and enroll more students into school. This program is stated to be very beneficial to school children. Tooth decay, depending on the condition, may be very painful or cause several problems. This in turn can cause children to have problems eating, speaking, and learning. I feel like this project is one that does not have any negative benefits. Along with implement this project, I would also like to raise awareness about the importance of oral health. Many people do not really think about oral health as an important attribute to their health because they are uninformed. Oral cancer is not talked about as much as other forms of cancer, but it does exist. Being able to talk to children in elementary about the importance of brushing their teeth and just taking care of their teeth will lead to a better outcome. If you start good habits early on, it is most likely that they will last a lifetime. I want to be able to dive deep into my future profession with this project. Hopefully these kids will be able to share the information with their households, and get their families to pay more attention to their oral health.  Since I am a member of the pre-dental club, I decided that after the basis of the project is established that it could become an annual community service project for the club. This would not only help improve the oral health of Louisiana, but allow students to physically show their interest in dentistry. Doctor Saunders, the pre-dental club advisor, has agreed to assist me in my endeavors to implement my project correctly. I would also like to get in contact with the Louisiana oral health program director, Dr. Dionne Johnson-Richardson, D.D.S, M.P.H. She works at the Louisiana State University Health and Science Center here in New Orleans. Hopefully through this program, if implemented correctly, our pre-dental club will be able to form a partnership with their dental school.

The alphabet democratized civilization because it allowed the people during that time period to keep record of events. Instead of stories being passed down from generations through word of mouth, people were able to write them down so they could be passed on.  The alphabet allowed the triumphs of kings and destruction of kingdoms to be told over and over. This was said to have first taken place near Egypt and Mesopotamia in 3200 B.C.E. Before the alphabet, people used pictographs and logographs. Pictographs and logographs were drawings that were used to depicted what they wanted to say. Sometimes the drawings would have multiple meanings and it was up to that person to use the correct translation. The alphabet was invented around 1400 B.C.E. It used some of the old pictographs to represent a specific sound or letter that would be used in all the writings to come. The alphabet gave all people the ability to read and write. Thus, scrolls became a useful tool in society at that point.

Archaeology helps Biblical scholars to match events in the Bible with an actual time period. Archaeologists base a lot of the dates of events by the pottery they find. The further down you dig, the older the items are which dates them to an older time period. Archaeologists use a system called relative chronology to date items. Along with relative chronology, archaeologist use radio carbon dating to place items into time periods. Even though these are possible to use to determine dates, they cannot determine if the Bible descriptions were really accurate. When archaeologists record where they are digging, they record the site, then the area, then the square, then the locus, and finally the basket. The area is a 5 x 5 meter square. The locus will be something man-made like a wall. The basket number is the most specific location of the item. 

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 13th, 2009 at 3:03 am and is filed under Week 03: Your Project. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.