Copyright 1999 Plain Dealer Publishing Co.
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February 22, 1999 Monday, FINAL / ALL
SECTION: HEALTH & FITNESS; Pg. 1F
LENGTH: 652 words
HEADLINE:
DENTISTS SMILE ON COFFEE STRAW
BYLINE: FRAN HENRY
BODY:
We are imagining you, the reader, making
perfect choices at dinnertime: spinach salad; lots of vegetables; 4 ounces of a
protein source grilled, baked or broiled; a piece of whole wheat bread; and a
glass of milk. Dessert? Certainly. You order ice cream.
Coffee, too? You
have just gone too far, says the Academy of General Dentistry in its
publication, Dentalnotes. The catch is that drinking hot coffee with ice cream
can cause teeth to expand and contract, resulting in hairline cracks. However,
if you are drinking through a straw, this should not be a problem.
Sure
it sounds sort of goofy, but Dentalnotes says a straw protects the teeth from
coffee and tea stains. People may stare, but you have the courage of your
convictions.
Now we imagine that you have finished dessert and would
love to brush and floss. But you're running late! What to do? Easy, says
Dentalnotes: Rinse your mouth with water to neutralize acids and reduce bacteria
by 30 percent. That will buy you time until you can do a proper job: three
minutes of brushing and a thorough flossing.
Estrogen answers
Former Clevelander Ruth S. Jacobowitz's "Estrogen Answer Book" (Little,
Brown, $12) is now on the shelves at local bookstores. While it is unlikely to
become a made-for-TV movie, the book is a fine companion to her "150 Most-Asked
Questions About Menopause" and "150 Most-Asked Questions About Osteoporosis."
Coincidentally, the estrogen book contains the 150 most-asked questions
about hormone replacement therapy. And the way we figure, that's 8 cents a
question. Infant hearing loss How quickly would you notice if your baby didn't
respond to your voice or household noises? We're talking infants here, not
teenagers, who are duty-bound to ignore you. About one in 500 newborns has
hearing loss in both ears, according to research published in Pediatric
Electronic Age; and among newborns in intensive care units, the incidence is one
in 50.
You wouldn't need to ponder the question in the 10 states that
have universal newborn hearing screening laws with provisions
that intervention (like hearing aids) begin by age 6 months. Age 6 months is
about the time a parent would start to recognize hearing loss, said Dr. Seth J.
Silberman of Northcoast Ear, Nose and Throat Inc. But by then, he said, the
child has already lost critical ground in language development.
Ohio
does not have such screenings, which Silberman estimates would cost between $15
to $20 per infant.
A bill introduced in the U.S. House of
Representatives in 1997 died in the 105th Congress, but there's hope: 101
co-sponsors signed on to support the legislation.
Our friend, the shark?
Although a clinical study by the Cancer Treatment Research Foundation
found that powdered shark cartilage didn't stop cancerous tumors from growing
and spreading, the National Cancer Institute and other researchers are willing
to give it another chance.
They are planning to study the possibility
that shark cartilage might be a useful addition to conventional chemotherapy and
radiation or is useful when given early in the course of disease, according to
lead researcher Dr. Denis Miller, in HealthNews.
Miller's study found
that about 17 percent of the 47 patients in the trial fared no better than
patients who had supportive care only.
More years, fewer sneezes
Though we're months away from hay fever season, we thought we would give
sufferers something to look forward to. A 23-year study of more than 700 Brown
University students found that hay fever symptoms tended to decrease with age.
The research was published in the journal Allergy and Asthma Proceedings.
Of the students studied, nearly 23 percent no longer had hay fever
symptoms by around age 40. The theory, and it makes sense, is that repeated
exposure to pollen may decrease sensitivity.
If you were looking for
another bright side to aging, this might be as good as it gets.
COLUMN: SMALL DOSES
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February 23, 1999 
