ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 16, 1996 TAG: 9604160056
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Health Notes
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY
Seeing even our old friends wearing mouth braces is nothing new, but orthodontics decorated for special occasions, like St. Patrick's Day, fits the if-you-think-you've-heard-it-all-you-haven't category.
Orthodontics is the branch of dentistry that copes with crooked teeth and bad bites, or how your teeth meet when your mouth is closed.
In a self-promotion that demonstrates creativity with a sense of humor, the American Association of Orthodontists is pushing colorful hardware for teeth. The color is added to braces in a number of ways. Replaceable rubber bands can be found in orange and black for Halloween. A sports fan can get fitted in the school colors with arch wires, which brace wearers understand and the rest of us don't need to, that come in colors from metallic red and green to gold.
And retainers, instead of being standard mouth-roof pink, can glow in the dark or be personalized with a picture of your favorite pet, your team logo or spiders and snakes, if you wish.
Or, maybe you'd like to see how you'd look in mouth braces. The association of straight-tooth doctors can help here also. If you send a "big, toothy" grin to the AAO, it will send back a computer image of you in braces. That address is AAO, c/o "Smiles," 401 N. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, Mo. 63141-7816.
For more serious advice or brochures on early diagnosis, adult orthodontics and other topics, call 1-800-787-2444 (the last seven numbers almost spell "straight"). And even if you don't order any of these fancies, at least call your orthodontist and congratulate him or her for knowing how to drum up business.
Stress workshop
Thursday night at 7, the Seventh-day Adventist Church will start a six-week "stress release" workshop at the Roanoke Adventist Preparatory School, 1701 Memorial Avenue in Roanoke. It will meet on Thursdays each week.
Dr. Ken Studer, a minister, will conduct the workshop, which will feature individualized computerized assessments of participants' stress levels.
A $15 fee for individuals or $25 for a couple covers the cost of materials and the assessment. Registration does not begin until the end of the first session so anyone who wants to check out the workshop can do that with no commitment.
For more information, call 345-9438 in Roanoke or (800) 852-3833 outside Roanoke.
Optometry rules
Rules that govern what diseases optometrists are allowed to treat are under review by the State Board of Optometry and anyone who wants to can comment on changes planned. An optometrist has a degree but is not a medical doctor. He or she can examine eyes and dispense glasses and contacts and in some states can treat eye diseases and prescribe drugs.
The other two eye-care specialists that we hear about are the ophthalmologist, a physician qualified to diagnose and treat eye diseases, perform exams and eye surgery and dispense glasses and contacts; and the optician, who can only fill eyeglass prescriptions and in some states, fit contacts.
The change being considered for an optometrist in Virginia would allow that specialist to prescribe certain drugs for certain diseases. Specifically, under the changes an optometrist could treat conjunctivitis and drug eye and several other conditions or diseases, treat superficial damage to eye tissue caused by contact lens wear and remove foreign bodies from the eye if no surgery is involved.
If you care about these changes, comment before April 29 to Samuel Smart, Chairman, Scope of Practice Committee, Virginia State Board of Optometry, 6606 West Broad St., Fourth Floor, Richmond, Va. 23230-1717. For more information, call 804-662-9915.
You can contact Sandra Kelly at 981-3393 or through e-mail at
skelly2180@AOL.COM
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