Welcome to “Paying it Forward,” a monthly interview series made possible by Piedmont Health. In this series, we hear from the folks at Piedmont about the importance of community health centers – and why they chose a career in community health.
October means Halloween and Halloween means candy, so this month’s installment of Paying It Forward focuses on dental health. Dentist Jasmine Dennis joins Aaron to discuss her career and share dental-health tips – including some surprising ones.
“I always wanted to be a dentist, my whole life,” Dr. Dennis says. “I was one of those weird kids who pulled out all their own baby teeth, and played dental-related video games (Glenn Martin’s Dental Adventure, to be exact), and begged my pediatric dentist to let me come shadow them.”
Now, Dr. Dennis works in community health, serving patients and families not only at Piedmont’s regular locations but also at their popular mobile dental unit, which travels around the region.
“Most of my role is (actually) education-based,” she says. “As much as I love seeing everyone, I also know that no one really wants to see us more than every six months. So I ask: ‘tell me about your diet. What are you eating? What are some struggles that you’ve had about your teeth?’ Most of my job is education: ways to manage your teeth, different tools to help clean.”
Of course October is always a great time for dental health education, with Halloween just around the corner. Contrary to popular belief, Dr. Dennis says dentists love Halloween as much as anyone else – and there are plenty of fun ways to enjoy the holiday (and the candy that comes with it!) without being too hard on your teeth.
“Make sure we’re brushing and flossing,” she says. “(And) make sure that candy is not a (regular) snack. It’s a treat for every once in a while, but not every single meal.”
Are there certain candies that are more dental health-friendly than others? Dr. Dennis says yes.
“Chocolate is great,” she says. “(Avoid) the stickier candies, like gummy worms, gummy bears, anything that stays on your teeth. Biting into lollipops, that’s a high risk of fracturing your teeth. But we’re a big fan of chocolate, because it’s one of those things that can wash (off) pretty easy.”
And don’t tell your parents – but Dr. Dennis also has one more bit of dental-health advice to offer, which kids might really like to hear.
“Eat the dessert first!” she says. “The order of how we eat things really matters and can affect our teeth a lot. Maintain dinner, obviously, eat your vegetables – but the ability to wash away the sugar afterwards, instead of the sugar being the last thing that’s on your teeth, can really make a difference that I think is kind of underrated.”
97.9 The Hill WCHL and Chapelboro.com are your headquarters for local news and local voices in Chapel Hill-Carrboro. Every weekday morning, 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck chats with government officials, UNC scholars, business and nonprofit leaders, area musicians, and others in our community as they share their thoughts, their experience, and their expertise on the central issues of today. Click here to listen back to all of Aaron’s conversations – and tune in to “This Morning with Aaron Keck” at 7:30 a.m. on 97.9 The Hill to hear those conversations live.
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