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purple hayes
Frightened Inmate #2
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Joined: 14 May 2002
Posts: 14462
Location: ON YOUR LEFT!
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 Posted: 01/05/04 - 17:12 Post subject: Sometimes the jokes just write themselves...
http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/12/19/elderly.teeth.reut/index.html
| Quote: | ATLANTA, Georgia (Reuters) -- There was nothing for the older folk of Appalachia to smile about after the government released its latest study of toothlessness among the elderly, which found the region leading the nation in tooth-loss.
Kentucky and West Virginia have the highest percentage of older adults missing all their natural teeth according to data collected in 2002 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Slightly more than 42 percent of residents 65 and older in Kentucky could make that dubious claim last year. West Virginians were a close second with 41.9 percent of seniors admitting they had shed their natural choppers.
In both states, older adults who were naturally toothless outnumbered those who could say they had lost five or fewer of their natural teeth.
Although the study did not focus on the root causes of toothlessness in the states, researchers said they suspected a combination of economic, cultural and medical factors were responsible for wide variances in state results.
"We would imagine it probably reflects the impact of health behaviors such as smoking and oral hygiene practices and also socio-economic status in terms of income and education," said Dr. Barbara Gooch, a CDC dental officer and the study's lead author.
Western states tended to score much better on the tooth retention scale last year. Utah was tops with almost 64 percent of seniors living with most of their natural teeth, while about 60 percent in California and Colorado could say the same.
Overall, more than half of older adults in 26 states had most of their natural teeth last year, a finding in line with past survey that have noted a substantial drop in older adult toothlessness since the 1950s.
Researchers said the current crop of American seniors had likely benefited from the fluoridation of water, advancements in dental care and other oral hygiene measures introduced in the past 50 years.
But they also said that increased tooth retention meant that many would remain at risk for tooth decay and periodontal disease, highlighting a need for community-based programs that stressed healthy dental care. |
 
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jrjo
Gone Fishin
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Joined: 15 May 2002
Posts: 16451
Location: Lake Wobegon, MN
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Posted: 01/05/04 - 17:18 Post subject:
Where's Joe? I'm sure he'll challenge the data 
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Pug
The Movie Geek
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Joined: 21 Aug 2003
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Posted: 01/05/04 - 17:33 Post subject:
That's right! Minnesota baby!
Of course, my father is 64 and i think he has a tooth or two left.
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omega lambda
Member
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Joined: 14 May 2002
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Posted: 01/05/04 - 18:01 Post subject:
Hmmm. I'm moving to Utah before I lose any, just to better my chances.
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HYPERASHEL
Member
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Joined: 18 Nov 2003
Posts: 15397
Location: The South's Sauna, Atlanta
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Posted: 01/05/04 - 18:22 Post subject:
Aren't the Osmond's in Utah? 
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runaroundsue
Member
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Joined: 18 Sep 2002
Posts: 6629
Location: supporting GREENer pastures
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Posted: 01/05/04 - 18:34 Post subject:
my father is 76 and has all his natural teeth......my mother lost hers in her 30s sometime. I know she had full dentures in Kindergarten....cuz I got in big time trouble for telling my classmates!! (she was born in 'bama)
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jrjo
Gone Fishin
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Joined: 15 May 2002
Posts: 16451
Location: Lake Wobegon, MN
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Posted: 01/05/04 - 18:37 Post subject:
| runaroundsue wrote: | | ...she had full dentures in Kindergarten.... |
 ...you'd think they'd have at least waited for her adult teeth to grow in.
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kattzoo
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Joined: 28 Feb 2003
Posts: 3813
Location: Happily at the back of the pack
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Posted: 01/05/04 - 18:37 Post subject:
Finally, something that makes me happy we no longer live in KY! God Bless Texas (and our teeth)
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akern
Member
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Joined: 31 May 2002
Posts: 17149
Location: CTU
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Posted: 01/05/04 - 18:38 Post subject:
the tooth retention scale
You think I can buy one of these at Wal-Mart?
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runaroundsue
Member
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Joined: 18 Sep 2002
Posts: 6629
Location: supporting GREENer pastures
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Posted: 01/05/04 - 19:11 Post subject:
| kattzoo wrote: | | Finally, something that makes me happy we no longer live in KY! God Bless Texas (and our teeth) |
no offense.....but TX shocked me!!!!!! That 50% must be North Texas!!! My biggest fear in TX was my kid's teeth. SA refused to add fluoride to drinking water so it's left to the parents to add it to children's fluids. I was shocked.
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Noley
AZhat
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Joined: 16 Aug 2003
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Posted: 01/05/04 - 19:33 Post subject:
This was a little "out there" for me to think about today.
That's all I can say...
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gretriever
Hipster Doofus
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Joined: 16 Jul 2003
Posts: 19385
Location: A moving target in a firing range.
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Posted: 01/05/04 - 20:16 Post subject:
Q. What has twenty arms, twenty legs, and seven teeth?
A. Front row center at the Grand Ole Opry.
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purple hayes
Frightened Inmate #2
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Joined: 14 May 2002
Posts: 14462
Location: ON YOUR LEFT!
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Posted: 01/05/04 - 20:19 Post subject:
Q :: How do you know that the toothbrush was invented in West Virginia?
A :: Because if it was invented anywhere else, they'd have called it a teethbrush.
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crazyfrog
Kermitologist
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Joined: 31 May 2003
Posts: 7610
Location: atlanta
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Posted: 01/05/04 - 21:26 Post subject:
| Quote: | | the study did not focus on the root causes of toothlessness |
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robp
Pyromaniac
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Joined: 26 Jul 2002
Posts: 16242
Location: Waiting in line at the beer store...
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Posted: 01/06/04 - 08:59 Post subject:
| jrjo wrote: | | runaroundsue wrote: | | ...she had full dentures in Kindergarten.... |
...you'd think they'd have at least waited for her adult teeth to grow in. |
My thoughts exactly!
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