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Duke University Medical Center
VOLUME 24, NUMBER 33
AUGUST 19,1977
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA
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Nursing Professor Studies
What Makes Women Sick?
THAT'S WHERE PLAQUE CAN HIDE—Dental assistants Rose Hardy (left) and Linda
Curley (in chair) brush up on their patient education technique as
secretary-receptionist Louise Coates observes. All three are on the staff of Dr.
Norman Ross, associate professor of dentistry. (Photo's by John Becton)
When a woman leaves such
traditional female roles as
homemaker, secretary or nurse, does
she enter the world of stress-related
illness? Or do her attitudes influence
her health more than her role?
These are some of the questions
Nancy Fugate Woods, associate
professor of nursing, is trying to
answer in a study supported by a
$3,700 grant from the American
Nurses Foundation.
The study, which is a part of her
work toward a Ph.D. in
epidemiology at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
involves about 150 married women
between the ages of 20 and 40. It is an
attempt to discover what factors
influence the rates at which women
become ill and what factors influence
their behavior during illness.
How To Cope
"I hope to get a better feel for what
the Jjroblems are and ideas for how
to help cope with the broad social
change of more and more women
They're in the Business of Preserving Teeth
By John Becton
While health professionals
throughout the medical center work
to cure illness and repair injuries,
over in one comer of Baker House
they are trying to save teeth.
Dr. Norman F. Ross, associate
professor of dentistry in the
Department of Surgery, has practiced
his profession here for 31 years. ("I
am now seeing some grandchildren
of some of my original patients.")
His office, in 116 Baker House, is
like any other well equipped and
well staffed, prevention-oriented
dental office, except for its special
purpose of seeing private hospital
patients referred by their physicians,
and its obvious convenience for
people in the medical center.
The staff includes Louise Coates,
secretary/receptionist; Sara Jo
Phillips, hygienist; and. Rose Hardy
and Linda Curley, dental assistants,
all "dedicated to preserving teeth for
a lifetime," Ross said.
Teeth Don't Grow Back
"Some organs have the ability for
self repair, but this is not true of
teeth," the dentist said. "You can't
buy back teeth as good as the
originals," he added.
Thus, a new patient is shown
videotapes and given instructions on
proper brushing, flossing and other
aspects of home care before ever
getting into the chair.
Plaque Is the Enemy
Each patient also receives a kit
containing a toothbrush, dental
floss, mirror, disclosing tablets (to
reveal "plaque") and an instruction
sheet.
"Eighty f>er cent of all tooth loss is
due to destruction of surrounding
tissue. The other 20 per cent is
caused by tooth decay and
accidents," Ross said. "Bacterial
plaque is the common cause of both
decay and inflammation of tissue."
Build-up of plaque, which Ross
described as "colonies of bacteria,"
can be prevented by one thorough
cleansing of the teeth each day.
Ross noted that this does not mean
just brushing.
"Floss gets the important
one-third of the teeth between and
around gum margins that a
toothbrush cannot reach," he
explained. He said that unwaxed
floss is much more effective in
removing plaque than the waxed
variety.
Fluoride Helps
The prevalence of fluoride has
saved quite a few teeth in recent
years, Ross said. He has seen this
firsthand in Durham.
"Having fluoride in the water here
is great for children and adults,
despite the past controversies," he
said.
Regular visits to the dentist to
have the teeth cleaned, checked and
treated as needed to keep small
problems from getting out of hand
also are vital to preserving teeth.
By working with patients on a long
term basis rather than just when a
toothache arises or a tooth gets
broken, Ross and his staff "have
been pretty successful in training
patients to cut their dentistry — and
that includes time and money — in
half and save their teeth," he said.
A former president of the N.C.
Dental Society and current
president-elect of the N.C. Dental
(Continued on page 4)
entering the labor force and
continuing to be employed even
while they are married and have
children," Woods said.
"From an epidemiologic
standpoint," she said, "I'm trying to
find out if there are women who are
at high risk for getting sick, in part
induced by stress.
"From a nursing standpoint," she
added, "I'm looking at broad health
care needs of an understudied group
— women, particularly employed
women. Nurses have a responsibility
to look at interventions that can
either reduce stress from the
environment or help leam better
ways of coping."
Finding Answers
Woods said she is trying to answer
several questions.
"First, do women who are
traditional or feminist in orientation
describe their health status
differently?" she asks. "The
traditional stereotype is that it's okay
for women to express their illness.
Does the woman's attitude make a
difference in the number of
symptoms shereports?
"Second, are women in
non-traditional roles expressing
more symptoms related to anxiety?"
Traditional roles can include work
outside the home. Woods pointed
out, such as secretarial work or
elementary school teaching, while
non-traditional roles may vary from
driving a truck to being a brain
surgeon.
(Continued on page 4)
O
KEEPING TRACK—Nancy F. Woods, associate professor of nursing, is asking about
150 married women to keep a diary of family health for three weeks to help her
determine what factors influence both the rates at which women become ill and their
behavior during illness (Photo by Ina Fried)