DENTAL hunts Brought to tbe community A by 8porgeoo W. Webber fl D.D.8. ■ Child-Enlightenment aurpnsmgty, even in tms day and age of early child-en lightenment on most subjects, some parents still find they have difficulty getting child ren to exercise good oral hygiene practices. For parents with children who'd rather leave mouth-care “to nature,” here are some good basic thoughts. First, of course, the youngs ter must have explicit instruc tions in the care of the teeth. (This is too extensive to cover here, but printed information is available free of charge at this office, to assist in home guidance programs.) After thorough instruction, it then becomes a matter of helping the child to form the right habits through continuous suggestion and endless follow up, until he-she is primed and following procedures automa tically. Put special emphasis on what takes place in the mouth, on and around the teeth, when brushing is not performed after eating. Three-times daily reminders may be ne cessary. One very impressive way to implant the import ance of brushing in a child’s mind is for him to see the parent caring regularly, meti culously for his or her own teeth. “Make a show” of giving your teeth efficient and proper cleaning, and make it a point to do this at a time and in a manner that will have to be observed by the youngster. Don’t be reluctant to “preach’’ about the damaging effects on the teeth of sugar, candies, desserts, etc., and how these effects can be mini mized through frequent clean ing, flossing, rinsing, and fol lowing of sweet food intake with “detergent foods,”. fruits and vegetables. If a child is particularly for getful or uncooperative, it may be necessary to establish punishment for noncom pliance. Physical punishment is not recommended - the psy chological association of spanking with oral care could work against your program - but, taking away privileges can be quite effective. If TV-watching is your child’s top priority, pull the plug on his favorite program a few times, and watch his coopera tion-enthusiasm level jump to new highs. Education about oral care - including showing pictures of severe cases, where proper care has not been given teeth - will, for the normal child, be strong motivation. Of course, regular visits to the dentist are tops on the important procedures list, as this proves beyond doubt the parents are serious in their beliefs. “Iron Poor Blood? Remember those television commercials that promised you relief from “iron poor” blood? They might have been half right. Iron is an impor tant substance in the blood and the lack of iron - or anemia - is an important clue that something somewhere in your body has gone wrong. Anemia is not a disease itself but rather it is a symp tom. You should not take iron to “perk up” tired blood. Doing so may mask an impor tant underlying cause of your anemia. If your lips and tongue are pale and the palms of your hands are white your physi cian may suspect you to be anemic. However, these fac tors may be largely determin ed by the natural pigment in your skin, an individual cha racteristic. In any case a simple blood test will confirm whether or not you are anem ic. There are many contribut ing factors to anemia. It can be anything from a poor diet or an infection somewhere in your body, to a disorder of the bone marrow which makes the blood. Hemorrhoids, because of the small blood losses, may be a corun outing cause of anemia over a period of time. Women have a higher ten dency to be anemic than men. This is because of the regular loss of blood during their menstrual cycle. In any case don’t be misled into taking iron supplements just because you are tired. Masking an important symp tom such as anemia may be more harmful than the bene fits of temporarily "perking up iron poor blood.” Free Blood fYei*we Sowing Will Be Held A free blood pressure screening will be held at the YWCA at 3430 Park Rood next week. Members and non members of the YW are invit ed to participate. Blood pressure readings will he taken between 3:30and 7:90 p m daily, Tuesday, Wednes day and Thursday, April 17, If and 19, in the lobby of the YW. 9 - » J*nrthv AnrtlH ig" - the charlotte post - *>»«>«. sb Thursday Viewing --24^22 «.w j® O - Phil Donahue Parents . discuss child snatching. Part 2 33) ® - Mike Douglas Cohost .Pat Harrington is joinad by guests Stockard Channing and Hal Lin den. Where the show is aired for 90 minutes Father El (wood Kieser and Kitty O'Neil will be included 10:00 A.M. ® • - Merv Griffin Today s guMts are Cheryl Tiegs, Tim Matheson and Twiggy and her husband Michael Wrtney. Where the show is aired for 90 minutes Josh Taylor and Robert White will be included. Henry to take a year s base to assist thelund And IBM continued to pay ' hxn hrs fut salary The National Fund hr Minority Engneenng Students is a very worth