Sunday, February 20, 2011

Fundraising for our annual Honduras Medical Brigade

Each year, we make a trek to Honduras with an organization called World Gospel Outreach.


 The purpose or WGO is.

1 To serve and reach the poor for Christ.
2 To provide care for displaced or abandoned children.
3 To provide opportunities for the North American Church to experience the joy that comes through serving.

WGO has been partnering with North American churches for over 25 years to serve and bring the gospel to
 Honduras.

WGO partners with over 80 local churches in the poorest neighborhoods to bring medical services, and hope to the people.



Some Statistics
  • Honduras is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
  • It was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and has still not recovered. 
  • Recently the U.S stopped Aid to Honduras.
  • The average  income in Honduras is about $1 per day per person.
  • Most households are led by single mothers.
  • 37% of the males are alcoholics.
  • 10% of the people have a car.

 Final thoughts


This trip is the highlight of our year as we serve the gracious people of Honduras.



JAMES 1:27 PURE AND UNDEFILED RELIGION BEFORE GOD AND THE FATHER IS THIS: TO VISIT ORPHANS AND WIDOWS IN THEIR TROUBLE...


Fundraising

We are currently fundraising for medical supplies that are badly needed by the Honduran people.

Interested?

If you are interested in donating, you can check the PDF link for a list of needed supplies.
You can contact WGO directly to see how to get involved, or email my office for more information.

Supplies needed list PDF

World gospel Outreach

email me


I welcome your comments.
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Monday, February 14, 2011

Celebrity smiles that Need Help...Part Three.

In an effort to show how some of the biggest celebrity names can improve their appearance by improving their smiles, I will comment on these famous people and the approach I would take to correct the situation. If you have a situation similar th the ones shown, perhaps you can see how a cosmetic improvement can be undertaken.

Naomi Watts
Naomi Watts, Australian  actress, has won multiple awards for acting. She is quite beautiful, but could have a better smile. Here we see gingivitis (red swollen gums) and misalignment of her teeth. she could benefit from braces, whitening and correction of her gum condition.

Pete Doherty
 Pete Doherty, English musician, writer, actor, artist has plenty of talent. He needs a talented smile makeover. He could greatly benefit from braces, whitening, and veneers or crowns on his front teeth.


Ricky Gervias
 Ricky Gervias is a British comedian, actor, director, producer, musician and writer. He has won plenty of awards for his skills. One of his roles was the male lead as a dentist in "Ghost Town". Though I enjoyed the movie, I was "haunted" by his crooked teeth. Ricky could benefit from braces and whitening. It is no excuse that he claims that his smile is because he is British, and they have lousy health care.


Shane McGowan
 Shane McGowan, Irish singer and songwriter, has led a self destructive life. His smile could use implants, fixed bridges,or partial dentures as well as braces.  

Sharon Stone
 Sharon Stone, American actress, film producer and former model, has won multiple acting awards. She is quite beautiful however, her smile could benefit from correction of gum asymmetry, and whitening.


Steve Buscemi
 Steve Buscemi is an American born actor, writer, and film director. He has been nominated for, and won many awards. His smile is one of the most disturbing of any actors. He could benefit form braces, gum treatment, and whitening.


Timbaland
 Timbaland is an American born record producer, singer-songwriter, producer, and rapper. He has won many awards for his talent. His gummy smile is a challenge. To properly correct this would require orthognathic surgery (braces and jaw surgery), and a  gingivectomy to uncover more of the crowns of his teeth
Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Mortensen is a Danish-American actor, poet, musician, photographer, and painter, and writer. He is best known for the role or Aragorn in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. His gummy smile could benefit from braces and a gum lift.




Your comments are welcome.
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Sunday, February 13, 2011

Zinc in denture adhesives dangerous? Which ones are zinc free?

Zinc helps the makes the adhesive stick better. What are the adverse effects? High levels of zinc can deplete other minerals like iron and copper. Depletion of copper can lead to neurological disorders. The suspicion of ingestion of high levels of zinc is the cause of several lawsuits against manufacturers of zinc
containing denture adhesives. 

See ABC Nnews video on the investigation.

After researching the products, I went shopping to see what was on the shelves of three local stores. Intersteingly only three manufacturer's brands and the generic store brand were on the shelves. These were Polygrip (zinc free by Smith Kline Galaxo), Fixodent (zinc by Proctor & Gamble) and Sea Bond (zinc free by Sea Bond).

 Both Fixodent and Polygrip dominated the shelf space with several variations of their products taking up 90% of the shelf space. The store brand was zinc free, and the label went to great lengths to point out that  it was not manufactured by P & G.
I have listed below several denture adhesives and categorized them by whether they contain zinc or not. 

Zinc free adhesives
Cushion Grip
dushion Grip paste is  manufactured by Schering-Plough, and is zinc free. It is not your typical paste adhesive and has special instructions to apply and remove


Dentrio

 Dentrio adhesive powder is manufactured in Indi,a and distributed by MDM Corporation. It is zinc free.
Effergrip

 Effergrip paste is manufactured by Johnson and Johnson, and is zinc free.
Endslip
 Endslip liners are manufactured by Durasol, and are zinc free.

Miracle Grip
 Miracle Grip, manufactured by U.S. Medical, is a polymer sheet and does not appear to contain zinc. 

Perma Grip
 Perma Grip, Manufactured by Lee Pharmaceuticals, is zinc free.
Poly Grip Powder
 Polygrip Powder, manufactured by Galaxo Smith Kline, has been reformulated with no zinc.
Polygrip paste
 Polygrip paste, manufactured by Galaxo Smith Kline, has been reformulated with no zinc.
Polygrip Strips
 Polygrip Strips, manufactured by Galaxo Smith Kline, contains no zinc.

Protefix powder, paste, liners
 Protefix products, manufacturer unknown but distributed by an Egyptian importer. It appears to use alginate as the adhesive agent, and contain no zinc.
Rigident Powder
 Rigident Powder, manufactured by Church & Dwight, is zinc free.

Sea Bond
 Sea Bond liners are manufactured by Sea Bond Inc. are zinc free.

Secure liners
 Secure liners, manufactured by Den Tek are zinc free, but require special instructions for application and removal. They can last for days worth of wear.
Secure denture paste liner
Secure denture paste liner, manufactured by Den Tek is zinc free, but require special instructions for application and removal. They can last fro days worth of wear.
Staydent denture paste
Staydent denture paste, manufactured by Mercer Group Limited, is zinc free.

Dental adhesives with unknown ingredients

Orafix

 Orafix was originally manufactured by Smith Kline Beecham, but may have been sold. Ingredients unknown.
Klutch adhesive powder
Klutch is manufactued by The Oakhurst Company. Ingedients unknown.

Adhesives that contain zinc
Fixodent paste
 Fixodent paste is manufactured by Proctor & Gamble, and contains zinc.

Fixodent powder
Fixodent powder is manufactured by Proctor & Gamble, and contains zinc.

Ina future article, I will advise on alternatives to adhesives.


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Friday, February 11, 2011

Celebrity smiles that Need Help...Part Two.

In an effort to show how some of the biggest celebrity names can improve their appearance by improving their smiles, I will comment on these famous people and the approach I would take to correct the situation. If you have a situation similar th the ones shown, perhaps you can see how a cosmetic improvement can be undertaken.



Johnny Rotten


John Lyden "Johnny Rotten" Brittish punk rocker and lead singer obviously could benefit from a dental implant as well as braces.

Katie Holmes

Katie Holmes, American actress, is best known for her marriage to Tom Cruise. Both she and Tom have dental issues. Tom has had multiple treatments to correct his smile.
Katie appears to need help also. Braces and a crown or veneer should help her condition.

Kate Moss

Kate Moss, a top British model, has plenty of photographic exposure. Most people are not necessarily looking at her teeth when she is on a runway, or in a magazine. Kate could benefit from braces to correct the uneven appearance of her teeth.

Keanu Reeves

Keanu Reeves, a Canadian born actor, has starred in many movies in the past few years iccluding the blockbuster "Matrix"series. Keanu could really benefit from braces for correction of his lower arch as seen here.

Kirsten Dunst


Kirsten Dunst is an award winning American born actress and singer. This highly talented actress is a well know face in movies. Kirsten's smile would greatly benefit from a gum lift and braces.  


Madonna

Madonna is an American born singer, sonwriter, actress. Some of her outrageous costumes became her calling card on tour. Madonna works very hard to stay in great shape. Her smile would use a workout with braces to close the space (diastema) in front.
Marc Anthony

Marc Anthony is a Puerto Rican-American musician, singer-songwriter, actor and producer. Anthony is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. Marc's smile shows some staining or discoloration (possibly due to poorly matching fillings), as well as misalignment, and wear. He could benefit from whitening, braces, and veneers.




Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps, American born swimmer, is the worlds greatest Olympic swimmer. He has a chance to add to his impressive record at the next Olympics. Michael has a severely narrowed upper jaw that would require orthognathic (braces and jaw) surgery to correct.

Owen Wilson


Owen Wilson, American born actor and screenwriter, has multiple award nominations. He has been quite active in movies the past 15 years. Owen could benefit from braces as seen here however his nose is probably a trademark look trademark for him.




Michael Strahan


Michael Strahan, American born former pro bowl defensive end and current sports commentator/actor has shown that he is extremely talented over the years. Michael has a trademark diastema (space). The only correction for a space this large is braces.




Morgan Freeman is a multiple award winning American born actor. He is revered as one of the finest actors in the world. Morgan's smile could benefit form braces and veneers or crowns to minimize the dark spaces between his teeth and correct color..


I welcome your comments.
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Monday, February 7, 2011

My dog helped us dig out of the snow after the blizzard of 2011

Enjoy

Groundhog day Blizzard of 2011


I welcome your comments.
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About Me

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Born in the Midwest. Married with 6 children and 3 grandchildren. Attended Maine West High School, Harper Jr College, Northern Illinois University, the University of Illinois College of Dentistry. Practice in Crystal Lake, Illinois.