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September 2024 Newsletter

What´s New at Savon

Quote Of The Month:   “Accoring to a new survey, 90% of men say their lover is also their best friend.  Which is really kind of disturbing when you consider man‘s best friend is his dog.”  Jay Leno (American television host and comedian – 1950 – present)


Congratulations To:

A. Rubin of Surprise AZ and S. Hopkins of Durango, CO  Winners of our August early payment drawings for 1 free additional year of membership.

Congratulations to our winners and thank you to everyone that entered the drawing.


To Your Health:

Will Weight Loss Cure Sleep Apnea Naturally?

Article source: https://articlebiz.com

Obesity and sleep apnea are two health issues that often go hand in hand.  Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder where a person experiences pauses in breathing or shallow breathing during sleep.

Sleep apnea is a serious condition that can lead to various health problems, including high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.  On the other hand, obesity is a major risk factor for sleep apnea, as excess weight can contribute to airway obstruction during sleep.

Medical professionals advise many people with sleep apnea to lose weight as part of their treatment plan.  This begs the question, “Can weight loss cure sleep apnea naturally?”

In this article, we will explore the relationship between weight loss and sleep apnea and whether shedding pounds can effectively treat this sleep disorder.

The Link Between Weight Loss and Sleep Apnea

Obesity is a significant risk factor for sleep apnea.  Studies have shown that excess weight can contribute to upper airway obstruction during sleep, leading to pauses in breathing.

This is because fat deposits around the neck and throat can put pressure on the airway, making it difficult for air to flow freely.  As a result, the person experiences pauses in breathing, which can disrupt their sleep and lead to other health problems.

On the other hand, losing weight can help reduce the severity of sleep apnea.  A study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine found that a 10% reduction in weight can lead to a 26% decrease in the severity of sleep apnea.  This is because losing weight can reduce the amount of fat around the neck and throat, thus reducing the risk of airway obstruction.

Furthermore, weight loss can also improve other risk factors for sleep apnea, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.  These conditions can contribute to the development and progression of sleep apnea, so managing them through weight loss can be beneficial.

Can Weight Loss Cure Sleep Apnea Naturally?

Well, while weight loss can certainly help improve sleep apnea, it is not a cure.  The effectiveness of weight loss as a treatment for sleep apnea varies from person to person.

For some individuals, losing weight may completely resolve their sleep apnea, while for others, it may only lead to a reduction in its severity.

Moreover, weight loss alone may not be enough to treat sleep apnea.  In some cases, other treatment options, such as the use of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, may be necessary to manage the condition.

CPAP therapy involves wearing a mask over the nose and mouth during sleep, which delivers a constant flow of air to keep the airway open.

The Importance of Healthy Lifestyle Habits

While weight loss may not be a cure for sleep apnea, it is still an essential aspect of managing the condition.  Maintaining a healthy weight through a proper diet and regular exercise can not only help reduce the severity of sleep apnea but also improve overall health and well–being.

In addition to weight loss, other lifestyle habits can also help manage sleep apnea.  These include avoiding alcohol and sedatives before bedtime, sleeping on your side instead of your back, and maintaining a regular sleep schedule.  Making these small changes can make a significant difference in managing sleep apnea.

In conclusion, weight loss can play a crucial role in managing sleep apnea, but it is not a cure.  It can help reduce the severity of the condition and improve overall health, but other treatment options may still be necessary.

Therefore, if you are struggling with sleep apnea, it is essential to consult with a healthcare professional to develop a comprehensive treatment plan that includes weight loss and other lifestyle changes.

The above health material is provided as an information service.  It should not be used for diagnostic purposes nor is it intended to take the place of the important relationship between you and your doctor.


In the Kitchen With Patty:

Smothered Pork Chops With Cream Gravy

Patty.
Ingredients
  1. 4 to 6 bone–in pork chops
  2. 2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
  3. Kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper and Cajun Seasoning, to taste
  4. 1 cup sliced Vidalia or other sweet or yellow onion
  5. 1 cup sliced green bell pepper
  6. Butter added to pan to equal a total of ½ cup fat
  7. ½ cup all–purpose flour
  8. 2 cups water
  9. 2 cups half and half or whole milk
  10. Hot steamed rice
  11. Pinch dried parsley, for garnish, optional

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Season chops on both sides with salt, pepper and Cajun seasoning; brown both sides, remove and set aside.

Add the onion and green pepper to the skillet and sauté until lightly caramelized. Transfer to the top of the chops.

In the same skillet, add enough butter to bring fat to ½ cup total.

Stir in the flour until fully incorporated and no lumps remain; cook, stirring constantly until roux reaches desired color, somewhere between cream and light brown.

Combine water and half and half or milk, and slowly add to roux, stirring constantly.  Cook and stir for 5 minutes.

Return chops to skillet and turn to coat.  Cover and simmer on medium low, for 20 to 30 minutes, or until tender and cooked through, checking occasionally to prevent sticking.  Total time will depend on thickness of pork chops.

Remove chops and plate along with steamed rice; whisk gravy before spooning over chops.  Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Enjoy!  And remember, if it looks and smells good, eat it!!


spotlight
 

Jennings, Larson & Larson Family Dentistry

Jennings, Larson & Larson
Our spotlight for September goes to the city of Bullhead City, Arizona and shines on Jennings, Larson & Larson Family Dentistry.

Jennings, Larson, & Larson Family Dentistry have been a Preferred Provider since 2016.  They are one of only a few providers that are serving our members in the area.

They are family owned and operated and the dentists live here and care about and support the community.  They have been serving the Tri–State Area for the last twenty–five years.

They have the area‘s largest practice with the most coverage available for you.  They have great hours, 8:00 am to 9:00 pm most days.  They have six dentists on staff and six hygienists ready to serve your every dental need.


The practice is located at 1093 Hancock Road, Bullhead City, AZ 86442.  The phone number is (928)758-5588.  We also invite you to visit them on the web.

Say thank you to your dental office for the excellent manner in which you are treated by nominating your dentist!


Fun Facts:

Crazy, Zany Facts We Bet You Didn´t Know

confused
  • Queen Elizabeth II‘s cows sleep on waterbeds.

  • If you plug your nose, you can‘t tell the difference between an apple, a potato, and an onion.

  • Many oranges are actually green.

  • The largest bill to go into circulation in the United States was a $10,000 note.

  • Massachusetts is home to Busta Rhymes Island.

  • There‘s a tiny home in Virginia called the “Spite House” because that‘s why it was built.

  • An earthquake might have shrunk Mount Everest.
Come back for more in next months issue!


Dental Talk - A Member Blog Forum:

Blogging
Come blog with us!  Dental Talk with Savon is a fun forum to post your interesting topics!  Your comments are welcome, it´s free to use and no membership is required.

Some of the topics include;

These are just a few of the topics.  Our blog site contains many other interesting topics.  Please join us!!


Here’s Your Answer

Questions From Our Members

A. Roundtree of Austin, Texas asks: 

“When you update the fees the dentists can charge us, do you mail out new Schedule of Benefits to us and if not, why?”

Savon’s Answer

The answer is yes and no.  Yes, we mail them out when you renew your plan.  Other than that, no we don‘t.  The reason that we don't mail them out is it‘s cost prohibitive.

We are able to keep our membership fees low because we monitor our administrative costs very closely.  A mass mailing of any sort would mean that we would have to raise our membership fees to offset the cost of the mailings.

All our current fee schedules are available for download in a PDF version on our website.  If you don‘t have internet access, please contact our Customer Care Center at 602–841–3494 to have a current one sent to you.


Tooth Talk With Tommy The Wisdom Tooth

The Possible Plus Side To Monitoring Tooth Wear Via AI

A direct reprint of an article by Ava Barros of DrBicuspid.com
Tommy
An artificial intelligence (AI)–assisted automated system for detecting tooth wear progression may streamline diagnostics and improve decision–making for tooth restoration.  The study was published in the Journal of Dentistry.

Furthermore, the automated method is faster and matches the accuracy of the manual protocol for full–arch intraoral scans (IOSs), the authors wrote.

“The automated measurements of tooth profile loss between IOSs at baseline and at subsequent follow–ups were clinically comparable to measurements using a reliable manual protocol, underlining the potential and validity of fully automated monitoring of tooth wear in a clinical setting,” wrote the authors, led by Niels van Nistelrooij of the Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands (J Dent, August 27, 2024, 105323).

The retrospective diagnostic study included eight men with an average age of 43 and generalized tooth wear who were monitored in the Radboud Tooth Wear Project at the medical center.  IOSs of the maxillary and mandibular teeth were taken at baseline, with follow–ups at one, three, and five years.  The study assessed tooth wear progression by comparing the baseline IOS with follow–up scans, all exported as stereolithography (STL) files.

The automated method segmented the dental arch into individual teeth and used unaffected surfaces for tooth pair registration to track wear over time.  It was evaluated against the manual 3D wear analysis (3DWA) protocol by comparing tooth segmentations using the Dice–Sørensen coefficient (DSC) and intersection over union (IoU), they wrote.

The automated method provided a detailed overview of tooth wear progression, with StratifiedTSegNet accurately segmenting each tooth.  The largest differences between the automated method and the 3DWA protocol were observed over the zero to five–year interval, where the automated method indicated more tooth wear due to a better fit between corresponding teeth, they wrote.

For example, the automated method showed greater wear on tooth #11‘s incisal edge, which the 3DWA protocol underestimated due to inaccurate registration.  The automated method‘s segmentation was highly effective (DSC = 0.947±0.033, IoU = 0.907±0.047) and showed a strong correlation with the 3DWA protocol (correlation = 0.932).

Differences between the methods were generally small (95% confidence interval = -0.083 to 0.135), with slightly higher measurements of tooth profile loss for the automated method (mean difference = 0.021 mm, p <0.001).  Tooth pair registration failed in 2.9% of cases (15 out of 516) and variability between the two methods increased over longer time intervals, according to the results.

However, the study had limitations.  StratifiedTSegNet sometimes failed to segment teeth accurately, possibly due to the algorithm not being specifically designed for worn teeth and the training data being based on colorless plaster models, the authors wrote.

ø “The proposed automated method for monitoring tooth wear progression was faster and not clinically significantly different in accuracy compared to a manual protocol for full–arch IOSs,” van Nistelrooij and colleagues wrote.

Until next time; brush, floss and keep smiling!

The above material is provided as an information service and is not intended as medical advice.


News You Need To Know

The Schedule Of Benefits Goes Into Effect October 1, 2024

We have completed the process of adjusting the Schedule of Benefits and are now releasing it to the providers and our members.

The new Schedule of Benefits is available at SavonDentalPlan.com or by clicking this link.

We worked very hard to keep the fees that you pay for dental care as low as possible and we are confident that the plan has stayed true to our mission statement;

“To provide quality and timely dental care at a price that is fair and reasonable to the member and the dentist.”

The next examination of the Schedule of Benefits will be sometime in 2026.

Thank you for your continued trust in Savon Dental Plan and rest assured that we will continue to work hard to protect that trust.

Savon Dental Plan Is Not Available For Purchase In The State Of Florida
 
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