Those embarrassing purple
teeth! Remember when the health nurse used to come to our school and give us
those purple pills that when chewed would reveal the plaque in your teeth? It
was back in those days that we went through dental screenings, vision
screenings, and hearing screenings. There was a real effort made to educate the
young as to healthy habits and the importance of good vision, dental health and
hearing. I can still picture the oversized set of teeth and gums and the giant
toothbrush that was used to teach us the right way to brush our teeth and the
vision chart that we still use as well as what I now know as a screening
Audiometer. I remember so well the room that our school provided for the
screenings to be done and worrying about pass or failure.
Over the years it has become common practice for us to have our
vision tested to see where we stand, we check our children’s vision and have
ours checked periodically as adults. The dentist is now visited regularly to
check dental work and to prevent decay through cleanings.
Hearing is a major and important sense that should be
checked pre-emptively to be educated as to where we stand with this ability. We
would not wait till we had lost significant vision before having vision testing
or till several teeth had fallen out before we thought a dentist might be a
good idea.
Each of us should have our hearing baseline tested in order
to reference change in the future. Knowing that you have a mild hearing loss
allows you to take action early and with great potential to optimize function.
Eyes ears teeth all need to be kept as healthy as possible
with screenings and testing a necessary part of the process.
