Health News

Features

To smile or not to smile

Dr. Karen Teston and other local experts on oral hygiene and your overall health Some folks are afraid of pain. Some know they haven’t done a good job of taking care of their teeth, and don’t want to be lectured. Still others lack cash. Whatever the reason, many avoid the dentist until an emergency arises.…
Community outreach programs make check-ups more available

Free dental exams, preventative tooth care, and more Several outreach programs in Polk County recently offered free dental exams and other tooth services to spread awareness about the need for dental health care. At the Haines City Dental Clinic, the Florida Department of Health in Polk County (FDOH-Polk) offered free comprehensive dental exams to children…
Helping make the healthier choice, the easier choice

About the Building a Healthier Polk initiative Building a Healthier Polk is a group of community partners brought together by Polk Vision who are working towards the goal of reducing the obesity rate in Polk County. Polk Vision is a broad, community-led partnership of organizations, businesses, government, and individuals. In 2012, Polk Vision’s Quality of…

One of the many roles of physicians

Physicians perform many functions in our society. One of the tasks physicians perform that almost everyone knows about is the care of the ill and injured patient. But physicians also perform other functions. They take care of patients that are neither ill nor injured. These are individuals in our society that perform critical functions…
Breaking the mold of medical advertising

When asking, “What’s the standard of medical advertising?” That’s a simple question to answer: new medical staff, the latest equipment, or latest ratings from U.S. News and World Report are just some of the qualities we look for in a medical ad. But what other messages can the medical industry send out to the public?…
Editor’s Dose: Don’t miss out on this issue’s Healthy Cook article

As I spoke with various doctors and medical professionals on this month’s topic of breast cancer, several themes were emphasized. Specifically, the importance of a healthy diet and nutrition is one thing that doctors are really focusing on for the long-term overall health of their patients. For this reason, we could not leave out our…