NEXT CERT TRAINING SEPT.

The River Vale Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is looking for additional men and women to join the ranks of citizen volunteers within the Township.

This group is composed of residents ages 18 and up who receive specialized training in the various areas of emergencymanagement and response.

The purpose of the CERT program is to train ordinary citizens to care for themselves, their family, their neighbors and finally, their community,in case of an emergency. These volunteers will

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help to improvethe response and preparedness of the community and the emergencyservices.

The CERTtraining and education experience forms a crucial link between the community and the professional emergency response teams. CERTtraining is a great way to feel more empowered to protect yourself,your family and potentially your community. The next training session starts Sept. 26.

For more information visit www.rivervalenj.org/155/Training or contact deputy OEM coordinators Bill Peters or Linda Wayne.

hit, it is important to get the proper concussion evaluation to compare it to the baseline testing.

With this baseline testing, there is never a guess of what happened to the brain. We will know exactly what is wrong and how to fix it so that the child can get back on the field without physical, social or cognitive effects. Without baseline testing we will haveno idea what damage was done and that makes treatment much harder and less effective. There is no reason our children need to suffer from concussions when these injuries can be totally prevented.

One final thing to remember is that you do not have to have a concussion to have a brain injury. I had a patient who had some brain dysfunction that started after he bumped helmets with a teammate to celebrate a touchdown. Even though they were wearing the proper helmets at the time, the head had this shearing force INSIDE his skull that caused brain irritation and inflammation. Sometimes even just a quick head movement, somebody lightly smacking your head, bumping your head on a shelf, or even certain dance moves, can cause the brain to get tossed around inside the skull causing neurological consequences.

If you have any symptoms or want to make sure you prevent symptoms from ever occurring, I recommend baseline testing for sure. Probably the best neurology tool we have in our office is called a qEEG brain mapping which measures brain waves and utilizes neurofeedback. Basically you wear what looks likeaswimmers cap on your head. It has electrodes attached to it and can measure the different areas of the brain and tell you what areas are not functioning well. It is noninvasive, there is no radiation, no pain, and only takes about 30 minutes to perform. It is normally $500, but we are doing a special for the month of August where you can get the qEEG for only $21. There are limited spots so call 201-261-2150 or email info@kaplanbrainandbody.com to reserve your spot immediately. Besides stimulating the weak areas of the brain and calming down the overactive parts of the brain, it is also important to create good brain habits to function better, feel better, and live better. These habits include eating healthy, exercising daily, getting a good nightʼs sleep, drinking

PASCACK VALLEY

the proper amount of water, reducing stress and anxiety, having fun, creating joy, meditating, being in nature, and getting sunlight.

For more informational videos about how to improve your brain function, please subscribe to my YouTube Channel “Kaplan Brain and Body,” and you will start to function better, feel better, and live better. Also, please listen to my radio show Boost Your Brain Power every Saturday at 8am on 970 AM and at 2pm on 710 AM. It's a NO BRAINER!

Ask the Dentist: Gum disease related to Heart disease?

Question: The dentist told my husband that untreated gum disease can increase chances of heart attack. Is this true?

ROBERT H. GULLER, D.M.D OF PASCACK DENTAL

J. S., Westwood

Answer: As far back as 1989, a case study in Finland demonstrated that patients with oral infection were 30% more likely to present with heart attack as compared to patients without oral infections. Subsequently,a large 14 year case study of 9760 people demonstrated that those with gum disease had a 25% increased risk of coronary heart disease as opposed to the people with minimal or no gum disease when adjusted for all other variables. Another study by Beck et al., showed that people with X-ray evidence of gum disease (bone loss) were 0.5-2.8 times more likely to develop heart disease or stroke than those without significant evidence.

It appears that there is an established link between gum (periodontal) disease and heart disease, but ongoing and future research should help to clarify exact reasons for this link and help to determine what methods of disease prevention are most effective. Should and will gum disease be listed among traditional cardiac risk factors? Weʼll haveto wait and see.

For questions about this and other dental procedures contact Dr Guller at askdrguller@aol.com or call (201) 391-5565.