food
Beating those beer munchies
What foods do students prefer when they get those post-party cravings? Many go for an early breakfast or a late-night feast of the junkiest junk foods.
By Kevin Hoffmann Kansan staff writer
The waiters and waitresses stood apprehensively, looking at their watches. Within minutes, the quiet and peaceful restaurant would be transformed.
Soon a hunger-striken crowd would stagger through the doors, raising a ruckus that could wake the dead. Soon it would be time for students with the late-night beer munchies to swarm Lawrence's restaurants.
Neil Christensen, manager of Village Inn Pancake House Restaurant, 821 Iowa St., has witnessed the chaos every weekend since he came to the restaurant more than a year ago.
"As a waiter, I'm standing there quietly, with no tables," he said. "In ten minutes, every table is full, and they all want something."
In an informal poll of late-night partners last weekend, Village Inn ranked as a popular place to satisfy the beer munchies, those cravings experienced after a night of consuming alcohol.
By 2 a.m., the 24-hour restaurant had a lobby full of customers, none of whom seemed to mind the 20-minute wait.
Many hoped that food would help absorb the alcohol they had just consumed and ward off hangovers.
Jenny Zeiner / KANSAN
But Julie Francis, public health educator at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said there was no link between food consumption and the slowing of the intoxication process.
However, certain foods are better at soothing an
unsettled stomach that often strikes after a night of drinking, Francis said.
"Iwould suggest you stay away from spicy meals and heavily acidic meals," she said. "Breads, pasta and the more bland foods will have a better soothing effect on the stomach."
Some of the people who crowded Village Inn just wanted to socialize with the beer-munchie crowd.
"When you go to a bar, you meet with people and you can't hear," Christensen said. "You want to go out to breakfast afterward and see these people before you go home."
Carrie Michaelson, Lawrence resident, said she and her friends frequented the restaurant for reasons other than the food.
"Some nights, we just come to watch people," she said. "There are always so many people in here on a weekend night."
Emily Niehaus, West Bend, Wis., sophomore, watched with amazement when the waitress arrived with a tray full of plates.
"Oh my God, look at all the food," she said, gasping.
"Oh my God, look at all the food," she said, gasping. Appetites of the late-night crowd varied. Many students wanted breakfast, choosing — or perhaps salivating over — omelettes and pancakes. Others opted for chicken fried steak.
Some people craved something sweet, and others said they wanted something greasy. Almost everybody wanted a large glass of water because alcohol has been proven to dehydrate the body.
"We usually crave greasy foods like french fries because they taste so good." Michaelson said.
The scene at Village Inn is common at other Lawrence restaurants, as well.
Taco Bell, Perkins, Burger King and various pizza delivery companies are among regular choices of the late-night beer munchie crowd.
Richard Tyner, an employee on the graveyard shift at Taco Bell, 1408 W. 23rd St., watched while the line for the drive-thru backed up into the street.
"You get a lot of big orders," he said. "Sometimes they're slow, and they don't always know what they want."
Tyner said serving the late-night crowd could be entertaining.
"Sometimes they're pretty funny to watch," he said.
Restaurants are not the only places where people with the beer munchies go. Irvine Bran, clerk at the Jayhawk Food Mart, 701 W. Ninth St., said his store saw a rush every Friday and Saturday around 1:45 a.m.
"I guess beer makes you get the munchies," he said.
"They all get junk food, no vegetables."
But even the die-hard nightwish must go home sometime. After satisfying their bellies with junk food, those in the late-night beer munchie crowd begin to disperse.
By 4 a.m., the city was calm again. Vacuum cleaners roamed the floors at Village Inn. Waiters and waitresses showed fatigue and an eagerness to go home.
"It's really draining," Christensen said. "After what we've been through, we're exhausted and ready to go home."
health
The wisdom behind tooth extraction
No one ever said getting wisdom teeth pulled was fun. So why are so many students subjecting themselves to the dentist's drill?
By Cathleon Siechta
Kansan staff writer
The dentist's office usually is a place that students try to avoid. The whining of drills, the sight of horrific dental tools and the sound of Michael Bolton on the overhead speakers would be enough to drive anyone away.
But when it comes to impacted wisdom teeth, students may as well just ask for the Novocain, sit back and open wide.
"A small percent of patients have wisdom teeth that erupt normally," said Joseph Harvey, an oral surgeon at Lawrence Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. "But in general, we can predict when problems with the teeth will occur. Even if they come in slanted, they can be hard to clean and that can start a decaying process."
Getting wisdom teeth pulled is an ordeal that many young people face. The wisdom teeth, otherwise known as third molars, start coming in between the ages of 17 and 22. Because there usually is not enough room in the mouth for the extra teeth, most wisdom teeth are a health risk
Wisdom teeth can cause gum disease and structural damage to surrounding teeth. If a wisdom tooth grows into an awkward position, such as facing the cheek, it may irritate surrounding tissue, become hard to clean and even cause difficulty when biting down. The area around an impacted wisdom tooth can fill with fluid and form a cyst that can destroy surrounding bone.
When wisdom teeth are impacted, or trapped within the jawbone, decay is just one of the problems that can arise. Depending on the way the wisdom牙齿 grow, and depending on the size of the jaw, wisdom teeth can cause pain and swelling. Even if no symptoms arise, wisdom teeth can still put other teeth at risk.
Dental examinations are recommended at least once a year, even if a person does not experience pain or swelling. This enables the dentist to diagnose potential problems that the wisdom teeth could cause.
If a dentist decides the wisdom teeth should be removed, an x-ray is taken and an oral surgeon discusses the procedure with the patient.
Patients may opt to have local anesthesia or be put completely under.
be asleep during the surgery," Harvey said. "When we do the procedure under local anesthetic, the patient has to endure a lot of shots and alot of noise. The main difference is that the patient is totally aware of what's going on under local anesthetic."
Patients who suffer from anxiety about the surgery have the option of taking an oral sedative to relax themselves before going in for surgery, Harvey said.
The procedure Bilton endured was more complicated than usual because his wisdom teeth were impacted. When this occurs, an incision must be made in the gums and bone tissue to remove the tooth, which is sometimes sectioned into smaller pieces for easier removal. After the procedure, the gums are stitched back together.
"The majority of patients choose to
"My teeth were completely impacted into my jawbone, and that's the worst kind," he said. "I was totally gone, totally out during the whole thing. I didn't want to be awake for the surgery. I still felt terrible for weeks, and I couldn't eat any solid foods."
Although the potential does exist for some major complications such as damage to the sensory nerve in the lower lip and chin and infection of the sinus cavity, the risks of these problems are low.
Matt Bellon, a Lenexa junior who had his wisdom teeth pulled two years ago, said he preferred to be unconscious during the procedure.
If the teeth already have erupted through the gums, however, they are simply extracted with forceps.
Minor post-surgery complications such as bleeding, swelling, bruising and cracking of the skin around the mouth occur more frequently, but they are not always typical of the surgery.
"Young, healthy people usually never bruise or have problems," Harvey said. "Occasionally the patient will have a dry socket, but that's about it."
Drysocket occurs when a blood clot does not form in the removed tooth's socket. Harvey said this problem was easily treated by inserting a medicated pad into the socket to cover the bone and start the healing process.
"The chances of those complications are less than one percent," Harvey said. "It's very rare."
Removal of troublesome teeth
The crown of the wisdom tooth may erupt from the gums normally, but often it is partially or completely impacted in the jawbone. The roots of upper wisdom teeth may grow towards the sinus cavity, and the lower wisdom teeth roots may deepen and approach nerves in the lower jaw. These changes can result in pain, swelling or risk of disease and decay.
Erupted teeth
Extraction of erupted tooth
Impacted teeth
A wisdom tooth may be extracted with forceps. In some cases, the roots may be embedded into the jaw bone, forcing the doctor to split the tooth and extract the sections.
An impacted tooth requires an incision to be made in the gum to reach the tooth. If the tooth is lodged in the jawbone, the bone tissue covering it may have to be removed.
Tooth extracted in sections
Source: Kansan staff research
Incision with gum flap folded back
After getting wisdom teeth removed, patients are urged to rest, eat soft foods and apply ice packs to their cheeks for the initial 24-hour period after surgery. Students are advised to have the procedure done when their schedule allows a few free days in which they can recuperate.
The cost of an hour-long procedure which removes all four wisdom teeth and includes anesthesia and x-rays is about $994.
Wisdom tooth removed and sutures closing the incision
Graham Bailey, director of public relations for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas, said another reason students got their wisdom teeth pulled before the age of 23 was because they could still pay for the procedure with their parents' insurance policy.
Harvey said that many people got their wisdom teeth extracted during their college years.
"The normal cut-off age on most family-plain insurance policies is 23." Bailey said. "It would probably be in the best interest of students to have the procedure covered by their parents' plan."
Dave Campbell / KANSAN
"Young, healthy people usually never bruise or have problems."
JosephHarvey oral surgeon
But some students may not have the choice of when to have their wisdom teeth pulled.
Cassidi Sporhase, Lincoln, Neb., junior, hasn't had her wisdom teeth pulled yet. Her dentist suggested that she wait until the teeth were more visible.
"I'd rather have an edema than have my teeth pulled," Sporhase said. "But I'd rather my parents pay for it now than have to pay for it myself in two years."
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FEBRUARY 9,1994
PAGE 9
People and places at the University of Kansas.
calendar
EXHIBITIONS
Exhibition — Dennis
Exhibition — "The Sleep of Reason: Reality and Fantasy in the Print Series of Goya," Jan. 9-Feb. 20 at the Spencer Museum of Art.
Oppenheim: Drawings and Selected Sculpture, Jan. 16-Feb. 27 at the Spencer Museum of Art.
Exhibition — Sculpture by Douglas Warnock, Jan. 22-tomorrow at the Lawrence Arts Center, 200 W. Ninth St.
Exhibition — Sacred and Profane: Two Books In Black and White, Jan. 23-March 20 at the Spencer Museum of Art.
Exhibition — "By A Clearer Light: Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the National Park Service — Photographs by David Halpern," Jan. 31-Feb. 19 at the Kansas Union Gallery.
LECTURES
Zen Talk — Fukushima Keldo Roshi, Zen Master and Abbot of the Tofuku-jl (Tofuku Temple) in Japan, noon tomorrow at Central
court in the Spencer Museum of Art.
Lecture — "Breaking Blases by Understanding Past Cultures and Art" by Jacqueline Chanda, 7 p.m. tomorrow at Spencer Museum Auditorium.
Exhibition — "Art Wake," a group show of paintings, prints and sculptures by 35 gallery artists, Saturday-March 1 at Artists En Masse, 803 1/2 Massachusetts St.
PERFORMANCES
KU Theatre for Young People presents "The Reluctant Dragon," 7 p.m. Saturday at Craftor-Preyer Theatre in Murphy Hall. All seats $3.
Winter Concert: KU Symphonic Band, 3:30 p.m. Sunday at the Lied Center, $6 public, $3 students, $5 senior citizens.
New Directions Series: The Lewitzy Dance Company, 8 p.m. Feb. 16 at the Lied Center.
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