October 26, 2012
Thank you so much to all of our patients and staff who donated to the Diabetes fund this October! We exceeded our goal and raised a total of $1793.25. Each person who donated was entered to win a gift basket. The winner was drawn. Congrats to Rhonda W.
October 12, 2012
Fall is in full force and that means pumpkin spice and everything nice to eat. Today we have to decided to change things up a bit and post some fantastic fall recipes. So, take some time to check them out. Try them out and give us your reviews…. or left overs.
Enjoy!
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Pumpkin-Spice-Cupcakes-with-Cream-Cheese-Frosting
Holiday Chicken Salad: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/holiday-chicken-salad/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=fall%20recipes&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Article
Baked Apple-Maple Oatmeal: http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/baked-apple-maple-oatmeal/f9389775-3ed8-4ad1-b7ef-186538a820ef
October 5, 2012
This year, Elmbrook Family Dental has Chosen to participate in the “Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes” on October 20th. As an office, we have made a goal to collect $1000 to go toward Diabetes research, treatment and awareness. The walk is being held on October 20th. Cash donations are being collected in our office through October 19th. All those who donate will be entered to win an awesome gift basket valued at over $500! The basket includes things like a Sonicare toothbrush, water bottle, Jose’s gift card and some other great items. Each donation in any dollar amount will qualify you. A person may not enter more than once per business day.
If you are interested in donating, or would like to walk on our team, visit the link below. We hope to reach our goal for a great cause and see many of your great smiles out there 🙂
Here is our link: http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?team_id=547881&fr_id=8387&pg=team
September 28, 2012
Here at Elmbrook Family Dental, we start seeing children near their 3rd birthday for a routine visit. This is when most children have their full set of 20 primary (baby) teeth. So, what can you expect at this first visit? Every child reacts differently in the dental chair. Often times the first visit is simply a “Happy Visit” in which your child takes a ride in the chair, and we take a brief look in their mouth. As a parent, you shouldn’t be discouraged if the first visit or two aren’t successful cleanings. Your child will eventually have a full cleaning, exam and x-rays. Unless their is an urgent need for restorative dental care, there is no urgency to their first full visit. As a general and family dentist, we see love to see children and adults of all ages!
Routine dental visits are only part of a healthy mouth. At home care plays a significant role in plaque and cavity prevention. Be sure your little one is brushing 2x daily, just like you! It is ok to be involved in your childs brushing routine until the age of 9, or whenever they are removing plaque effectively themselves. Allow them to brush first, then finish the brushing yourself. Incorporate floss picks to make an easy transition for daily flossing. The Hygiene staff at Elmbrook will be happy to personalize treatment goals for your child and every family member! Call our office today to schedule. We look forward to seeing your smile 🙂
September 21, 2012
Although many patients do not look forward to coming to the dentist, they show up for a visit every six months in order to avoid build up and undetected cavities. But, did you know that your Dental Hygienist and Dentist are also screening you for early signs of cancer? Screening the lips, tongue, thyroid and lymph node chain are a standard part of your visit every six months. Early detection of abnormal lesions is key to a good prognosis. So, before you procrastinate your next dental visit. Think of what you might be risking.
September 14, 2012
How much toothpaste do you use on your brush every day? If you take a moment to read the instructions on the tube you have in your bathroom, you will notice it says: “use a pea size amount”. Truth be told, when searching for an image for this article, we could not even find a picture with a pea size amount of paste on a brush!
So, why only a little paste? In order for the fluoride to be effective, you just don’t NEED more than this amount. A pea size contains an appropriate amount of fluoride in order to fight tooth decay, so why waste? Another reason is that it becomes difficult to rinse your bristles completely clean if there is paste gunking it up. Left over paste can hibernate nasty oral bacteria that you just spent two minutes removing from your mouth. Do you really want to put that back in your mouth next time you brush?
Next time you squeeze that tube, stop at a pea size. That’s all you need!
August 22, 2012
Do you ever bring food to bed, or get up and eat late at night and go to sleep without brushing your teeth? I will admit that I am guilty of this. So, today I am writing this post because it’s something that I personally struggle with and need to fix, not only for weight reasons but also teeth reasons!
Image courtesy FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Did you know nighttime is the worst time of day to skip brushing and flossing? I mean, think about it, you’re about to close your eyes and your mouth for (hopefully) 8 hours. Just imagine the party all the leftover food particles and bacteria are having in there at night! At least during the day they get flushed out constantly while drinking water (because you should be drinking water!) If you’re only going to brush your teeth once a day (of course we recommend twice!) nighttime is definitely the best option. But isn’t it frustrating to brush your teeth, go to sleep with a minty fresh mouth, and then still wake up with breath that could scare a dragon away? There you go, there’s the reason for the second brushing in the morning. Or the first. Or whichever.
Still. Let’s talk about that nighttime snacking. This is going to sound funny – but did you know there is actually a diagnosis for constant nighttime binge eating? It’s called “Night Eating Syndrome” and I think I might suffer from it myself. Take a look at the symptoms:
People who suffer from night eating syndrome generally:
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_eating_syndrome)
Livestrong.com has an article with some suggestions on how to stop NES.
Step 1
Eat breakfast and consume all daily calories 3 hours before bedtime. Often, people with Night Eating Syndrome do not eat enough food during the beginning of the day because they are not hungry after a night of bingeing. The guilt that is felt from overeating at night can cause an NES sufferer to avoid calories throughout the day. After dinner, you are left feeling ravenous and the cycle repeats itself. Break the cycle by consuming adequate calories throughout the day and avoid skipping a hearty breakfast.
Step 2
Increase melatonin levels. Melatonin is a hormone that makes you feel sleepy. The Journal of the American Medical Association states that melatonin levels are lower in people with NES. A full stomach makes it easier to fall asleep, so those who do not naturally have enough melatonin to help them easily drift to sleep rely on food. Melatonin supplements can be taken to boost levels. Exposure to sunlight for at least 20 minutes a day leads to increased melatonin production.
Step 3
Learn how to manage stress. Night Eating Syndrome is associated with stress. The higher the level of stress experienced by someone who is prone to NES, the worse the syndrome can get. Talk to a therapist about stressors in your life and implement a healthy lifestyle to reduce stress levels.
Step 4
See a psychiatrist to get evaluated for depression. Night eating syndrome is often triggered by or related to depression, according to Jennifer D. Lundgren, PhD of the Penn Department of Psychiatry. NES can sometimes be treated with anti-depression medications, such as Zoloft.
Step 5
Visit an eating disorder specialist. If you cannot stop night eating syndrome, see an eating disorder specialist to help you determine the steps needed to overcome this disorder and form a healthy relationship with food. Prolonged and severe NES can lead to morbid obesity, which is a life-threatening condition
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/30713-stop-night-eating-syndrome/
I am a breakfast skipper. I usually only eat enough to hold me over until lunch. I know it’s not good, but I am afraid to consume a filling breakfast because I feel as though eating breakfast (and thus consuming morning calories) will just add excess calories on to my daily tally because I think I will STILL binge eat at night. However, I’m willing to give the steps a try. I fear for my waist line and my teeth. I’m willing to bet that NES not only leads to obesity but also gross caries of the teeth. I have heard before that brushing your teeth with minty toothpaste can cut down on binge eating too, so I’m going to try to implement a rule to not eat after I brush my teeth.
Anyone with me?
August 10, 2012
Last weekend I attended a blogging conference in New York City, called BlogHer. Networking alongside 4,999 other bloggers I was truly among my people. At the conference, lots of big name companies bring their products to show off and hand out to us bloggers so that we can try them out and tell our loyal readers all about them. One of the companies that was there had a product that I thought would be really good to write about here on our dental blog.
Oasis Consumer Healthcare already makes a product that we here in the dental world use and recommend to our patients, but they just came out with something new. The product is Halo Oral Antiseptic. Sounds strange, doesn’t it? I thought so too, but I listened to and watched their demo and now I am excited to give it a try myself.
The idea behind Halo Oral Antiseptic is that it is a preventative measure to help stop the spread of sickness from infectious airborne diseases. Here is what Halo has to say about their product and its testing:
“Halo™ is the first scientifically and clinically proven product to kill the airborne germs you breathe in. How can we say that? Because Halo went through rigorous scientific testing and clinical trials at Case Western Medical Center, ranked one of the 2012 Top 25 Medical Research Centers by U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT.”
Halo Oral Antiseptic comes in 3 flavors… citrus, berry, and grape for children. One of the things that the Halo representative told me that is really sticking with me is its preventative use in daycare settings. He said that some moms spray it in their children’s mouth when they drop them off at daycare to help stop the spread of sicknesses that so easily pass from child to child. Since the product lasts for 6 hours, the coverage time takes care of most of the day! My kids are only in a day care setting 2 days a week and because each bottle has 35 doses, it will last me quite a while.
Does it really work: Check out this link for a video of it’s germ fighting power and see for yourself.
The question you might be asking now is, is it safe?
“The active ingredient is cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), an antiseptic that is well-known to kill bacteria and other microorganisms. CPC is completely safe and has been used commercially for years. In fact, it’s one of the most common ingredients used in over-the-counter products, and can be found in products ranging from liquids to lotions.”
Now for the exciting part… Halo gave me an extra bottle of their Oral Antiseptic to give away to one lucky reader! All you have to do is complete the mandatory entry on the Rafflecopter form below and you can earn additional entries by doing more things listed on the form.
Halo Oral Antiseptic retails for $12.99 per 35 dose bottle. You can buy your own bottle of Halo Oral Antiseptic at these places:
August 1, 2012
Don’t be a crab. Why are crabs so crabby all the time? Just smile!
My beautiful niece, Mya
My 10 month old son, Gavin has a onesie that says “Don’t Bother Me, I’m Crabby!” with a picture of a crab. It’s funny because he’s usually smiling, but when he’s complaining, the shirt fits him perfectly. How many other people should be wearing a shirt like this on a day-to-day basis? You just never know when they will strike. The gas station. The museum. Look around, there are scorning people everywhere. Why are they so unhappy? Maybe they don’t feel good…and that very well could be because they are never smiling!
According to recent research, smiling is good for your health. Not only does it help relieve stress, but it’s actually good for your heart, too! People who were instructed to smile during this study had overall lower heart rates and also reported positive feelings during stressful tasks. You can read more about the study here.
If you need more reasons to smile, just take into consideration the people around you. Have you noticed that one bad mood in a room drags everyone else down? Don’t be the person everyone wants to avoid. Light up the room with your smile! I, for one, am tired of crabby people. Grin and bear it, just like the study suggests. You will feel better and so will those around you.
We here at Elmbrook Family Dental can help you maintain your beautiful smile. Are you on track with your dental cleanings? Call our office today at 262-784-7201 to schedule an appointment.
July 13, 2012
I know you are probably thinking, “Do you seriously think you’re going to get this pacifier away from my child?” I know at one point, I was thinking this. I mean really. The American Association of Pediatrics recommends pacifier use cessation by 6 months of age. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Anyone who has had a baby use a pacifier can surely attest how difficult it would be to just take away a pacifier from a 6 month old. Even if your baby is not sleeping through the night by then (and neither of mine were), who wants to deal with the added difficulties in putting their child to bed without something that they’ve grown accustomed to using as a comfort device to fall asleep?
Don’t get me wrong, I tried to take the pacifier away from my first son at 6 months. I tried. He won. And it’s not really that my reasoning ability was not good, or that he was the “boss” of me, it’s just that… he wasn’t sleeping through the night yet and I was tired and I quickly grew weary of the additional wakeups combined with longer-than-usual coaxing back to sleep. So I gave it back after 2 nights. Thankfully, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry has a different recommendation, that pacifier use be discontinued by age 3 to prevent changes in dental occlusion.
So, fast forward 17 months later. It was about a month before his 2nd birthday. He had recently started to fight our bedtime routine. I was on my 3rd round of going in and fetching his pacifier from behind his bed when I finally decided “enough is enough.” I strolled into his room, flipped on the lights, and excitedly explained to him that there was an ambulance here with the “Binky Fairies” who were here to take all of the pacifiers to the hospital for the new babies who needed them. I’m thankful for these 3 things that helped this method: #1 that he had a baby brother born when he was 16 months old so he knew that babies used pacifiers, #2 that his 2nd birthday was coming soon and he was going to be a “big boy” and no longer a baby and #3, that he didn’t ask to look outside and see the ambulance. I grabbed a bucket and started searching his room for all the pacifiers. I placed them all in the bucket, told him “I’ll be right back!”, left his bedroom, stashed them in my bathroom, and came back. He just sat there, stunned. We talked for a few minutes about the pacifier fairies and the babies, and about why they needed them and he didn’t. There were very few tears. He had a little bit of trouble going to sleep that night but he fell asleep nonetheless. He asked for his pacifiers for a few nights but eventually forgot about them. And thus, the pacifier habit was broken.
Now, I’m not saying that I know this method would work for everyone but I thought I’d share it because it worked for us and we are still pacifier free. I think the key to this is to do it when they are old enough to understand, yet still gullible enough to believe such a fantasy story, and he was.
Of course the best way to prevent having to take the pacifier away is to not use one in the first place…but for me, they were a lifesaver. As a nursing mom, pacifiers allowed me to still have the freedom to get things done without having a baby attached to me all day long. Plus, I am a huge worrier and pacifiers are said to decrease the risk of SIDS by keeping babies’ airways open. So yes, I am a huge pacifier proponent.
A couple of other pacifier “rules” that we implemented from the very beginning might have helped too. Pacifiers were pretty much used for naps and bedtime only. There was always one in the diaper bag for emergencies and sometimes they were used on car rides, but during play time and most of the day there are no pacifiers around. My 9 month old, Gavin, now uses a pacifier this same way. Naps and bedtime. Occasionally during sleepy times if we are out to eat too late at night just to keep him calm. As he gets older we will ask him to leave his pacifier in his bed upon waking, just like we did with his brother Quinn.
I hope this helps at least someone!
