I saw this article on msn.com and it piqued my interest! I haven't heard anything about it, except this article, but if I do hear more about it I will be sure to keep you in the loop. Check out the article and tell me what you think.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37978810/ns/health-oral_health
Monday, June 28, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
does the easter bunny need botox?
Did everyone enjoy their Easter? Did you dye eggs with your kids? Did the Easter Bunny visit? well he visited my house and as I was looking at him (her?) I started to notice how old he was looking! Wrinkles right around his smile lines....bags under his eyes.... Now don't get me wrong. I realize the Easter bunny has a hard job, but I was just thinking....could he benefit from some botox on those areas?
Well, if you are feeling the same way....when you look in the mirror are you seeing more wrinkles than you would like? Some states (Colorado not on the list yet, but maybe soon...) are allowing dentists to give dermal fillers and botox injections. There are some great reasons to allow dentists to give dermal fillers and botox injections. Think about it, what other medical professional is more familiar with the muscles and functions and nerves of the face? What other medical professional is more adept at giving injections in that area of the body? I have added this link to a pretty good article about dentists and botox. Let me know what you think. Should dentists be allowed to offer this as part of their practice? Should ONLY dentists be allowed to perform these treatments? Would you allow your dentist to perform this treatment for you?
http://www.articlealley.com/article_1486005_17.html
and if you see the Easter bunny next year looking much younger....you will know why!
Love your friendly dental assistant....see you next week when we talk about implants!
Well, if you are feeling the same way....when you look in the mirror are you seeing more wrinkles than you would like? Some states (Colorado not on the list yet, but maybe soon...) are allowing dentists to give dermal fillers and botox injections. There are some great reasons to allow dentists to give dermal fillers and botox injections. Think about it, what other medical professional is more familiar with the muscles and functions and nerves of the face? What other medical professional is more adept at giving injections in that area of the body? I have added this link to a pretty good article about dentists and botox. Let me know what you think. Should dentists be allowed to offer this as part of their practice? Should ONLY dentists be allowed to perform these treatments? Would you allow your dentist to perform this treatment for you?
http://www.articlealley.com/article_1486005_17.html
and if you see the Easter bunny next year looking much younger....you will know why!
Love your friendly dental assistant....see you next week when we talk about implants!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Haitian earthquake relief
The effects of the Haitian earthquake are large and devastating, and to the people living there who have lost so much the effects may seem insurmountable. I know there is lots of help out there coming in many different ways. The dental community is banding together to help out too. This is a country where there were only 500 dentists for 9 million people before the earthquake, and now with the extent of devastation to many of the dental practices that number is even fewer. Dr. Adolfo Rodriguez, The president of the Latin American Dental Federation launched a campaign immediately after the quake to help both the general population and dental professionals in Haiti. He is asking companies and dental professionals to donate dental instruments, materials and equipment. He is also putting together teams of dental volunteers to travel to Haiti once the major health and humanitarian crises are under control, or at least manageable , to attend the dental needs of the population. Colgate has already agreed to donate brushes and toothpaste. He was moved that dental professionals from countries with little resources such as Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador say that they will collect funds from their members, secondhand equipment and dental supplies to help their Haitian colleagues. Prominent dental leaders from Brazil, Uruguay and Costa Rica have expressed their interest in participating in dental teams to help with the most urgent needs of the Haitian population. These teams will operate at the Dominican—Haitian border. This tragedy also presents an opportunity to build a public health service that includes dental care. This is a long-term program that will include rebuilding the dental school at the university as well as private practices. Of course Dr. Rodriguez knows the long road ahead of him, and he will prioritize treating women and children. He has also asked for funding from the government of the Dominican Republic. It’s encouraging and uplifting to see how people will come together in times of crises. I will keep you posted on any happenings similar to this I see after the Chile earthquake.
love, your dental assistant
love, your dental assistant
Thursday, February 25, 2010
times up
Good Afternoon my lovely blog followers.
It has happened. Already. It was faster than I expected. Fast than most people expected....what is it?
I GOT MY BRACES OFF!
That's right everyone, it happened that fast.
I got them on December 16th, and in the middle of February, they came off. Now I know I told you that it is usually in 6 months, but sometimes it happens faster. I have a video of one of the other assistants taking them off but I am having some technical difficulties getting the video on here, so give a a little more time and I will get some pictures and video to you.
Let's hear a cheer for being able to eat chips and steak again! YAHOOOOOOO!
love, your friendly, brace-free- dental assistant!
It has happened. Already. It was faster than I expected. Fast than most people expected....what is it?
I GOT MY BRACES OFF!
That's right everyone, it happened that fast.
I got them on December 16th, and in the middle of February, they came off. Now I know I told you that it is usually in 6 months, but sometimes it happens faster. I have a video of one of the other assistants taking them off but I am having some technical difficulties getting the video on here, so give a a little more time and I will get some pictures and video to you.
Let's hear a cheer for being able to eat chips and steak again! YAHOOOOOOO!
love, your friendly, brace-free- dental assistant!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
cancer screenings
cancer prevention.
a very common google search. Most women know how to do a self breast exam, and everyone knows when you turn 50 its time for a colonoscopy. Most people know to watch for moles that change shape, size or color in watching for skin cancer. There is news and information out there to help us recognize lots of different kinds of cancer. But how many of us know how to do a self check for oral cancer? a self check for oral cancer, much like a self breast exam or skin check, doesn't require any special equipment and is easy to do. Dr. Parkin does an oral cancer screening for all our adult patients during once a year exams, but I am going to teach you how to a self exam.
1) press along the sides and front of your neck and feel for any tenderness or lumps. Do the same on your face. Normally, your face and neck are symmetrical, so notice any bumps or swelling.
2) pull your upper lip up and look for any sores and/or color changes on your lips and gums. Repeat this on your lower lip.
3)use your fingers to pull out your cheek and look for any color changes such as red, white, or blue--oops, just kidding. red, white or DARK patches. Put your index finger on the inside and your thumb on the outside of your cheeks to feel for any lumps. Repeat on the other cheek.
4) tilt your head back and open your mouth wide to see if there are any lumps or color changes.
5) Grab your tongue with a cotton gauze and examine for any swellings or color changes. Look at the top back and side of your tongue.
6)look at the underside of your tongue and the floor of your mouth (touching the roof of your mouth with your tongue during this will allow you the best view) See if there are any color changes or lumps. Using one finger on the outside feel for any unusual bumps, swelling or tenderness.
It's that simple! Doing it once a month will allow you to notice anything that is changing. Of course if you do notice anything abnormal call your dentist!
I do have a website with pictures of all the steps, if you are a visual learner. check it out at
http://www.oralcancerselfexam.com/
come visit next week....I have exciting news!!
love, your dental assistant :)
a very common google search. Most women know how to do a self breast exam, and everyone knows when you turn 50 its time for a colonoscopy. Most people know to watch for moles that change shape, size or color in watching for skin cancer. There is news and information out there to help us recognize lots of different kinds of cancer. But how many of us know how to do a self check for oral cancer? a self check for oral cancer, much like a self breast exam or skin check, doesn't require any special equipment and is easy to do. Dr. Parkin does an oral cancer screening for all our adult patients during once a year exams, but I am going to teach you how to a self exam.
1) press along the sides and front of your neck and feel for any tenderness or lumps. Do the same on your face. Normally, your face and neck are symmetrical, so notice any bumps or swelling.
2) pull your upper lip up and look for any sores and/or color changes on your lips and gums. Repeat this on your lower lip.
3)use your fingers to pull out your cheek and look for any color changes such as red, white, or blue--oops, just kidding. red, white or DARK patches. Put your index finger on the inside and your thumb on the outside of your cheeks to feel for any lumps. Repeat on the other cheek.
4) tilt your head back and open your mouth wide to see if there are any lumps or color changes.
5) Grab your tongue with a cotton gauze and examine for any swellings or color changes. Look at the top back and side of your tongue.
6)look at the underside of your tongue and the floor of your mouth (touching the roof of your mouth with your tongue during this will allow you the best view) See if there are any color changes or lumps. Using one finger on the outside feel for any unusual bumps, swelling or tenderness.
It's that simple! Doing it once a month will allow you to notice anything that is changing. Of course if you do notice anything abnormal call your dentist!
I do have a website with pictures of all the steps, if you are a visual learner. check it out at
http://www.oralcancerselfexam.com/
come visit next week....I have exciting news!!
love, your dental assistant :)
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Fun blog as promised!
Good morning! It's a beautiful January morning even though it is snowing here in Colorado Springs. But as promised a fun blog this week. Back at the beginning of January most of us made some sort of resolution. If you are in the 50-60% of Americans who made a resolution in the genre of losing weight/healthy living/successful dieting are you still going strong? If you are that's great! keep up the good work, but if you are in the group of us that started out strong, and now a month into it are losing resolve to keep that resolution I have compiled some information and tips to boost that motivation again. I found this article on MSN that I really enjoyed so i will share it with all of you. http://www.fitnesstipsforlife.com/52-ways-to-lose-a-pound-a-week.html. It is a list of 52 ways to lose a pound a week. Feel free to click on the article and read the whole thing, but i will list my ten favorite ideas.
1) make a dream book (or poster) include pictures of things you want to accomplish, a healthy bikini body, pictures of plates of salad, people exercising, the finish line of a 10K. Whatever your motivation is, put a picture of it on a poster or in a book and place it in a prominent place where you can look at it and renew your resolve every day!
2)Be flexible. If you don't have time for a 30 minute work out find ways to raise your heart rate and sweat even if its only for 5 minutes. take the dog for a quick jog around the block, park at the back end of the parking lot and power walk to the front door, jump rope in your living room during commercial breaks. just get moving!
3) Use a symbol. Hang a LBD (for all you guys reading this LBD stands for little black dress, the staple in every woman's closet) on your door. Try it on every 4 weeks. each week that it gets a little closer to fitting congratulate yourself, and keep working until it fits!
4) Get it fresh. trade your highly processed, sodium loaded, artificially sweet food choices for fresh, local produce and meat. The more your cook your own food, the more control you have over what you are putting in your body.
5)Check your fluids. trade your sugary beverages and alcohol for water and tea. that will save you (possibly) hundreds of calories a day!
6)Feel whats gone. when you get the urge to splurge pick up a 5-pound bag of sugar (or 2 bags of 5-pound sugar) to feel what that extra weight actually feels like.
7) Announce your intentions. When people know you are trying to lose weight or eat healthier they will support you, and encourage you, and stop tempting you with bowls of candy on their desks, or freshly baked cookies.
8)do 10 then switch. If you get bored at the gym (or at home) do one exercise for 10 minutes then switch to something else. 3 machines later you are already 30 minutes in!
9) celebrate victory, even the small ones. Have you lost a pound? by a new jump rope. lost 10? buy a workout dvd or a new cd that gets you in the mood to move.
10) this of course is MY favorite! please your dentist. Brush your teeth immediately after eating dinner. This signals that your eating is over for the night.
of course there are many more good tips in the article, these were just a few of my favorites! check them all out and tell me which ones you like, or add some that work for you that aren't on the list!
here is some other fun info. I always wonder how many calories I am burning doing things around my house, so I compiled this list of fun activities and how many calories they burn.
you can burn:
125 calories in 15 minutes of Wii boxing
133 calories shooting baskets for 30 minutes
207 calories burned during an hour of child care
266 calories burned during an hour of (vigorous) house cleaning
133 burned during 1/2 an hour of general dancing
295 in a hour of gardening
152 in half an hour of shoveling snow
148 in an hour of walking (slow pace)
236 in an hour of walking (fast pace)
325 in an hour of mowing the lawn
235 in half an our of light effort jump roping.
hopefully some of these helped you. If you are looking for other activities I found these numbers at http://www.nutristrategy.com/activitylist2.htm
See you again next week!
love your friendly dental assistant
1) make a dream book (or poster) include pictures of things you want to accomplish, a healthy bikini body, pictures of plates of salad, people exercising, the finish line of a 10K. Whatever your motivation is, put a picture of it on a poster or in a book and place it in a prominent place where you can look at it and renew your resolve every day!
2)Be flexible. If you don't have time for a 30 minute work out find ways to raise your heart rate and sweat even if its only for 5 minutes. take the dog for a quick jog around the block, park at the back end of the parking lot and power walk to the front door, jump rope in your living room during commercial breaks. just get moving!
3) Use a symbol. Hang a LBD (for all you guys reading this LBD stands for little black dress, the staple in every woman's closet) on your door. Try it on every 4 weeks. each week that it gets a little closer to fitting congratulate yourself, and keep working until it fits!
4) Get it fresh. trade your highly processed, sodium loaded, artificially sweet food choices for fresh, local produce and meat. The more your cook your own food, the more control you have over what you are putting in your body.
5)Check your fluids. trade your sugary beverages and alcohol for water and tea. that will save you (possibly) hundreds of calories a day!
6)Feel whats gone. when you get the urge to splurge pick up a 5-pound bag of sugar (or 2 bags of 5-pound sugar) to feel what that extra weight actually feels like.
7) Announce your intentions. When people know you are trying to lose weight or eat healthier they will support you, and encourage you, and stop tempting you with bowls of candy on their desks, or freshly baked cookies.
8)do 10 then switch. If you get bored at the gym (or at home) do one exercise for 10 minutes then switch to something else. 3 machines later you are already 30 minutes in!
9) celebrate victory, even the small ones. Have you lost a pound? by a new jump rope. lost 10? buy a workout dvd or a new cd that gets you in the mood to move.
10) this of course is MY favorite! please your dentist. Brush your teeth immediately after eating dinner. This signals that your eating is over for the night.
of course there are many more good tips in the article, these were just a few of my favorites! check them all out and tell me which ones you like, or add some that work for you that aren't on the list!
here is some other fun info. I always wonder how many calories I am burning doing things around my house, so I compiled this list of fun activities and how many calories they burn.
you can burn:
125 calories in 15 minutes of Wii boxing
133 calories shooting baskets for 30 minutes
207 calories burned during an hour of child care
266 calories burned during an hour of (vigorous) house cleaning
133 burned during 1/2 an hour of general dancing
295 in a hour of gardening
152 in half an hour of shoveling snow
148 in an hour of walking (slow pace)
236 in an hour of walking (fast pace)
325 in an hour of mowing the lawn
235 in half an our of light effort jump roping.
hopefully some of these helped you. If you are looking for other activities I found these numbers at http://www.nutristrategy.com/activitylist2.htm
See you again next week!
love your friendly dental assistant
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Is your jaw bone dissolving?
If you brushed your hair and you scalp started bleeding you would rush to the doctor to see what was wrong, and if you clipped your fingernails and they starting bleeding you would know it wasn't normal, yet somehow there is a wide held belief that if you brush your teeth and your gums bleed you don't need to panic, or at the very least you don;t need to worry. I don't know where this misconception came from but its time to clear it up! Your mouth is literally the gate to the rest of your body so it would only make sense that if it is unhealthy it will negatively affect the rest of your body. Periodontal disease (more commonly known as gum disease) doesn't usually get a lot of press, but it should! It has been linked to all kinds of systemic diseases including: diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, pregnancy complications, Alzheimer's pancreatic cancer (among others), respiratory diseases, tooth loss, and a dissolving jawbone! Yes people! It is very serious!
OK, so let's go through some symptoms together so you can identify if you have a problem.
The mildest form of gum disease is gingivitis. You will often experience little or no discomfort with this level but don't let that lull you into a false sense of security. If your gums are puffy, red, and bleed easily please take action. Talk to your hygienist. Get an action plan to get it under control. Don't let it get worse!
Next, if you start to feel a change in your bite, if your teeth start to feel loose, you have persistent bad breath, or your gums are very tender, run--don't walk--to your dental office. Most likely you are in need of a deep cleaning.
Now, of course some ways to prevent gum disease. FLOSS. I can not stress this enough. It is so important, to not only the health of your mouth, but the overall health of your body. FLOSS, FLOSS, FLOSS! regular hygiene maintenance appointments, and good home care are also important aspects in preventing gum disease.
Look closely at your gums in the mirror, they should be a soft pink color. Think of the inside of a seashell, and they should not bleed when you brush or floss. Next time you visit your dentist of hygienist, ask about the state of your gums. Take control of your health.
This was a bit of a scary post, visit again next week for a much funner topic!
love, your friendly dental assistant
OK, so let's go through some symptoms together so you can identify if you have a problem.
The mildest form of gum disease is gingivitis. You will often experience little or no discomfort with this level but don't let that lull you into a false sense of security. If your gums are puffy, red, and bleed easily please take action. Talk to your hygienist. Get an action plan to get it under control. Don't let it get worse!
Next, if you start to feel a change in your bite, if your teeth start to feel loose, you have persistent bad breath, or your gums are very tender, run--don't walk--to your dental office. Most likely you are in need of a deep cleaning.
Now, of course some ways to prevent gum disease. FLOSS. I can not stress this enough. It is so important, to not only the health of your mouth, but the overall health of your body. FLOSS, FLOSS, FLOSS! regular hygiene maintenance appointments, and good home care are also important aspects in preventing gum disease.
Look closely at your gums in the mirror, they should be a soft pink color. Think of the inside of a seashell, and they should not bleed when you brush or floss. Next time you visit your dentist of hygienist, ask about the state of your gums. Take control of your health.
This was a bit of a scary post, visit again next week for a much funner topic!
love, your friendly dental assistant
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