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
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Brace Face
Welcome to 2010 all my blog buddies. We haven’t spoken in some time, but don’t worry, now that all the excitement of Thanksgiving and Christmas and the New Year has passed I finally have time to blog again! You should be hearing from me about once a week.
I hope that your new year is bringing health and happiness prosperity to you and your family. It has brought changes for me. In my mouth that is. Yes boys and girls—I am wearing braces.
Now for some people the idea of wearing braces conjures up images of middle school, and acne, and years of being teased for being a “brace face” or metal mouth” but let me assuage those fears for you.
At our office we do adult ortho which is different from traditional ortho. For most adults you are in and out of braces in 6 months! Thats quick, by the time you are tired of having them, it's time to take them off! I was wondering how it is possible to do it this quickly as an adult, when for lots of kids it takes years to get out of braces. So of course I asked Dr. Parkin—the expert. Here is the answer.
With adult ortho you aren’t moving back teeth. You are moving just front teeth, which move more quickly than molars do. Another great thing about adult ortho is that it is cheaper than traditional ortho. Let me explain why this is. Our goal with 6 month braces is not to place each patient in a perfect bite relationship which can take several years and many thousands of dollars. We will maintain the relationship you have and perhaps improve it, what we will do is work to correct crowded teeth, spaced teeth, rotated teeth, tipped teeth, open bites and bites that are over closed. We will change anything that will affect the appearance of front teeth. We do not move molars around, the goal of 6 month braces is not skeletal or bite perfection, it is to give you a great smile in a reasonable amount of time.
I am excited to be in braces, and having a gorgeous smile 6 months from now! I would love to talk about it with you if you are interested in improving your smile.
Please give me a call at the office so we can talk about if you would benefit from adult ortho. 719-576-1730.
I hope that your new year is bringing health and happiness prosperity to you and your family. It has brought changes for me. In my mouth that is. Yes boys and girls—I am wearing braces.
Now for some people the idea of wearing braces conjures up images of middle school, and acne, and years of being teased for being a “brace face” or metal mouth” but let me assuage those fears for you.
At our office we do adult ortho which is different from traditional ortho. For most adults you are in and out of braces in 6 months! Thats quick, by the time you are tired of having them, it's time to take them off! I was wondering how it is possible to do it this quickly as an adult, when for lots of kids it takes years to get out of braces. So of course I asked Dr. Parkin—the expert. Here is the answer.
With adult ortho you aren’t moving back teeth. You are moving just front teeth, which move more quickly than molars do. Another great thing about adult ortho is that it is cheaper than traditional ortho. Let me explain why this is. Our goal with 6 month braces is not to place each patient in a perfect bite relationship which can take several years and many thousands of dollars. We will maintain the relationship you have and perhaps improve it, what we will do is work to correct crowded teeth, spaced teeth, rotated teeth, tipped teeth, open bites and bites that are over closed. We will change anything that will affect the appearance of front teeth. We do not move molars around, the goal of 6 month braces is not skeletal or bite perfection, it is to give you a great smile in a reasonable amount of time.
I am excited to be in braces, and having a gorgeous smile 6 months from now! I would love to talk about it with you if you are interested in improving your smile.
Please give me a call at the office so we can talk about if you would benefit from adult ortho. 719-576-1730.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Sweet Fang!
We dressed up at work today for halloween. We each had a pair of fangs that we made. We thought that would be cute for a dental office. We had a lot of fun with it! After wearing the fangs all day I realized something. If you ever run into a vampire--He will probably have a lisp. Fangs are hard to speak with!
check out some of our pictures--it got a little crazy around the office! (Not sure that the rest of the staff know I posted these--enjoy!)
--your friendly dental assistant!
check out some of our pictures--it got a little crazy around the office! (Not sure that the rest of the staff know I posted these--enjoy!)
--your friendly dental assistant!
Monday, October 26, 2009
tricks or treats!
Its time for trick-or-treating once again! It's always fun to see those little goblins and ghouls out roaming the streets for treats, but you would never give them battery acid as a trick...or would you? Here is some interesting, and somewhat disturbing facts about some of the candy we are handing out to those little princesses and G.I. Joes. If you remember the PH scale from middle school science class you will recall that a zero is the most acidic you can get, like battery acid. a Seven is neutral, like pure water and a 14 is the most basic you can get, like liquid drain cleaner. Now listen to this: some of the candy we are handing out is nearing battery acid on the acidic scale!
sweet Tarts 3
sour punch straws 2.5
Starburst 2.4
lemonheads 2.4
sour skittles 2.2
pixie sticks 1.9
now and laters 1.9
fun dip powder 1.8
war heads 1.6
and battery acid is a ZERO!
We are doing our best to combat all that acid. Acid wears away enamel making teeth more susceptible to cavities. At Cheyenne Mountain Dental Center we are doing a Great Halloween Candy buy back. Kids can bring in their candy (after they pick out a few favorites to enjoy) and for each pound they bring in we will give them a dollar and some coupons to fun places around town. With all that candy that we collect we will be sending it to the troops overseas (along with toothbrushes!) as part of operation Gratitude. All the kids that bring in candy will get the chance to sign a card and tell the troops how much they appreciate them. This is the second year we will be doing this, and last year we collected over 200 pounds of candy. We will be collecting candy November 2nd through November 10th. Please bring in your kids and participate with us this year!
sweet Tarts 3
sour punch straws 2.5
Starburst 2.4
lemonheads 2.4
sour skittles 2.2
pixie sticks 1.9
now and laters 1.9
fun dip powder 1.8
war heads 1.6
and battery acid is a ZERO!
We are doing our best to combat all that acid. Acid wears away enamel making teeth more susceptible to cavities. At Cheyenne Mountain Dental Center we are doing a Great Halloween Candy buy back. Kids can bring in their candy (after they pick out a few favorites to enjoy) and for each pound they bring in we will give them a dollar and some coupons to fun places around town. With all that candy that we collect we will be sending it to the troops overseas (along with toothbrushes!) as part of operation Gratitude. All the kids that bring in candy will get the chance to sign a card and tell the troops how much they appreciate them. This is the second year we will be doing this, and last year we collected over 200 pounds of candy. We will be collecting candy November 2nd through November 10th. Please bring in your kids and participate with us this year!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Royal Flush
Good Morning all my lovely blog readers. Happy October!
I love to think about inventions. I like to think about things that I could invent. Things that I should invent. Things that I wish I had invented. While thinking about things I wish I had invented it led me to those Scrubbing Bubble Toilet Wands.
You can switch out the brushes on the end and toss them because they collect so much bacteria that you don't even want to clean your toilet with the same one twice. Those were a great invention! I am guessing that you keep that great invention right next to your toilet, that flushes numerous times a day. Now how close to that toilet are you keeping your toothbrush? Every time that toilet flushes bacteria (and who knows what else!) is being thrown into the air and possibly and probably landing on your toothbrush. All together now....EEEEEEWWWWWWWWWW!!
Now we have all heard that you are supposed to change your toothbrush every three months, and that you should also change your toothbrush after you have a cold or flu, but what about all the bacteria that accumulates in between those times. What to do, what to do!
Well There is a toothbrush sanitizer that is perfect for those in between times!
All together now....YAY!
The toothbrush sanitizer is from Violight and can sanitize up to 4 toothbrushes at once in 6 minutes. There is also a travel size you can take on vacation with you. To sanitize it uses germicidal ultraviolet light to physically destroy the DNA of the offending microorganisms.
here is a link to check it out. http://violight.com/vitobrsa.html
Does anyone have one of these? Have you used one in the past? Comment and share what you think about it!
I love to think about inventions. I like to think about things that I could invent. Things that I should invent. Things that I wish I had invented. While thinking about things I wish I had invented it led me to those Scrubbing Bubble Toilet Wands.
You can switch out the brushes on the end and toss them because they collect so much bacteria that you don't even want to clean your toilet with the same one twice. Those were a great invention! I am guessing that you keep that great invention right next to your toilet, that flushes numerous times a day. Now how close to that toilet are you keeping your toothbrush? Every time that toilet flushes bacteria (and who knows what else!) is being thrown into the air and possibly and probably landing on your toothbrush. All together now....EEEEEEWWWWWWWWWW!!
Now we have all heard that you are supposed to change your toothbrush every three months, and that you should also change your toothbrush after you have a cold or flu, but what about all the bacteria that accumulates in between those times. What to do, what to do!
Well There is a toothbrush sanitizer that is perfect for those in between times!
All together now....YAY!
The toothbrush sanitizer is from Violight and can sanitize up to 4 toothbrushes at once in 6 minutes. There is also a travel size you can take on vacation with you. To sanitize it uses germicidal ultraviolet light to physically destroy the DNA of the offending microorganisms.
here is a link to check it out. http://violight.com/vitobrsa.html
Does anyone have one of these? Have you used one in the past? Comment and share what you think about it!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Say NO To Crack!
OK, Picture this. It's a hot and sweltering summer day. You have been working in the yard all afternoon and you are sweating and your lovely wife brings you a tall refreshing ice cold glass of tea, you toss down your rake and grab the glass and just as you start to take a drink, cold hits a tooth and instead of your thirst being quenched you feel like an ice pick is being stabbed into your tooth. Or maybe you are sitting down to watch a movie and you have a cup of milk and a plate of cookies and just as you get into a drama filled moment and take a bite of a cookie some of that sugar hits one tooth and suddenly you feel a sharp shooting pain that last longer than a Hollywood marriage. These are signs that a tooth may have a crack. A crack in a tooth is usually microscopic but to the germs in your mouth is may as well be the Grand Canyon and they take the opportunity to zip into the crack and wreak havoc. This commonly happens in teeth that have metal fillings. The metal expands and contracts with hot and cold (coffee and ice cream anyone?) Soon enough it doesn't have any room to expand anymore and it cracks! But if the cracks are microscopic and you can't see them with the naked eye, and even if you have an x-ray taken you can't see any sign of damage until the damage is quite large how do you know it's there? I have heard dentists say that cracked teeth is one of the most difficult problems to diagnose. They may just listen to your symptoms and then try to duplicate the pain you are describing (yikes!) yet Dr. Parkin doesn't seem to have any trouble finding these cracks. What is the difference between these dentists and Dr. Parkin. It is not that he eats lots of carrots and has perfect eyesight, it is because he uses an Intra-oral Camera.
The intra-oral camera has several benefits; it allows you as the patient to actually see what is happening in your own mouth and it allows Dr. Parkin to see a tooth magnified 30 times the actual size. That should help with seeing cracks, don't you think?
So, if you have a crack in a tooth what are the options for fixing it. If you catch it early enough you can have the old filling removed, the decay that is underneath removed and replace it with a composite (tooth colored) filling. Dr. Parkin doesn't use any metal fillings and hasn't since "When Doves Cry" was the number one song in the nation *1984* If you wait a bit longer, then the old filling and decay can be removed but the tooth may need a crown, and if you wait and wait and wait you can still have it fixed (although not cheaply) because small cavities turn into big cavities and eventually turn into root canals and then also need crowns. So, like most things, find the problem early and take care of it quickly!
Now, I know you are dying to see some cracked teeth--so at the top of the page there are some "before" pictures of teeth that we have fixed in our office. See if you can spot the cracks in them!
Friday, September 11, 2009
don't like getting headaches? me neither!
Good morning all my lovely blog readers. It has been a while since I have talked to you. I hope you all had a fun Labor Day weekend. Did you BBQ? Go out to the lake? Have some family visit? Ah….family visits. Does the simple thought of having relatives stay over for a 3 day weekend make your teeth clench? Well that is what we will be talking about today. Teeth clenching that is…not family visits.
Teeth clenching is often a habit you may have and not even know. It is especially common at night. So how do you know if you have this habit if you aren’t even aware of it? Well, do you ever wake up in the morning with a headache? Do you have a stiff or aching jaw, a sore neck, or sensitive teeth? If you said yes then you just may be clenching your teeth. The general rule is lips together teeth apart, if you find yourself with your teeth together during the day…catch yourself and quit doing it! But if you are doing it while you are sleeping, then how are you supposed to break that habit?
Well, the answer is an NTI. Technically, that means nocieptive trigeminal inhibition tension suppression system-but enough of that dental mumbo jumbo. What is an NTI in real words!
Teeth clenching is often a habit you may have and not even know. It is especially common at night. So how do you know if you have this habit if you aren’t even aware of it? Well, do you ever wake up in the morning with a headache? Do you have a stiff or aching jaw, a sore neck, or sensitive teeth? If you said yes then you just may be clenching your teeth. The general rule is lips together teeth apart, if you find yourself with your teeth together during the day…catch yourself and quit doing it! But if you are doing it while you are sleeping, then how are you supposed to break that habit?
Well, the answer is an NTI. Technically, that means nocieptive trigeminal inhibition tension suppression system-but enough of that dental mumbo jumbo. What is an NTI in real words!
An NTI is a mouth guard of sorts. You wear it at night. It is a small piece about 1 inch in length and 2 centimeters in width that fits over your two front teeth. It is then fitted to YOUR teeth (so not the same as generic mouth guard you would buy at Wal-Mart) and it snaps into place nice and tight so you can’t remove it with your tongue or lips at night and choke on it (I was worried about that!) so once you have it in and you bite down your back teeth cannot touch. You just wear it at night and since those back teeth can now not touch, you can’t work those muscles that cause migraines, sore jaws, and sore necks. I have included 2 pictures at the bottom of the post. One without my NTI and one with my NTI so you can get a better picture of how and where it fits. I have been wearing my NTI for about a year now, (and since I was taught “never say never”) I will say that I very rarely get headaches anymore, when “pre-NTI” I would wake up with headaches 2-3 times a week. Not waking up with headaches that last all day makes me a very happy girl and keeps my co-workers very happy also!
If you would like more information on this wonderful device that I won’t sleep without anymore you can visit www.headacheprevention.com or you can call me at the office and we can talk some more about it.
love, your friendly dental assistant, Denise
Saturday, August 29, 2009
laser chasing pups and cold sores cured with lasers
Cute video right?
But what does it have to do with dentistry? Well I am getting there...Do you ever get cold sores? Wouldn't you love if I could tell you how to get rid of them quickly? Sure you would, but I know what you are thinking. Advice from a dental office...might be expensive. Nope! I will tell you how you can speed up healing time for a dollar! Go to the dollar store. Pick a laser pen---the same one that these 2 pups are chasing! (See I told you I would get to the video) come home and shine the laser pen right on the cold sore for 30 seconds. No more, no less, and most of the time it will be gone in 2 days. I know what you are thinking...this can't possibly work, so I will give you some facts and stats--check them out yourself!
The Effect Of Low Level Red Laser Light on the Healing of Oral Ulcers. Article by Ellis Neiburger, DDS. http://www.chairsidemagazine.com/
This article investigates the difference in healing times of oral ulcers (mouth sores) between using a laser light for 30 seconds and waiting for the ulcer to heal on its own. Results pointed to 88% of painful mouth (or lip) sores (aphthous stomatitis, herpes, and those caused by traumatic episodes...you know, you are super stressed out about a delayed flight, or you bite your lip, or you accidentally nail yourself with a dorito) healed to comfortable levels within 2 days versus untreated lesions taking 5 to 10 days for similar results. The laser light that was used in this particular study was a generic penlight laser purchased at a local dollar store for one dollar. The laser spot was 3 mm in diameter and most of the lesions treated were 1-3 mm in diameter. Over 90% of patients reported to pain-free after one day of laser treatment, whereas the control group who just let the sore heal on its own, 90% reported some pain for at least 5 days. The report did say that 30 seconds is the optimal time, and that longer exposure time seems to retard healing time. The author says that low level laser treatment has been known for many years, but is not publicized or promoted.
Why?
Simple.
If a prospective firm wanted to market a "commercial low level laser" the price would have to reflect all the testing and insurance and regulations and could not compete with the equivalent product at dollar store prices.
So now you, all my readers, are privy to this very inexpensive treatment that has been known to work for 20 years, but kept under wraps for profit reasons!
When you try this let all the readers know how it worked for you! I can't wait to hear your stories!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
slow and steady (glycemic index) wins the race
Good morning all my readers,
This is your friendly dental assistant again. I have good news for you about sweets. As we all know sugar is a terrorist against healthy bodies.
Sugar wages war against you with weapons ranging from diabetes, to weight gain and as we are witnesses of ...tooth decay. However if you are like me you may have a sweet tooth, so what is a girl (or guy) to do.
xylitol! pronounced zii-lit-all.
So, what is xylitol? It is a natural sweetener. It is a healthy alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners (don't get me started on the dangers of artificial sweeteners!!) So lets talk about how it works and why it is so good for you.
Xylitol impedes the growth of plaque, you know that film felt on your teeth in the morning, or as I like to refer to it "furry teeth" feeling.
Xylitol has a slow glycemic index. This just means how fast or slow something gets into your blood stream. This is what makes it safer for diabetics to use, it has a glycemic index of 7 (rush hour turtle traffic slow) compared to sugar which has a glycemic index of 100! (cheetah with redbull fast!)
Xylitol increases the amount of of saliva you produce--why is this good? dry mouth causes cavities!
xylitol has 2.4 calories per gram and sugar has 4.0 calories per gram....so almost twice as much!
so lets put this in perspective for day to day use. where can you find xylitol?
Check out these 2 websites. www.epicdental.com and www.xylitolworks.com.
Both have more detail about how xylitol works and products that you can try--think gum, mints, even maple syrup and honey that are made with xylitol. one of them even has a cookbook for xylitol. If anyone tries that out please comment and let all the readers know how it works!
We have Squigle toothpaste in the office that is chalk full of xylitol and pick some Trident gum at your local retailer! It is sweetened with xylitol and has several great flavors!! I chew it religiously!
Hopefully you have found this information to be helpful. Let me know what you think by commenting!
Thanks for reading,
Denise
This is your friendly dental assistant again. I have good news for you about sweets. As we all know sugar is a terrorist against healthy bodies.
Sugar wages war against you with weapons ranging from diabetes, to weight gain and as we are witnesses of ...tooth decay. However if you are like me you may have a sweet tooth, so what is a girl (or guy) to do.
xylitol! pronounced zii-lit-all.
So, what is xylitol? It is a natural sweetener. It is a healthy alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners (don't get me started on the dangers of artificial sweeteners!!) So lets talk about how it works and why it is so good for you.
Xylitol impedes the growth of plaque, you know that film felt on your teeth in the morning, or as I like to refer to it "furry teeth" feeling.
Xylitol has a slow glycemic index. This just means how fast or slow something gets into your blood stream. This is what makes it safer for diabetics to use, it has a glycemic index of 7 (rush hour turtle traffic slow) compared to sugar which has a glycemic index of 100! (cheetah with redbull fast!)
Xylitol increases the amount of of saliva you produce--why is this good? dry mouth causes cavities!
xylitol has 2.4 calories per gram and sugar has 4.0 calories per gram....so almost twice as much!
so lets put this in perspective for day to day use. where can you find xylitol?
Check out these 2 websites. www.epicdental.com and www.xylitolworks.com.
Both have more detail about how xylitol works and products that you can try--think gum, mints, even maple syrup and honey that are made with xylitol. one of them even has a cookbook for xylitol. If anyone tries that out please comment and let all the readers know how it works!
We have Squigle toothpaste in the office that is chalk full of xylitol and pick some Trident gum at your local retailer! It is sweetened with xylitol and has several great flavors!! I chew it religiously!
Hopefully you have found this information to be helpful. Let me know what you think by commenting!
Thanks for reading,
Denise
Monday, August 24, 2009
Welcome All
Good morning,
This is your Friendly dental assistant at Cheyenne Mountain Dental Center. We are beginning a blog and would like to keep you informed of all the newest and coolest dental products and procedures! Things are evolving fast out there and we want to keep up!
I will also be bringing you interetsing facts and stats, fun ideas, things to ponder, great interviews and possibly even some contests!
This is the first of many blog posts so please, check in to see what we are up to, invite your family and friends to follow with us, and I will be seeing you around the office.
This is your Friendly dental assistant at Cheyenne Mountain Dental Center. We are beginning a blog and would like to keep you informed of all the newest and coolest dental products and procedures! Things are evolving fast out there and we want to keep up!
I will also be bringing you interetsing facts and stats, fun ideas, things to ponder, great interviews and possibly even some contests!
This is the first of many blog posts so please, check in to see what we are up to, invite your family and friends to follow with us, and I will be seeing you around the office.
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