Check out our December newsletter!
FOR A BEAUTIFUL, HEALTHY SMILE
ELKINSDENTAL.COM DECEMBER 2022
DON’T WAIT We Aren’t Promised Tomorrow The morning started out like any other as I prepared to head into the office for a regular, routine day. But suddenly, my heart started pounding, and I felt a little funny. I didn’t think much of it and figured that when I got to the office, the feeling would dissipate. However, once I started seeing my first few patients of the day, I felt like I could pass out — and the strange feeling in my chest hadn’t lightened up. Robin, our office manager, contacted Valley Family Medical Care (the health clinic across the street), and they saw me right away so they could evaluate me. It turns out that my heart was in atrial fibrillation (A-fib). This meant that as the top of my heart fluttered, the bottom did all of the heavy lifting, resulting in a very rapid heart rhythm. It was definitely something I never want to experience again. Thankfully, Robin drove me back home so that my wife, Beth, could bring me to the emergency room where they confirmed what the clinic had told us. They brought me back to the room I’d been assigned in the ER and did multiple forms of testing for the entire day to rule out having gone into cardiac arrest, which I didn't — I’d just randomly gone into A-fib without explanation. The medical staff advised me that I could go back to work since many people live with an irregular heartbeat. So, the next day, I felt well enough to work again, but I planned on only doing hygiene checks to make for a light day. Then, right
around 10 a.m., my heart spontaneously went back to normal — and the strange feeling in my chest hasn’t returned since. (Knock on wood!) I felt extremely fortunate to have only spent about 30 hours in atrial fibrillation, although it was the most nerve-racking and uncomfortable 30 hours of my life. I am scheduled to see a specialist at the end of the month and am looking forward to getting some answers. It’s often said that you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone, and one thing that we all tend to take for granted is a regular heartbeat. It’s kind of like breathing; your heart just beats normally without you even thinking about it. With the holidays upon us with much-needed family time, this scary experience really brought something into perspective for me: We shouldn’t wait for the holidays or special occasions to tell people who are important to us that we love them. Harness the opportunity now. On the flip side, with Christmas just around the corner, I am extremely excited to spend the holiday with my family and loved ones so we can carry out some of our normal family traditions. One thing I’m particularly looking forward to is our Christmas train. Every Christmas morning, before we gather in the living room around the tree, we start in my bedroom and walk around the house to each person’s room and make the train sound,“chugga chugga.”That’s how we“pick up”all of the kids who join the train as we make our way down to the Christmas tree to celebrate Christmas morning! From my family to you and yours, I’d like to wish every one of you a very happy holiday season. Have a merry Christmas and a wonderful NewYear. –Dr. Elkins
ElkinsDental.com | 1
LOCKS OF LOVE Son Makes a Wig for His Mother
Melanie Shaha is currently fighting her third brain cancer battle. For 15 years, she’s been suffering from a benign tumor on her pituitary gland. Although she doesn’t mind being sick, going to her appointments, focusing on her treatment, and talking to loved ones about her cancer, she doesn't like looking sick. If you didn’t know Shaha, you wouldn’t realize she was battling cancer. But this suddenly changed once she lost all of her hair. She had two surgeries, in 2003 and 2006, in hopes of removing the tumor on her pituitary gland, but they weren’t successful. Then, when she began radiation therapy in 2017, the treatment caused her hair to fall out. “Not having hair [makes] you stick out like a sore thumb, and well-meaning people can say things that break your heart,”
Shaha told TODAY. She didn’t like all the attention and the looks people gave her in public. So, her 27-year-old son Matt had an idea. At first, Matt joked about cutting all of his hair off to make his mother a wig. But the joke soon became a plan, and Matt followed through in 2018.
it off and sent his locks to Compassionate Creations, a hair company in Newport Beach, California, that created a wig for his mother. Now, Shaha has a piece of her son to take everywhere with her beautiful new tresses. “The color is spectacular, and we had it cut and styled with a hairdresser. Matt said it looked great on me. It sure fills your emotional cup,”Shaha says. If you — or someone you know — would like to donate your hair to cancer patients, you can donate to Locks of Love, Wigs For Kids,
After graduating from college, Matt began growing his hair out. In no time, he had long and luscious hair. His mother tried to
dissuade him from cutting it, but Matt wanted to help her feel confident and comfortable in her skin. So, he chopped
Chai Lifeline, and Children With Hair Loss. Research donation centers in your area if you would like to give back locally.
A Word From Cheyenne & Ashlee
Under the Weather Oral Care
Flu season peaks from December–February and can bring nasty symptoms. When you're sick, caring for your body while it recovers is your top priority, and that includes your dental health, too. So, when you’re under the weather, here are some ways to take care of your mouth, even when you aren’t quite feeling up to it. Practicing Good Hygiene As a general rule of thumb, it’s good to cover your mouth each time you sneeze or cough. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the flu virus survives and thrives on moist surfaces for 72 hours — so wash your hands often and be sure never to share your toothbrush with others. Staying Hydrated To avoid dry mouth, which puts your teeth at greater risk of cavities, drink lots of water and fluids. Many cold and flu medications (such as decongestants, antihistamines, and pain relievers) are known to dry out your mouth. Opting for the Right Fluids While water is the absolute best thing for you to drink when you are sick, juices and sports drinks are helpful in moderation due to their vitamin and electrolyte content. However, it’s important to avoid
sugary drinks like soda that don’t provide nutritional benefits because they can be damaging to your teeth. Choosing Sugar-Free Cough Drops Before grabbing a bag of cough drops off the shelves, take a quick peek at the ingredients. If they contain sugar, it’s recommended to reconsider to be sure that cavity- causing and sugar-loving bacteria don’t accumulate in your mouth while you’re nursing a cough.
Rinsing With Water After Vomiting Understandably, the last thing you want to do after getting sick to your stomach is to add anything back into your mouth. However, the stomach acid present in vomit can be harsh on your teeth. Swish and spit with water to help wash the acid away!
–Cheyenne & Ashlee Registered Dental Hygienists
WHOVILLE ROAST BEAST Inspired by TasteMade.com
Ingredients
• •
1/4 cup brown sugar
MOUNTAIN RANGES Surrounded by the Rocky Mountains, we don’t have to go far to find mountaintop winter activities. If skiing or tubing is your idea of winter fun, Bogus Basin is just a short drive away, and heading to McCall makes a fun weekend getaway. ... AND RIVERS Not only are we surrounded by the Payette and Boise rivers, Idaho is also home to the deepest gorge in North America: Hells Canyon. Take that, Arizona! for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, strain pan juices and put back into pan and boil until reduced by half. When finished, slice roast and serve with pan sauce. 5. When butter melts, add broth, beer, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. 6. Transfer pan to oven. Braise until meat is tender, up to 2 hours. 7. Remove roast from pan and let rest • 2 heads of garlic, halved • 2 bay leaves • 4 thyme sprigs • 2 rosemary sprigs • 1/2 cup beef broth • 1 12-oz bottle of stout beer • 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes (with liquid)
1 tbsp paprika
GOOD CHEER Beer lovers, rejoice! Idaho is the world’s largest hop producer, and more and more people are taking advantage of our agricultural bounty by opening breweries in the Treasure Valley. Share a few of these treasures with visiting family members and their only question will be “How did we not come here sooner?”
Out-of-town relatives who are visiting for the holidays might wonder what makes Emmett so special. But we already know the Treasure Valley is full of gems — and we don’t just mean the rocks. Here are some additional reasons Emmett and The Gem State are great. WE’VE GOT SUNSHINE On average, we have 210 sunny days per year. Compare that to 144 rainy days in Portland and we can feel pretty happy about all our free vitamin D. 1. Preheat oven to 375 F. 2. In a bowl, combine brown sugar, paprika, pepper, salt, and olive oil. 3. Place roast in a roasting pan and coat with spice mixture. Let marinate uncovered in refrigerator for 1 hour. 4. Place pan on stove over high heat. Brown the roast on all sides, then add butter, garlic, and herbs. Directions • • 2 tsp black pepper 2 tsp salt • • 3 tbsp olive oil 1 5-lb bone-in rib-eye roast • 3 tbsp butter
JOKES DAD
How much did Santa pay for his sleigh? Nothing. It was on the house.
What do reindeers say before they tell you a joke? This one’s gonna sleigh you!
Facts Tooth Fun
Snowflake Shapes — Myth Debunked DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that all snowflakes, those beautiful feathery ice crystals that fall from the sky and get stuck on your mittens, are not all unique in their shape? While they may all be slightly different on the molecular level, all snowflakes are only capable of forming 35 different shapes. The reason behind their formation is not completely understood by scientists. However, they do know that snowflakes take the form of eight predominant shapes: column, plane, combination of column and plane, rimed, aggregation, germs, irregular and others.
Let’s Talk Baby Teeth!
When we pop out of the womb and are welcomed into the world, we already have 20 primary teeth just below our gumline, waiting to emerge. Even more amazing, each tooth has a predetermined time to break through the gums (the first ones will start appearing between six and 10 months old) and each of those baby teeth have a certain time when they will fall out, too. From there, a permanent tooth grows in to replace it! Usually, all 20 baby teeth will have erupted through the gums and be present by the time we reach three years of age. Did you know that our teeth help our speech? They help us to form all types of sounds! Our teeth are amazing!
Let it snow!
ElkinsDental.com | 3
INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1. The Power of Now 2. What Started as a Joke Became Reality
PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
3.
4.
Whoville Roast Beast
Tired of
Feeling Anxious and Fearful?
Tooth Facts
1110 S. Washington Ave. Emmett, ID 83617
A Word From Cheyenne and Ashlee
Did You Know?
Happy Holidays From Elkins Dental!
HEADS UP! We'll be closed Dec. 20–Jan. 1, so call ASAP for your next reservation!
208-369-4532 · ElkinsDental.com
TIRED OF FEELING ANXIOUS AND FEARFUL? Read ‘You Are Not a Rock’ by Mark Freeman
We’ve all felt anxious, guilty, fearful, and sad — it’s a part of life. Perhaps you’ve tried to avoid or suppress these emotions, but you’re not a rock. As humans, we experience these feelings all the time. Trying to control them may only make matters worse. So, instead, focus on something you can control — your actions. That’s the central premise of Mark Freeman’s mental health book“You Are Not a Rock.”He aims to teach readers how to build emotional fitness and overcome their struggles and hardships with different techniques. The book is divided into two sections titled“The Basics” and“The Transformation.”The first half is about learning basic mental health skills and unlearning ways of thinking about mental health that cause us challenges. The second half focuses on how to create and build what you want to see in your life instead of trying to avoid and control what you can’t see. As you read, you’ll learn how to recognize your problems, practice mindfulness, prioritize and follow your values, and understand your fears. The strategies in“You Are Not a Rock”are the same tactics Freeman used in his personal life, and he shares some of those stories in the book. There are exercises at the end of each chapter that Freeman highly encourages you to complete. By performing these exercises,
you can better understand the book’s contents and implement Freeman’s tactics in your life.
Before Freeman helps readers begin their journey, he states that
strengthening your mental health is like working on
your physical health — you won’t see instant results.“Changing your brain takes time and effort … I’m not going to share with you any magical supplements or special mantras. This is simply a book about actions,” Freeman says in his introduction.
If you’re interested in reading“You Are Not a Rock,”you can purchase your copy wherever books are sold online or in bookstores.
4 | Elkins Dental
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator