FOR A BEAUTIFUL, HEALTHY SMILE
ELKINSDENTAL.COM
JULY 2018
DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS
Reuniting With Loved Ones
grown-ups’ table. Russell has a cousin who’s close in age, so they enjoy playing together. Like me, Beth is one of six kids, and they’ve become like a second family to me. I’ve known them for almost 20 years now. Her youngest sibling was nine when Beth and I got married, so I’ve watched them grow up, get married, and start families of their own.The youngest, Becka, is in her 20s now — it’s crazy how quickly time goes by. I’m grateful to have added such an amazing group of people to my family, thanks to Beth. It’s always a good time when we get to visit and catch up on everyone’s lives in the past few years. It’s been a busy summer for the Elkins family. Last month, we celebrated Evie’s graduation — it’s still a bit crazy that our eldest is done with high school! I don’t think it will fullya settle in until she goes to college. I’m not going to think about that yet, though — we still have the rest of the month to enjoy having her at home. We enjoyed our Fourth of July surrounded by family, and I wouldn’t have asked for it any other way. I hope your Fourth gave you the opportunity to catch up with loved ones.
these days, thanks to technology, the kids can watch movies during the drive. Despite its length, we enjoy spending that time together. This year, Beth and her cousins were in charge of planning activities for the reunion, and they organized a talent show. Beth and I performed a duet from a musical we saw during our trip to New York called “Dear Evan Hansen.” It was fun to have an excuse to do more singing with Beth and to see the talents everyone else brought to the table. The reunions bring together parents, cousins, aunts, and uncles from Beth’s extended family, and we always have a great time. Our kids never have a shortage of playmates when we visit Texas. Being that Beth is the eldest of her siblings, most of our kids are older than their cousins, so they tend to hang out with their aunts and uncles and sit at the
Every few years, we go to Texas for Beth’s family reunion, and this summer’s gathering reunited us with the Lone Star State once again! We celebrated the Fourth of July with the people we love, and it was a special time full of laughter, good conversation, and fun activities. I’m grateful to have spent a week with the kids, Beth, and her awesome family. At this point, we’re pros at the almost 25- hour road trip. We pack everything in the car the day before we leave and stock it full of games and movies to keep the younger kids busy, and I bring sunflower seeds to keep me alert.The alphabet game used to be the only way to pass the time on a road trip, but
–Dr. Elkins
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3 REASONS TO WORK OUT WITH A FRIEND
GET A LITTLE COMPETITIVE Whether you make your workouts explicitly competitive or not, working out with someone is a great way to subconsciously push yourself to improve. Even if your partner is stronger, faster, or in better shape than you, the drive to close the gap between your capabilities can be a big motivating factor. Psychologists call this mental push to avoid being the weak link the “Köhler effect.” In small groups, those who begin weaker often push themselves to improve the most. Why not put this psychological phenomenon to work for you? STAY ACCOUNTABLE The most valuable reason to have a workout buddy is accountability. Just having a dedicated person to ask you if you’ve met your fitness goals can have a significant impact on how regularly you exercise. In fact, something as simple as a bimonthly check-in has been shown to help people increase the amount of time they spend working out. A Stanford University study on the impact of social support on physical activity found that an occasional check-in boosted test subjects’ workout times by an average of 78 percent.This is part of a growing body of research that suggests positive social support may be a key factor in motivation. Even if you can’t actually exercise alongside your workout buddy, just checking in on one another’s goals can make a huge difference.
When you work out alone, it can be tempting to cut corners and get comfortable. After all, if you cheat on a pullup or don’t swing that kettlebell as high as you should, who will know? That’s where a workout buddy comes in. Here are three ways hitting the gym with a friend can make your workouts safer and more effective — and a lot more fun! ENSURE PROPER FORM even be working the right muscles, which makes all of your hard work pointless. At best, you’ll cheat yourself out of the full benefits of your workout. At worst, you risk injury. By working out with someone else, you can spot one another and keep an eye out for lapses in form. You and your partner When you don’t perform an exercise correctly, you may not
can keep each other honest, ensuring your routine stays safe and effective.
A Word From
Kalie and Caryn
Sometimes we refer patients to a specialist if the disease has progressed far enough or if they’re not able to manage it with home care. Our main goal is to do everything we can to show a patient how they can take control of periodontal disease. The hard takeaway is that patients who have reached this stage have a disease and will not go back to having healthy gums.They will battle bone loss for the rest of their lives. You don’t grow bone back, and once you have established bone loss, it’s a lot harder to keep up with cleaning. Bacteria is released in bigger pockets, and it becomes difficult to remove it without the help of a hygienist’s professional cleaning tools. At this stage, we are not preventing so much as we are maintaining and treating the disease. This completes our four-part series on professional cleaning. We hope you’ve found it helpful! We really want to emphasize that gum disease is avoidable. While everybody is different, proper home care and regular reservations have a big impact on your health. So take care of yourself. Your dental health is a vital part of your overall health. It’s as simple — and as hard — as taking those five minutes to brush and floss, every day.
When we meet with a patient who has gum disease, we use special tools to establish how far the disease has progressed. We measure bone loss, and typically,
when bone loss goes beyond 5–6 millimeters, we turn to perio-
maintenance reservations. At that point, our treatments are no longer about disease prevention; they’re focused on disease maintenance. We spend a good amount of time talking about home care and encouraging more frequent visits. During those visits, we measure bone loss and establish if the disease is progressing. When patients are receiving perio-maintenance treatments, we put them on a regular 3–4 month perio-maintenance reservation schedule so that we can manage the disease with our professional tools. We often recommend water picks for home care because of their ability to flush out deeper pockets. It doesn’t replace flossing, but it assists with at-home maintenance so fewer bacteria build up between reservations. We also give them an antibacterial mouth rinse that helps manage bad bacteria.
–Kalie and Caryn
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Ingredients
KIELBASA KABOBS
• 3 red bell peppers • 2 cloves garlic, minced • 1/4 cup olive oil • Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 pounds fully cooked smoked kielbasa • 2 large onions • 2 green bell peppers
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?”
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! Instructions
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. Heat grill to medium. 2. In mall bowl, combine oil, garlic, and a pinch of salt and pepper. 3. Cut pepper, onion, and kielbasa into 1-inch chunks. 4. Thread onto skewers, alternating ingredients. 5. Brush with oil mixture and grill, covered, 10–12 mi utes. [NOTE: If using bamboo skewers, soak in water for 30 minutes before threading to prevent burning.]
Inspired by Good Housekeeping
GEM STATE? WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE
2nd Annual Summer Fun Family Event Where: Kleiner Park When: Saturday, July 21 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Cruise Night Where: Emmett When: Saturday, July 21 at 6 p.m.
WHAT’S GROWING IN THE TREASURE VALLEY?
Our valley is home to so much agriculture, and it means you don’t have to go far to find fresh fruits and veggies. From the farmers markets to your local grocery store, you’ll find that the produce tastes better this month. Thanks to summer’s bounty, there’s less time from when those apricots leave the tree to when they end up in your mouth. HERE’S WHAT’S FRESH IN IDAHO THIS MONTH:
Cucumbers Melons
Apricots Beets Beans Berries Carrots Cherries Corn
Peppers Radishes Rhubarb Summer squash Tomatoes
We are giving away an all-inclusive, 7-night MEXICAN RIVIERA CRUISE!
Leave us a Google or Facebook review for two bonus tickets to win!
You can grill, roast, or snack on these foods straight from the bag. However you choose to prepare them, support our farmers and buy local whenever possible.
Call our office to learn about more chances to win.
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1. 4th of July in the Lone Star State 2. Do You Need a Workout Buddy? Kalie and Caryn
PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
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Kielbasa Kabobs What’s in Season?
Take Your S’mores to the Next Level
1110 S. Washington Ave. Emmett, ID 83617
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! We will be CLOSED July 1–8.
208-369-4532 Elkinsdental.com
CAN I HAVE S’MORE?
Creative Twists on the Campfire Classic
with the other ingredients in the blender. Get the recipe at spoonfulofflavor.com/2013/08/30/ smores-milkshake to enjoy this sweet treat even in the heat of summer. It’s the simple recipe that opens the door for creative interpretations of the classic s’more. Be adventurous this summer and see what great new s’mores you can create!
make the perfect s’mores on the go at family.disney.com/recipe/smores-in-a-jar. STRAWBERRY S’MORE-CAKE If you really want to wow your guests at the next bonfire, try your hand at this creative take on the summertime classic. Gooey s’mores meet fresh strawberry shortcake in a dessert that’s as delicious as it is original. Find the whole recipe, including tips on making the perfect shortcake, at aspicyperspective.com/smores-strawberry- shortcake-recipe. S’MOREO A simple but memorable twist on the campfire classic. Grab a box of Oreo cookies, pull a cookie apart, and use that in place of your graham cracker.The cream filling will pair nicely with the chocolate and toasted marshmallow. S’MORES MILKSHAKE Too hot for a campfire? Cool down with a s’mores milkshake! The trick is to lightly toast the marshmallows in the oven so they mix well
You’re just three ingredients away from the perfect summertime treat: chocolate, graham crackers, and marshmallows.The s’more is a fan favorite on camping trips and at backyard bonfires alike.Though they say you can’t improve perfection, we’ve found a few creative twists on the classic treat that will make your summer a A campfire snack fit for a king — of rock ’n’ roll, that is.This s’more pays homage to Elvis Presley’s love of peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Swap out the chocolate bar for a peanut butter cup candy and add a few slices of fresh banana between the graham cracker and marshmallow. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you can little sweeter. THE ELVIS
even add some bacon. S’MORES IN A JAR
Here are s’mores you can enjoy all year long. Layers of crushed graham cracker, melted marshmallow, and creamy chocolate turn a simple jar into a great dessert! Learn how to
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