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January 2018
Do We Prioritize Physical Fitness Over Oral Health? HEALTHY MOUTH, HEALTHY BODY
January is the month when health is top of mind. A Nielsen survey found that “stay fit and healthy” is the most common New Year’s resolution in the United States. This is a worthwhile pursuit, and it’s one that will benefit both ourselves and our loved ones. Each year, I always plan to lose a little weight or get more exercise, too. However, as a dentist, I worry our general concept of what it means to be healthy begins and ends with physical fitness. In recent years, a number of scientific studies have determined that a person’s oral health is systemic to the rest of their health. There is strong evidence that periodontal disease, in particular, may have some associations with diabetes, heart disease, stroke, or adverse pregnancy outcomes. The Mayo Clinic has even gone so far as to call oral health “a window to your overall health.” If your New Year’s resolution is to lead a healthier lifestyle, taking care of your teeth is just as important as hitting the gym regularly. “If your New Year’s resolution is to lead a healthier lifestyle, taking care of your teeth is just as important as hitting the gym regularly.” At the office, my team and I work to help patients achieve a higher level of dental health, which can lead to an improved quality of life.
We’ve learned proactive treatment is vital in maintaining your oral and physical health. One area in which we’ve seen a lot of great results is in our HealthyStart program for kids. While the majority of diagnosed sleep apnea cases occur in adults over the age of 40, today, nine out of every 10 kids struggle with the adverse health symptoms of sleep disordered breathing, or sleep apnea. The dangers of sleep apnea are becoming more well-known, as the strain sleep apnea puts on your body can lead to weight gain, depression, mood swings, fatigue, high blood pressure, and heart attacks. Parents need to be aware of the warning signs. It’s not normal for kids to snore, suffer from restless sleep or mouth breathing, spend all day feeling tired, or wake up with dark circles under their eyes. HealthyStart is just one example of how we focus on our resolution of providing the best care we can for our patients. There are many other ways in which our team strives to help patients lead healthy lives. For example, oral cancer claims the life of one person every hour in the United States. In our office, we have the VELscope, an advanced device that allows us to identity oral mucosal abnormalities and screen for early signs of oral cancer. We recommend patients be screened with the VELscope annually. Additionally, our dental hygienists are prepared to advise patients on their diet to optimize their dental and overall health. Our
hygienists can tell you whether the bottled water you’re drinking is acidic or alkaline and inform you about its effects on your dental health. They also can counsel you on the effects of tobacco products on your oral health. Furthermore, they will review any health problems and medications that may affect your oral health. For example, some medications cause dry mouth, which can increase your risk of decay, while people with diabetes are at a greater risk for gum disease. Every day, our team strives to be personal, friendly, and always do what’s best for our patients’ overall health and comfort. Here’s to a great 2018! Whatever your goals, I wish you the best of luck in achieving them. Remember, we’re here to help in any way we can. – Dr. Stuckey
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Want to See Better Report Cards in 2018? Make Reading a Family Resolution
goal to really cement those reading habits. Better yet, set a combined goal that the entire family can work toward. Don’t be afraid to pull out all the stops. If your kids know that reading one book per week through June means an extra-special summer vacation, their enthusiasm won’t wane come spring. Use Reading Apps Goodreads is a social network for bibliophiles. You can find recommendations, share ratings, and create lists of both completed and to-be- read books. Users also create reading lists based on topic, genre, decade, and more. With over 2 billion books added, you’ll never run out of inspiration. Biblionasium offers the same services, but it’s designed specifically for children. Talk to other parents and create a network of friends and classmates. After all, nothing is cooler to a kid than what their friends are doing. Avid readers tend to do better academically from kindergarten through college. In fact, a study from the Journal of Education and Practice found that reading comprehension predicted success in other subjects more than any other factor. If you want to see improved report cards, make a reading resolution for your entire household.
Every parent wants to see their child do well in school, and there’s one fun activity that benefits students of all ages: reading. In a world with so much stimulation, however, it can be difficult to motivate kids to put down a screen and pick up a book. New Year’s resolutions are the perfect opportunity to make reading a priority. Here are a few tips to make 2018 the year your kids become bookworms. Make It a Family Resolution There’s no better motivator than solidarity! Plus, we’re guessing everyone in your household could stand to read a little more. You don’t
have to read the same books or set identical goals, but it’s a lot more fun when everyone participates. Schedule weekly reading discussions so everyone can share the cool stories they’ve read. Stack your completed books in your house somewhere as a monument to all the knowledge your family has gained. Set Reward Milestones Positive reinforcement will propel your kids to keep reading long after the calendars have turned. For a certain number of books completed or hours spent reading, offer them a prize. You can even create a big end
Putting the Pieces Together
Jennifer Valentine’s Passion for Service
Before I joined the Briarfield Dental team in May of 2015, I got my start in the dental field by working with a friend at her newly opened office in Monroe, Michigan. I had previously been working in the medical field, but dentistry was new to me, and I was eager to get started. Throughout my training, I learned the coding and billing aspects of dentistry, and I found it to be quite fun. In a way, billing is like a puzzle; you need to have all of the parts in the right place for things to function smoothly.
and the team. We also have the best and most interesting patients. Where else would you meet a family trying out for “Family Feud”? I feel like I know our patients on a personal level. Every day after I leave work, I feel like I’ve accomplished something meaningful. If I were to describe my dream job, it would be one where I get to help people every single day, and that’s exactly what I do at Briarfield Dental! I also enjoy baking and cooking, and I always say that someday I will be a flower delivery person. After all, who doesn’t love sweets and flowers? In my personal life, I spend a lot of time with my husband, Tony; my daughter, Cody; our dog, Summer; and our granddogs, Echo and Delta. I love the Toledo Walleye hockey team and the Ohio State Buckeyes football team. My family tries to get together with our relatives and friends as often as possible. On Nov. 1, my nephew, Joe, and his wife, Alicia, had their baby girl, Elena Lynn. It was great to have a new addition to the family during the holiday season.
Through my job, I am able to help others obtain services they may not have had access to before coming to Briarfield Dental. I also enjoy working with individuals who give their best each and every day. Briarfield Dental makes you feel like you belong, and it truly feels like home for our patients
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, and I wish you all health and happiness in the coming new year.
2 · www.briarfielddentalcare.com · 419-866-6985
Are You Who doesn’t want a beautiful, white smile? If a wedding or a high school reunion is on the horizon, whitening your teeth is likely a top priority. The internet is full of seemingly miraculous and inexpensive do-it-yourself life hacks that promise to improve your smile. But before you jump on the BuzzFeed bandwagon, let us save you some regret. Be sure to avoid these “amazing,” but actually harmful, DIY whitening tricks.
Using These Dangerous DIY Whitening Tricks?
Whitening Toothpaste Yes, even “official” home whitening methods can cause more harm than good. Whitening toothpaste erases extrinsic stains and discoloration caused by tea, wine, coffee, smoking, and other bad oral habits. However, whitening toothpaste works by literally scrubbing away the stains with tiny abrasive particles. In addition to the stains, this toothpaste also scratches off your enamel. And once your enamel is gone, it doesn’t grow back. So, what are you supposed to do if you’re longing for a brighter set of pearly whites? Give us a call! We can recommend in- office and over-the-counter treatments that can help whiten your teeth without destroying them in the process.
charcoal may be able to whiten your teeth to some degree, the abrasive substance can easily damage your teeth and gums, leading to enamel deterioration and tooth erosion.
Strawberries Many beauty blogs recommend using strawberries to whiten teeth. Ran Kwon, a teeth-whitening researcher at the University of Iowa, decided to
put the claim to the test. In her research, Kwon determined that while brushing with a strawberry mixture might remove superficial debris and plaque, it has no real whitening effect. In fact, the malic and citric acid found in strawberries actually erodes teeth and can reduce surface hardness by up to 10 percent.
Charcoal Not to be mistaken for the bricks you toss on the barbecue, activated charcoal has the uncanny
ability to absorb toxins. Found in everything from
hand soap to face masks, charcoal even made its way into toothpaste. But in reality, dentists warn against scrubbing the black stuff all over your teeth. While activated
A Sweet Way to End the Year Support Our Troops With Operation Gratitude
Cavity-Free Club Winners for the quarter! Congratulations, Olivia and Graham! They each received $25 gift cards.
As 2017 drew to a close, Briarfield Dental teamed up with Operation Gratitude, an organization that sends care packages to our servicemen and women currently deployed overseas. Our Candy Buyback program in early November 2017 was organized to give our patients the opportunity to support this great cause by donating their leftover Halloween candy. With your help, we collected 126 pounds of candy to be sent in care packages. During the event, we took pictures, played games, held contests, and provided supplies for kids to make their own cards for service members. In addition to the candy, we also received 64 wonderful thank-you cards to be sent along with the care packages. A special congratulations to Isabelle, who won our drawing after donating her candy. Isabelle won a Crest Vitality Power Toothbrush gift set! Since Operation Gratitude first began in 2003, they have sent over 2 million care packages to active duty members (as well as their children), first responders across the country, vets, and wounded heroes. We were honored to be a part of such a noble endeavor. Thank you to everyone who helped make our candy buyback such a fun, successful event. It was a great way to end 2017, and we look forward to doing even more good in 2018!
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3550 Briarfield Blvd, Suite 100, Maumee, OH 43537
Smile More in 2018
The Resolution That Leads to Better Grades Passion for Service
The Dangers of DIY Whitening Doing Our Part to Support Our Troops Hold On to Your Memories
From the Web to the Wall According to Gizmodo, Facebook users upload 300 million photos per day. Similarly,
Tools to Print Your Social Media Photos
The app is well-designed and easy to use; you can print photos from your device’s library or link your accounts to print directly from Facebook, Instagram, Dropbox, Flickr, and Picasa. The app is free and available for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Windows 8. Once your photos are uploaded and saved, you can then browse PhotoAffections.com, where you can order a variety of custom products, including magnets, canvas prints, and phone cases. Social Print Studio Functioning as both a website and a stand- alone app, Social Print Studio is a small company based in San Francisco that has been printing social media photos since 2010. While this company is capable of printing photos of your social media posts, they can do so much more with your digital memories.
Social Print Studio’s products are divided into four categories: photobooks, the classics, wall art, and everything else. You can order your photos printed in soft, hard, or layflat book form. Their classic options include postcards, mighty prints, and photostrips. Or, turn your photos into beautiful wall art with metal prints, canvas prints, and wall calendars. You can even get greeting cards, stickers, and buttons. Pricing varies by item, but one thing remains constant: Social Print Studio is dedicated to offering the best products possible. The app is free and available for iPhone, iPad, and Android.
95 million photos and videos are shared on Instagram daily. Social media is a great platform for sharing and storing, but what if you want to literally hold on to those memories? That is where Free Prints and Social Print Studio come into play. Free Prints The most attractive aspect of the Free Prints app is right in the name. Users can download 85 free 4-by-6-inch photo prints a month (up to 1,000 a year). But you can only print one free copy of each photo. Additional prints will run you 9 cents each. Standard shipping costs $2.99, and your photos arrive within five to 13 days. Or, for an additional dollar, they can arrive in four to six days. If you choose to print photos in sizes other than 4-by-6 inches, you will have to pay more for the service.
While sharing photos on social media accounts is an easy way to store your
memories, these apps will help you keep and display those memories for years to come. The next time you need to spiff up your walls or give an extra-special gift, pay them a visit!
4 · www.briarfielddentalcare.com · 419-866-6985
Published by The Newsletter Pro · www.thenewsletterpro.com
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