All Smiles Dental Care

It is common knowledge that good dental hygiene includes brushing after every meal, but the importance of cleaning in between your teeth is often underplayed. If pressed for time, people often skip out on daily flossing, even when maintaining good brushing habits. Unfortunately, brushing does not remove bacteria from in between the teeth, and this causes a host of problems. Bacteria in the mouth produces acid which eats away at the enamel of the tooth, causing cavities. It also causes bad breath, and can harden into tartar, which can only be removed by your dentist. Tartar can breed dangerous forms of bacteria, which can irritate the gums—this is known as gingivitis. Ultimately, this can lead to bone or tooth loss if left untreated.

  Studies have shown that flossing every day can prolong your life by six years. Statistics like that are convincing, but flossing may seem tedious due to using floss that shreds or having teeth that are overcrowded. Fortunately, there are other options to make the task easier and more manageable. Listed below are some alternative methods to clean between your teeth and improve your overall dental health.

1. Sulca brush—this brush is designed to clean along the gum line and has been proven to be as effective as flossing
2. Water pick—uses a fine water stream in order to blast bacteria out from in between the teeth and gums
3. Shower flosser—this uses the same concept as the water pick, but is used while in the shower to reduce mess. As Dr. Oz says, “Only floss the teeth you want to keep.” We care about your oral health and hope these tips prove helpful in your daily hygiene routine. Please call our office or email info@allsmilescare.com with any questions about cleaning between your teeth. Ask your dental hygienist at your next appointment for flossing tips or tutorials on the other tools listed above. 

Feel like you’re not getting enough rest? You are not alone. 11.1% of adults in the U.S. reported that they received insufficient sleep over a period of 30 consecutive days, according to the CDC. Chronic loss of sleep can contribute to stress, physical and mental health problems, lack of productivity, and possibly weight gain. Adults need 7-9 hours of sleep each night, and many are not getting it. Here are just a few easy ways you can improve the quality of your sleep.

1. Develop a bedtime routine

 This is especially important for young children, but can be equally as beneficial for adults. It can be something as simple as a hot bath, reading a chapter of a novel, or drinking a mug of decaffeinated tea. Your body will associate the ritual with unwinding.

2. Turn off those electronics.

Studies have shown that the glow of your computer screen, TV, Blackberry, cell phone, etc. have been linked to a difficulty in unwinding and falling asleep. At least an hour away from your electronics can help you find the rest you need.

3. Stay away from caffeine and alcohol before bedtime.

While most people realize that caffeine will keep you awake, alcohol’s sleepy effects are deceiving. Alcohol can cause you fall asleep quicker, but contributes to multiple arousals from your sleep cycle throughout the night. Avoid caffeine 4-6 hours before bedtime, and limit your intake of alcohol before bed. 

 4. Be mindful of your bedtime environment. 

If you are having trouble sleeping, take inventory of the factors involved: the temperature in your room, the pet that sleeps with you, your mattress, the lights coming in from the streetlamps, etc. Try to eliminate anything that could be keeping you up at night.

 5. Stick to carbs and dairy before bed.

If you eat close to bedtime, avoid protein and stick with carbohydrates or dairy products, which can assist you in going to sleep. Stay away from heavy meals, as digesting them may keep you awake.

Remember that getting enough rest is vital to your health, and can impact more than just your workday or mood. Insufficient sleep leads to accidents, more frequent illnesses, and mental health problems. If you have eliminated possible factors and still are not feeling rested, contact your health professional—many sleep disorders go years undiagnosed.

If you are waking up feeling tired, or others report that you snore excessively, call All Smiles Dental Care at 410-840-7012 or email info@allsmilescare.com for information on sleep apnea and how to treat it.

The All Smiles team strives to provide premiere customer service to every guest. One day each year is devoted to improving the All Smiles experience through a meeting for staff development, training, and new inspiration for even better treatment for our guests. This past Friday, our team enjoyed a day at Dr. Imm’s home discussing ways to make each guest’s experience as unique and comfortable as possible.

Reggie the bus driver provided entertainment as well as an example of unique customer service through SMILE—sincerity, motivation, integrity, laughter, and enthusiasm. Sincerity is demonstrating a genuine care for other people through our words and actions. Motivation is why you do what you do. Integrity is doing what you do for positive reasons. Laughter is always important—it gives people energy and changes attitudes. Enthusiasm is letting your love for what you do reflect in your daily actions. All of these components contribute to a life-changing work place. Reggie demonstrated ways to put these principles into action. We hope you see SMILE in your experience at All Smiles!

Positive communication provided a key focus point for the meeting. This can impact both our personal and work relationships if we make the effort to improve the way we say things and how we relay important information. A component of that is body language. The way we present ourselves can be as important as the message we are conveying. Our team hopes to use our new tools to improve our service to our guests, as well as in our daily lives at home with our families and friends.

Recent studies have shown that self -examination for signs of oral cancer can improve early detection of the disease. Self-examination does not take the place of regular dental care, and should be done under the supervision of your dental hygienist.

Here is a step-by-step guide to a self -examination for oral cancer:

Step 1: Establish a baseline for normal

            This can be done with the help of your dental hygienist.

Step 2: Know the symptoms of oral cancer

• Any lump, sore, or ulcer that does not heal in 2 weeks
• A sore that bleeds and doesn’t heal in 2 weeks
• Patches that are red or white
• Pain in the mouth that does not heal in 2 weeks
• Ear pain
• Enlargement of thyroid or lymph nodes/external neck mass
• Trouble chewing/swallowing
• Hoarseness
• Sore throat that does not heal in 2 weeks
• Numbness or burning of the mouth
• Swelling or difficulty extending the tongue
• Skin rashes that suddenly appear

Step 3: Examine the following areas:

1.     lips—feel for bumps, soreness, or lumps

2.     tongue—check for red or white patches, lumps, or bumps

3.     floor of the mouth (under the tongue) –check for bumps, white or red patches, or ulcers

4.     cheeks—feel entire surface for masses, soreness, or ulcers

5.     palate (front roof of mouth)—often irritated from hot or crusty foods, but if a sore lasts longer than 2 weeks, bring it up with your health professional

6.     tonsils and posterior pharyngeal wall (straight back behind palate)—say “aaah” to examine and look for colored patches, lumps, or ulcers

7.     gums—not a common site of oral cancer, but abnormalities can indicate other health issues

If you find an abnormality, write it down and note any changes over a two week period. If they are significant, contact your dentist immediately and make an appointment. Do not wait longer than two weeks for the area to clear up. If your dentist treats the problem and it does not clear up, get a second opinion. Oral cancer does not go away on its on and requires treatment and remember—early treatment can save your life.

All Smiles Dental Care is offering an oral cancer self-examination guide. To request yours, send an email to : info@allsmilescare.com.

Information from “The Missing Link”, an article by Olga A.C. Ibsen, RDH, MS from Dimensions of Dental Hygiene” (November 2008)

            In celebration of dental health month, we wanted to take a minute to go over some facts on oral cancer, and how to recognize it early on. We will be presenting a two-part blog series outlining the facts of oral cancer and ways that you can improve your chances of early detection right at home.  This widespread health issue is often misunderstood and undiagnosed due to many of the American population skipping out on their dental visits or failing to receive an oral cancer screening at these visits.

            Some stats about oral cancer include:

• Over 35,000 new cases of oral cancer are presented each year in the U.S. (and half of these cases are only found after the cancer has spread to other areas)
• One person dies from this disease every hour of every day.
• A person has only a 50:50 chance of survival once the cancer has spread.
• A person has a 4:1 chance of survival if the cancer is detected early—before it has spread
• That means that you could fill a major league baseball stadium with the number of people who get oral cancer every year and only 1/2 of those would live more than 5 years.
• Oral cancer and breast cancer have similar survival rates if detected early, but oral cancer is much deadlier once in the later stages.
• Patient self-examination could be the key to early detection, which can lead to more treatment options.

            The risk factors of oral cancer include: tobacco and alcohol use together, all forms of tobacco use alone, age 40 and over, HPV-16 through direct contact, male gender, sexually active teens, and individuals with multiple sex partners.

            Stay tuned later this week for a step-by-step guide to self- examination for oral cancer. By becoming aware of the baseline of your mouth’s anatomy and where to look for abnormalities, you can become well on your way to preventing a late detection of this disease.

We value all of our guests, and want to show our appreciation for them each and every day. We currently have a “Guest of the Day” program where one guest is honored through a random act of kindness. They receive a gift card as well as other tokens of appreciation for choosing All Smiles Dental Care, which will hopefully brighten their day and make their visit to the dental office a little more enjoyable. Below are some reactions from guests after receiving their guest of the day gift: 

To you and your Team:

Thanks Dr. Gary for all you do, and I hate to say it but I really enjoy my dental visits! You guys are super.

Dear friends, It was truly an honor to be the “Guest of the Day”.  I used the gift card to buy a coffee maker so with the mug, now I truly “Wake up to a beautiful smile”- isn’t that your slogan?! And a great cup of coffee! There is not a morning that goes by without thoughts that you all are a super group of people.  Thank you for making me feel so special!

Thank you for making me Guest of the Day.  All the goodies were wonderful! Even though going to the dentist is not an experience one would look forward to, you all make it a real joy!  I do always look forward to seeing my friends at All Smiles Dental Care.  While I know you have bills to pay and how much it costs to run a business, this a a wonderful ministry.  May God continue to bless you.

You all really surprised me with the Guest of the Day.  I had no idea what was going on!  Thank you for the honor and for the gift certificate.  I love to read.

 

Dr. Imm with one of our guests of the day

Sometimes improvements come in the oddest ways. 

It is always enlightening to walk in someone else’s shoes. For the past couple of months, I have had the unique opportunity to experience life as a person with limited mobility due to my ankle injury. I am grateful that this was only temporary, but I was also surprised to find that despite laws providing for accessibility for everyone into public buildings, many places are not easily accessible. While places had entrances without steps or areas with easier access for those with mobility needs, often these were inconvenient and difficult to locate. I found myself walking through restaurant kitchens, or restricted to certain areas of a two-story building.

This challenge only lasted a season for me. Some people spend much of their lives trying to locate ramps, elevators, railings, and curb cuts that will allow them to participate in their daily activities. Many of us take these things for granted and hardly notice the accessibility of certain businesses in our community.

I took this experience as an opportunity to improve All Smiles Dental Care in this area. As we begin making plans for remodeling, we would like to be mindful to keep our entrances, hallways, greeting area, and exam rooms accessible for all of our guests. It is important to us that all of our guests have a positive and comfortable experience. 

Dr. Imm

Operation Gratitude Update…..

The generous people of our area donated over 280lbs of treats for our troops in 3 hours. All enjoyed the Chick-filet cheerleader. Many of you did not even wish to receive money in return-very generous. Events such as this help us all remember we can make a difference to help each other. The treats are being handled by the Maryland National Guard and sent to troops from Maryland during the holidays. Thanks to all!! It is truly more fun to give than receive.

On the Monday following Halloween, November 2nd, we will offer a way to gift our troops as we buy back unopened Halloween Candy. Any unopened “loot” collected during your masquerading around the neighborhoods of Carroll County can be brought in for cash and a prize. The team at All Smiles will pay $1/pound for the goodies. The goodies then will be packed up and sent to our troops as a treat. Stop by between 2pm-5pm to get cash for your candy. It is one way we can help our troops and each other.

I cannot resist…why did the game warden arrest the ghost? Ask us for the answer when you come in with your candy or watch this blog for the answer which I will post after November the 2nd.