What is "Whole Body Health"?

 

During my time at dental school, I was involved with some of the medical school's professors and leadership.  One of my mentors from the medical side was a pediatrician.  He told me a story that at the time opened my mind to how medicine doesn't always get things right.  He related the tale of a group of small children who were diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, ADD, that were given medications and treatment, only to later discover that they had mouths full of cavities.  Obviously in so much oral pain, the poor children couldn't pay attention!  Once the correct diagnosis was made, the oral health restored, the children were cured of their ADD.

We've all heard a horror story like this before where the doctors messed up.  Maybe they couldn't figure out what was wrong until their patient spent a ton of money and time.  As angry as this makes us, it's just not true that all doctors are idiots or are just in it for the money.  Maybe this is just the reason they call it "practice".  Despite the hopeful world we live in where nothing like this will ever happen to us, it is possible to get a sickness that is just new to medicine, or at least new to our physician.

The solution for us is the same as the solution that occurred for the school-children:  the body should be thought of as a whole, with many systems that are intertwined.  The best person to juggle all of this knowledge about your body is you, basing your wise choices on recommendations from health professionals.

Here are three suggestions for treating your body as a whole. 

First, search out professionals that will empower you to make wise decisions regarding your health care.  Believe it or not, the internet is great for information, but a professional diagnosis can be trusted.

Second, give your doctor time to explain the reasoning behind the diagnosis and recommended treatment.

Third, ask a lot of questions!  Seek understanding about your body, mind, and spirit.

We can help you seek whole person healthcare.  Contact us today!

3 Ways to Nuke Bad Breath

Bad breath hits everyone sometime.  And the bad part is that we don't normally smell our own bad breath:  someone needs to tell us, and you know that doesn't happen very often!  Understanding why we get bad breath can help us know how to beat it.  There are three common causes of bad breath:  bacteria, dry mouth, and our tonsils.  Each cause has something you can do to get rid of it.


1.  Bacteria

We all have bacteria in our mouths, and if you keep your mouth sufficiently clean, you shouldn't have a problem with stinky bacteria.  And how do you beat bacteria?  Start with regular professional cleanings.  At a professional cleaning, the deeper bacteria is cleaned out.  If you have bad breath and haven't had a professional cleaning in a while, set up an appointment soon, and you'll see how much it improves your breath.

2.  Dry Mouth

We all have a dry mouth at night or whenever we sleep, so we wake up to the dreaded "morning breath".  Other things cause our mouths to be dry, like certain medications and dehydration.  If you feel that you don't have enough saliva, then you should see your dentist about solving that problem because you could be at extreme risk of cavities and gum disease.  If you have normal saliva during the day, but wake up to morning breath, then make sure you brush, floss, and use mouthwash at night.  This can mean a lot less smelly breath in the morning.

3.  Our Tonsils

Every time we eat anything, small amounts of it get trapped in our tonsils, where our bodies test out the food for bacteria and viruses.  Our immune system gets ready to fight anything we unknowingly eat or drink.  Unfortunately, this also means that smellier foods like garlic, onions, and some cheeses are sitting in the crypts of our tonsils for long periods of time, giving us bad breath.  Of course you could completely avoid these foods, but that's a bummer.  Gargling some mouthrinse can help dislodge the food particles giving you bad breath.  Do this especially before bed because if the food particles are allowed to sit overnight in your tonsils, the smell is harder to remove.  Other things can help, like staying hydrated with lots of water.

Knowing these three most common causes, you can prevent bad breath, also called halitosis.  If you have any questions about how these things can help you, or if you've tried them and they didn't work, contact your dentist and see if you have a more rare cause of halitosis.  We can help you get rid of your bad breath.  Call or email us today!

4 Easy Ways to Build Your Emotional Strength

Emotional strength can be developed and improved upon, and there are many techniques that help produce success.  Some of them require a lot of practice at controlling your mind, and well, who has the time to become a monk just to be emotionally stronger?  Here are four easy things you can do to build your emotional strength.

1.  Know that your potential is limitless.  Like we said in our last post, you have inherent worth, and it's great.  That worth comes in part from the truth that anybody can improve.  You have potential to change yourself and change your circumstances, even if only indirectly.  I like the saying on a poster I saw recently:  "Every EXPERT in anything was once a beginner" with a picture of a young boy with a baseball bat standing small on a large baseball diamond.  Sure, others may seem to have natural talent that you don't have, but it's absolutely true that with enough work and practice, you can become the expert.  So, go to it!

2.  Take responsibility for yourself.  Nobody can make you feel:  you are in charge of that.  You have the power to respond however you choose, so don't give that power to another person or to a painful circumstance.  This involves being aware of your feelings and thoughts, which is the beginning of controlling them.  Just starting this step will make you feel powerful.

3.  Be a best friend to someone.  You're probably saying "these were supposed to be easy!", and this one is easy, too.  We all know that a true friendship takes a long time to build.  But being a best friend is nothing more than being focused on another person, not ourselves or what we'll get out of the friendship.  This step involves nothing more than doing something meaningful for someone.  From their perspective you will have been a great friend.  With daily practice, this step has the ability to transform your life.

4.  Accomplish small things.  Any politician knows that sometimes you just need an easy win, that everyone can see.  Getting something small done lets us focus on the positive easier because at least momentarily we aren't thinking about the problems.  Especially during a stressful time in your life, if you focus on what you can do, you will feel powerful.  A wise man once said:  starve the problems and feed the possibilities.  It seems counterintuitive, but it works.  Here is the link to his book.


These four steps will give you more emotional strength.  They each take practice, but when rough times hit, you will find the emotional strength to handle things better.

Emotional Strength

When I was in my third year of dental school, my family and I went through some difficult times.  My wife lost her dad to cancer within six months of his diagnosis.  We also had two late miscarriages.  On top of this, I began the clinical practice of dentistry at school.  Besides the heartache of the death of loved ones, we were travelling with our three other children between Arizona and Wyoming multiple times for a last visit with Grandpa Opie and for the funeral since we couldn't afford to buy five round-trip plane tickets each time.

Looking back, it's obvious I could have handled the stress better.  Food became my comfort, I put on extra weight, lost a LOT of sleep, and although I tried to keep a smile on my face at school, I felt myself wearing thin.  Since I had shared news of the first lost pregnancy with classmates, there was a constant reminder of the pain of lost hopes.  I don't recount all of this looking for sympathy, especially because there are plenty of people who have suffered more, but the short version is that both my wife and I were under a lot of emotional stress.  We used up our emotional strength to just survive the negative life events.

Emotional strength is what makes it possible to survive such things.  Wouldn't it be nice if nothing like death or disappointment ever happened to any of us, but these things come to all of us.  And we all know people who seem to handle such pain and stress with grace and strength.  It's their emotional strength!  So where does it come from?  It comes from knowledge of the truth about our own self-worth.  Not self-esteem, that's something else.

Have you ever had the courage to ask yourself "what am I worth?".  The answer isn't about money or the number of friends you have, and definitely not about how many likes you get on your Facebook posts.  Your true worth as a person is priceless, and there is a connection between this worth and your emotional strength.  I may be worth a lot, but if I don't believe it, what is the use?  I believe my worth is great when I do certain things, especially one thing in particular.  The most important thing to do to recognize my self-worth and build emotional strength is to love.  Not faked or selfish "love", but real sharing of myself with others, with all the vulnerability that goes along with it.  The love I express through small kindnesses and effort to give emotional strength to others, even if it isn't very successful, brings emotional strength and a true belief in my self-worth.  That knowledge is what carries us through difficulty.

Remember, you have a lot of worth.  Go share yourself, and your unique influence with others:  you will see what I mean.  Stay tuned for more ways to build your emotional strength.

Why Dental Bonding?

We use dental bonding at our office.  Have you heard of it?  Bonding is essentially getting fillings glued to our front teeth, kind of like acrylic nails.  They can change the shade of our teeth, and they can even change the shape somewhat.  Because they are less expensive than other methods, they are a popular option for changing front teeth.  One of the best parts of dental bonding is that as time goes on, it can be easily repaired in the same visit.  This means no multiple visits for initially placing them, and short visits to change them or repair them.  Crowns and veneers take multiple visits.  If the porcelain chips or breaks on a crown or veneer, it must be replaced.

Composite bonding is also easily changed.  If you don't like the shape or the color, it is easy to replace or slightly modify the end product to your satisfaction.  Sometimes dental bonding can even be used in place of orthodontic appliances for those who don't want to wear braces.  Have you always wanted a different smile?  Dental bonding may be for you.  Check with Dr. Bradshaw to see if dental bonding can be used to make your front teeth into your dream smile!