Have you thought about how neglecting to visit a dentist on a regular basis can make you look old?  When you don’t take care of your teeth, they break down, you may lose a few teeth(or a lot).  Without teeth your jaw bone deteriorates and without that support your face can look like it’s ”sunk in”.  Not a youthful look.

A picture says a lot

The images above are drawn by hand, and they show the effect of the loss of the teeth.  The image to the left shows the profile of a approximately 50 year old woman with a full set of teeth.  The center image shows what the patient would look like immediately after losing all of her teeth.  The image to the right shows the what the patient would look like at the age 50  if she had lost all her teeth at age 40 (10 years without teeth). 

You have probably seen people with this type of deformity.  They were not born that way.  They have simply lost all their teeth.

Has it been awhile since you’ve been to the dentist?   If you are looking for a dentist in Columbus Ohio make an appointment with us today.

Information and photos for this blog post have been used by permission from www.doctorspiller.com.  Please visit their informative website for all you could possibly want to know about dentures, and more.  Should I have my teeth pulled and get full dentures?

It’s hard to believe kids have started back to school already, summer seems to always be the shortest season doesn’t it?

I don’t know about you, but my kids come home from school starving and I am forever trying to come up with snack ideas that they will like and that have nutritional value as well.

One way  to make healthy snacking fun for  kids is to include the kids in shopping for the ingredients and preparing the snack. Try keeping whole grain tortillas ,lunch meat and cut up veggies on hand so the kids can create their own “roll-ups”.  These can include any combination of meat, cheese, veggies and dressing that appeals to your child. When I was young, my brother and I would make “mini pizzas” after school that were so easy. Today kids can do the same thing with whole grain English muffins, pizza sauce, veggies, pepperoni and shredded mozzarella cheese.  These can be as basic or complicated as the child wants to make and are cooked in 10 mins in a 250 degree  oven or about 30 seconds in the microwave! Do you remember the saying that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”? A tasty nutritious snack can be as simple as apple slices with a smear of peanut butter and a sprinkling of granola.

Give the recipes below a try and feel good about  rewarding your kids with something delicious and nutritious to snack on after a big day at school!

Banana Fruit Smoothie

Southwestern Club Wrap

Applesauce Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

Balls of Energy

Your Smile is the first thing people typically see when the meet you.  Everyone has their own feelings about what kind of a smile they want and that is great.  But if you would like to understand the possibilities and cost of improving your smile, just ask your dentist.

And if you don’t like what you hear, ask another dentist. What I am saying here is that not every dentist has the same kind of style or philosophy so you need to find a dentist that matches your style and desire.  A friend of mine came to our office about 4 years ago.  She is/was a mid twenties professional and she had some staining on her front teeth.  Her old dentist had told her the staining “wasn’t a big deal”  and “was just part of her smile”  That is not the answer she wanted to hear so at her first appointment she asked Dr. Thompson what she could do about the staining.

It was a quick, pain free, polish to get the stains off and it didn’t cost her anything beyond her routine cleaning cost.  Bonus!

So, you might have something you’d like to change with your smile right now but you have been putting it off figuring it would cost a fortune.  Just ask.  You are an adult.  Get the scoop and then decide if it’s something you want for your smile.  Asking the question isn’t a commitment to treatment…. we all know that!

Top Questions to ask your dentist at a Smile Consultation.

What if just 10 minutes of exercise a day could better your mood, give you more energy, improved confidence, increase motivation, and even increase agility? Well, studies have found exactly that to be true!

With such a stressful economic climate today, we are valuing our quality of life much more. It is important to only stay healthy but feel as good as possible in order to be able to face life’s daily tasks and curve balls.

Findings from the Archives of Internal Medicine outline the results of study where 430 sedentary postmenopausal women which were divided into 4 groups: non-exercisers, moderate exercise for one hour a week, moderate exercise for two hours a week, and moderate exercise for 3 hours a week. Questionnaires were completed at the end of the trail which found that these women found improvements in all aspects of quality of life (mental health, energy, social functioning, and emotional health). There was a direct correlation that the more the women exercised the greater the improvements.

Even more interestingly, the study found it is possible to be overweight or obese but live 3 years longer than a normal-weight individual who does not partake in daily moderate exercise.

So much activity should you do? The government’s latest physical activity guidelines suggest:

· 2 ½ hours moderate-intensity physical activity (brisk walking) or 1 ¼ hours a week of a vigorous-intensity activity (jogging or swimming)

· Better yet would be 5 hours of moderate-intensity physical activity or 2 ½ hours of vigorous activity

· Two or more days a week is recommend for adults of resistance training which should cover all major muscle groups including chest, back, shoulders, thighs, hips, and abdomen.

· Older adults should follow the same guidelines if able to. If not they should do as much physical activity as their bodies’ will allow. Balance training should be integrated to help prevent falls.

This article was contributed by our patient and the best fitness trainer in Columbus.

A simple smile is the best way to win friends and influence people reports The Times of London.  A national survey conducted reveals that the first thing most people notice about someone is his or her smile.  Nearly half of those surveyed said they would not do business with anyone who looked unfriendly… and isn’t a smile Instant Friendliness?

Women managers in particular are more likely to promote employees who smile.  Smiling increases the body’s production of endorphins and people who smile spontaneously have a more successful life in personal and career terms.

What about you? Are you using your smile?

Whether you agree with this information it is interesting to note that it comes from Britain… a country that isn’t necessarily known for their dazzling smiles.  Here are a few humorous articles on the state of teeth in Britain.

Do the Mariah Carey diet!  Ok, not really, but do watch portion size.  If you are going to “cheat”, eat as much as would fit in the palm of your hand, that way you’ll always be able to keep your portion size under control.

Write out a Holiday Workout Calendar – Holidays are some of the craziest and busiest of the year so go online and find a blank calendar page for the month of December and literally schedule all your workouts now.  Make sure you are getting in at least 3 days a week.  Voila!  Now you have 12 scheduled workout days in the month of December.

Make yourself go out and play with your friends!- When it’s cold outside naturally we want to stay inside, but that doesn’t mean we have to sit on the couch.  There is lots to go do that is active and fun.  Go bowling, have a Wii party, take some dance lessons, take a spinning class, go ice skating, find an indoor swimming pool, or if you are really brave go skiing or snowboarding.

Party! Party! Party! – During the holidays there are many holiday parties to attend and with holiday parties there is usually extra eating and drinking.  Drinking alcohol and festive non-alcoholic beverages can be a major contributor to weight gain.  If you know you won’t be able to forgo the bubbly or your cocktail of choice, then make a deal with yourself to drink a glass of water between each drink.  The water will slow your intake down over the course of the evening.

Written by our guest blogger Margaret.  Margaret is a patient at Grandview Dental Care, an Exercise Scientist, and does personal training at Columbus Fitness Consultants.  We invite you to visit the website of the best personal trainers in Columbus.