Tuesday, January 31, 2017

The Miraculous Tongue!



WENDY SHARES FACTS ABOUT THE MIRACULOUS TONGUE!

Today we welcome our guest blogger, Wendy Cullum.  Wendy is one of our awesome Hygienists here at Total Care Dental.  


Have you ever stopped to think about all of the fascinating aspects of the human tongue? 
 
Though often hailed as "the strongest muscle in the body," the tongue is made up of a group of muscles that allow us to taste food, swallow, and talk.   Let me share some fun facts about the tongue with you today!

  • ·         The tongue is the strongest muscle of the body

  • ·         The tongue is the fastest healing part of the body

  • ·         The tongue has 6000-8000 taste buds

  • ·         According to the ancient science of Ayurveda, different parts of the tongue correspond to the different organs of the body.  One can actually examine the functional status and health of those organs by simply noticing the imperfections of the tongue.

  •        90% of bad breath is a result from bacteria collected on the tongue

Let’s talk a little more about that last fact…bad breath!  We all wake up in the morning with “morning breath”.  This is because all night long, bacteria have been multiplying in our mouths.  50% of that bacteria resides on our tongues.  When you look in the mirror first thing in the morning, you can see a whitish or yellowish film on your tongue.  That film gives off a sulfuric gaseous odor.  We must clean our tongues as well as brush our teeth!

How does one go about “cleaning” their tongue?  Well, there are two great ways to clean the tongue.  One is to use a toothbrush and the other is to use a tongue scraper.  The technique is to start from the back of the tongue and brush or scrape forward.  To avoid the gag reflex, take a nice, deep breath before you start the brushing or scraping process.

This information might not seem life changing, but it just might help you with the confidence you need in your relationships; because face it…who wants to be close to someone that has bad breath?!

Come on in to Total Care Dental to get your teeth cleaned, and we’ll be sure that you go home with the perfect tongue scraper!

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

How To Get Along With Teenagers, and Other Useful Things!

How to get Along with Teenagers, and other useful things!
And now there are four…  We had an interesting turn of events this weekend, and we now have four 17 year old boys living with us through the school year.  My two boys, our foreign exchange student from China and now a friend whose family is living in New Zealand.  They have a blast together, and we are excited to have him.  

I’m finding I really enjoy teenage boys.  They engage in passionate conversations with me, they jump in and try new things with abandon, they are witty and adventurous.  I’m having to parent, but in a different way.  I think there are some major misconceptions about teenagers in general, and particularly this “millennial generation”.

ME ME ME Generation
I read a very interesting article by Joel Stein in Time Magazine which dubbed this generation the Me Me Me generation.  He shared some statistics that I chuckled at, having very close contact with these Millennials:
  • The incidence of being narcissistic (excessively interested in oneself) is 3 times higher for people in their 20s that people over 65.
  • Millennials got so many participation trophies growing up that 40% believe they should be promoted every two years, regardless of performance.
  • They are fame-obsessed: four times as many middle school girls want to grow up to be a personal assistant to a famous person as want to be a CEO of a major corporation.
  • The guiding morality of 60% of millennials is that they’ll just be able to feel what’s right.
  • Their development is stunted: more people ages 18 to 29 live with their parents than with a spouse.
  • They are lazy. In 1992, 80% of people under 23 wanted to one day have a job with greater responsibility; 10 years later, only 60% did.

Love Hate Relationship
Doesn’t sound promising...and it doesn’t really sound like the boys that live in my home.  As the article continues, the author talks about how these kids got to this point, and then finishes by saying this generation just may save our world…didn’t see that one coming did you?!  His proof:

  • They’re earnest and optimistic and they embrace the system.
  • They are pragmatic idealists, tinkerers more than dreamers, life hackers.
  • Their world is so flat that they have no leaders, which reduces rebelliousness.   
  • They want constant approval and have a massive fear of missing out.
  • They want new experiences, which are more important to them than material goods.
  • They are cool and reserved and not all that passionate.
  • They’re financially responsible; although student loans have hit record highs, they have less household and credit-card debt than any previous generation on record.
  • They love their phones but hate talking on them.

So why in the world am I talking about this??  I’ve been hiring for what feels like forever.  And a lot of the applicants have been millennials.  They are blowing me away with their lack of respect for the hiring process.  I get it now that I read this article, but what they don’t realize is that I’m doing the hiring...and I’m not a millennial!  My favorite applicant:  She texted my office manager to confirm she had an interview the following day.  My office manager told her she did, to which she replied, “will you remind me what time it’s at, and do I need to dress up?”  My reply - you only need to dress up if you’re interested in ACTUALLY GETTING THE JOB!!  

How to get Along with Millennials
So we have to coexist, all of us “older than millennials” and these younguns.  For all you parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, friends and neighbors out there, this is for you.  (hopefully you fall under one of those categories!)

  • Give Frequent Feedback:  Millennials are used to immediate feedback on how they are doing.  It comes from their digital world. Keep it ongoing and tell them what they did well as well as how they can improve.
  • Coach and Mentor Rather than Supervise:  Many Millennials are used to multiple supportive adults in their lives who indulged and praised them.  They respond better to coaching and mentoring that focuses on the end result.  
  • Explain What you Expect and Why: People sometimes assume that Millennials are rude or disrespectful of authority.  More often than not, they are just used to having what they want laid out for them. This comes from their life experiences. Set up rules for your home, your workplace, and typically they won’t resist.  They just need guidance.
  • Support work/life balance:  These younger generations have seen the toll that work has taken on some Boomers and others and decided that they want some balance in their lives. Give them space to do what they enjoy and they will deliver what you want as well.

We used these guidelines last night and sat back in amazement.  I’d been concerned about their electronic useage (what parent isn’t) so I asked them to think about all their goals for the next 6-8 months and what it was going to take to get there.  Then, I had them write an Electronics Agreement for our home.  Wow.  They wrote it better than I would have, and frankly, were more strict with themselves than I might have been.  They included time to be on their phones and computers (that’s the balance), but set guidelines for themselves (that’s creating an expectation).  Rather than me pounding the rules down their throats, I let them figure it out (Coaching), and I let them know how great it was (Feedback).  

Now lest you think I have this down perfect, this was my first attempt :).  It just happened to work just like promised!  So take what you might need out of this oddball post and embrace the people that are different than you!  Next week I might get back to writing about dentistry!

Love,
Dr. Michelle Jorgensen

Total Care Dental Specials With Laura

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Resolution To Go Back To The 50's!

My Wonderful Grandma Elder
Resolution to go back to the 50s!

Our family reached an interesting milestone today - we are now a two crock pot family!  I’m not talking about owning two crockpots (I’ve done that for awhile), I’m talking about needing to fill two crockpots for one meal.  Yep- one crockpot completely full is not enough for our family.  We use the meal for dinner and lunch the next day and I’ve been going without lunch because there isn’t enough to go around.  So tonight I filled both crockpots with Green Chicken Chili and it feels a bit like I’ve arrived!

My parents were raised in big families - my dad comes from a family of eight children and my mom comes from nine!  I don’t know how my grandmothers kept everything and everyone under control, clothed and fed.  And that was before the days of crockpots!!  I know they had to prioritize the things they spent their time on.  How else would they get the essentials done?  Just laundry alone would have been a momentous task (remember hanging things on the line to dry).  

So, because it is New Years, I might as well talk about resolutions.  I have a resolution to simplify my life - I’m going to call it “grandma-ing” my life!  I went to the trusty internet for info on what that might entail.  I found a great article about a couple that had taken on a “50’s housewife experiment”.  The things they learned, and incorporated into life, were eye-opening!  So let’s dive into the 50’s!  Some of my favorites:

  1. Less distractions - Today’s interactions include wife at the computer, husband staring at the phone, kids playing video games or entranced with other screens.  The 50s housewife was a smart lady and she would have none of that. She greeted her husband when he arrived home, the kids were spit shined and she was looking her best.  She aimed to have dinner timed so they could all enjoy it together.
  • Resolution - We do pretty well with dinner, but the greeting is lousy.  My goal is to greet each other when we arrive home and really LISTEN.  Listening means no screens, in our hand, near us or on.

  1. Making do- You know the old adage “Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”  Well, my grandmas were pros at this one.  My maternal grandma made the most amazing bread - by hand, until the day she died.  But I didn’t know it was homemade for a while because she kept it in Wonder Bread bags.  I think she probably reused those same bags for 20 years because I never saw her actually buy bread from a store!   Why get new bags when those still worked?  We are such a throwaway society.  Here are some great ideas:
  • Resolution- To use some of these ideas!  It keeps items out of the land fill, saves money and uses your creativity.
  • The plastic bags you get when you buy bulk items, produce or bread - can be used as lunch bags, ice bags, even shower caps
  • Paper bags - including the type flour and sugar come in - can be reused or cut open and used as package wrapping
  • An empty tissue box can serve as a great plastic bag holder
  • You can clean your windows and glass with crumpled newspaper instead of paper towel (and you can still recycle the newspaper afterward)
  • Newspaper can also be stuffed in shoes to remove some odors
  • Jars can always be used for storage or for keeping bulk foods (plus, your stuff is less likely to get pantry bugs when it's in an airtight container rather than a bag)
  • Besides storage, a cleaned can would be used for making candles
  • Old, worn-out clothes were cut for rags. "Twinless" socks made for great "dust puppets" (slip one over your hand and do your dusting that way!)
  • Vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, water and soap (esp. castile soap) can clean just about anything - and they're safe to dump down the drain or have around the body

  1. Mens and Womens roles.  I always thought this was interesting...the roles of the man and the woman in the family.  Our “modern” world has had it’s way with these roles, and for some reason, in mixing things up, things just got mixed up!  As a professional working woman, you might say I’ve been emancipated.  I’ve been freed from the drudgery of the kitchen and trying to make a man happy.  Or have I…?  
  • Resolution - It turns out I actually like working in the kitchen, and when we are all working together, I want to do things for my family!  It’s not some out-dated social norm - it’s about showing everyday kindness, appreciation and effort towards people you love and respect.  So I am going to remember why I do things for my family and find joy in helping them have joy!  I watched my grandmas do it for years (not always with joy, but there was enough) so now it’s my turn to don the apron and follow their lead.
  1. Prettying up is worth doing.  The only time I ever saw my grandma without her hair done was when we were on our annual lake Powell trip.  Other than that, she was up, hair done, dressed and ready for the day before anyone was even stirring.  She didn’t get fancy - very little makeup up her clothes were more for working than show, but she always looked nice.  There is something to being “put together”.  It helps you feel like you actually are.
  • Resolution- To comb my hair and brush my teeth before noon, even on a work at home day!  I may actually even get ready for the day whether I’m going anywhere or not.  I think there is an advantage to spending a couple of minutes preparing for the day.  You feel like an adult that has their act together.  So I’m not going to get fancy, but I’m going to spend enough time to do my hair - in memory of grandma.

May you simplify and get back to the things that really matter this new year.  It’s going to be a great one!

Love,
Dr. Michelle Jorgensen