Family Dental Care Park Ridge

IT’S TIME TO PARTY!!

We’ve been in our new office for a little over a month now.  We have worked out most of the kinks, tweaked what needed to be tweaked, smoothed out what needed to be smoothed out and we are ready.  We are ready to open our doors to each and every one of you who have followed the amazing journey of Family Dental Care Park Ridge’s new home.  We will polish the counters, polish the floors and polish our shoes in preparation for the big Open House and we truly hope that you can join us in our celebration.  Food will be provided by the very awesome All on the Road Catering. Wine will be provided by the largest winery in Illinois, Lynfred Winery  as well as by local wine shop  WineStyles Park Ridge.   The Honorable David Schmidt, Mayor of Park Ridge will officiate in a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony sponsored by the Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce.  Here’s what you need to know.

WHEN:          Monday May 14th, 2012

TIME:             4:00PM-7:00PM

PLACE:         Family Dental Care Park Ridge

                       111 South Washington Street Suite #202

                        Park Ridge, IL 60068

PHONE:        847-692-6800

EMAIL:         info@ParkRidgeDDS.com

Or go to our Facebook Event Page by clicking here for more information.

We can’t wait to share our new space with you so bring an appetite, bring friends, bring family and get set to mingle with our wonderful dentists and staff in our new office.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Yes…FREE!!  And why is it FREE??

Because Family Dental Care Park Ridge feels that oral cancer screening exams are SO important that we will offer a screening exam for FREE! It’s really an offer that you almost can’t refuse!

Here are the details.

We will be offering the FREE oral cancer screening exams the week of April 23- April 27 between 12-3PM  While walk-ins are welcome, it is suggested that you call the office at 847-692-6800 and speak to Vivien or leave a message and we can make an “appointment” for your screening so that you are assured of a time slot.   We are expecting this to be a busy event so give us a call this week to make sure the time that you want is available.

NOTE: This event is NOT just for existing Family Dental Care Park Ridge patients.  This event is open to the public.  We really want to make the public aware of the importance of regular oral cancer screening exams.  Oral cancer is on the rise and there is no reason that that should be happening…it is one of the most detectable cancers.  Oral cancer is no longer just a smokers cancer.  The rise in oral cancer among people under 40 who are non-smokers is astounding.  Check out the article that I wrote on oral cancer here.  SO…tell your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers.  Create a car pool and come to our office.  Stop in on your lunch hour.  Whatever works best for you…just do it!

The oral cancer screening exam is simple…it’s quick…it’s painless…and…it just might save your life!

Or do we??

You’ll see a new “badge” in the right column of our website home page.  It says, and I quote, “Please join us in supporting the Oral Cancer Awareness Walk”  and underneath that heading you’ll find one of those thermometer type indicators that shows you what the goal is and what has been raised so far.  It’s a badge that frankly,  we are proud to display.  You see, in conjunction with Family Dental Care Park Ridge’s commitment to increase awareness of the importance of oral cancer screening exams especially during the month of April (see what I wrote about National Oral Cancer Awareness Month here ), we have put together a team to walk 5K (that’s about 3.1 miles) on Sunday June 10, 2012 at Lake Arlington in Arlington Heights, Illinois.  That’s 3.1 miles to show support for the detection and treatment of oral cancers.  That’s 3.1 miles to work toward lowering the growing numbers of people being diagnosed in late stages of oral cancer.  That’s 3.1 miles to inform people about the growing concern of the HPV16 virus that is significantly increasing the numbers of oral cancer and significantly decreasing the age group in which it affects.  That’s 3.1 miles to try to save lives.

I think it’s the least we can do.

And you can join us! You can click on this link to find out how you can help.  Join team Family Dental Care Park Ridge (I know, I know…originality is not my strong suit) and walk with us.  OR, come on June 10, 2012 and cheer our team on and hand out important information to spectators. OR make a financial contribution to show that you care about spreading the word…oral cancer is a real and growing concern and there are definitive measures we can take to screen early and regularly.

So, sometimes we DO need those stinkin’ badges.  It’s a badge of awareness and commitment.  Family Dental Care Park Ridge is committed.  How about you? Join us in the push to make people aware of oral cancer.

And finally, at the very bottom of that oh-so-important badge is a little “button” that says “Make a Donation”.  Please consider clicking on that button and giving what you can.

Thank you!

It’s Monday morning…pour yourself a cup of coffee, sit back and relax as you read today’s question sent to Family Dental Care Park Ridge’s  Ask the Dentist  from Zak in Buffalo Grove.

Zak asks:

“I’ve been told that I need to have a root canal on my tooth.  I’ve heard that having a root canal is a horrible experience but, this tooth is starting to hurt so I don’t know what to do! Do I have reason to be worried?”

Zak…thanks for submitting this question to Ask the Dentist!

And, frankly, you have more reason to be worried if you leave the tooth that needs the root canal untreated!

First, let’s talk about root canals. A root canal is a procedure that is done to a tooth to remove the nerve that runs through the tooth.  The reasons that a root canal may be necessary include, but are not limited to:

• decay that has gotten to and affected the nerve of that tooth
• a tooth has “died”
• a tooth has broken to a point that necessitates a root canal in order to restore the tooth
• the tooth has experienced trauma that requires a root canal as part of the treatment.

When a root canal procedure is going to be done, the area of the mouth where the affected tooth is located is anesthetized (made numb) so that there will be no sensation experienced at all.  The tooth is then isolated to keep the tooth as aseptic as possible.  A hole is drilled into the tooth that will allow the dentist to access the nerve chamber and the canals that run down the roots that house the nerve (hence the term “root canal”).  Once the nerve chamber is accessed, the dentist will use tiny sterile files to cleanse the canals of the remaining debris of the nerve.  The tooth is adequately numb at this time, so there is no sensation felt by the patient.  The canals continue to get cleaned by the sterile files until there is nothing remaining of the damaged nerve.  The canals are constantly cleansed and irrigated so that they remain clean and free of bacteria.  Once the canals are cleaned out completely, a pliable filling material is placed into the canals and manipulated so that it fills the space that used to be occupied by the nerve.  This is done so that no bacteria can enter the tooth via the canals.  Once the canals are filled (this may take 1-2 visits), the tooth is ready for a final restoration.  The type of restoration necessary will be determined by the dentist based on the particular situation.  Once the nerve has been removed, the tooth no longer has any nerve sensations.  Sometimes, the day or two after a root canal has been started or completed, the patient may experience an achiness due to the fact that the tooth has been worked on.  This achiness, if it occurs, usually subsides within a day or two and is relieved by anti-inflammatories.

If a tooth has been determined to need a root canal, putting this treatment off can result in an increase in the bacteria in the tooth that may aggravate the tooth and increase discomfort to the tooth.  Because dentists are able to adequately anesthetize the affected tooth, root canals are no longer the “scary” procedure that they once were.  They can be quite comfortable and will significantly decrease the risk of a frustrating tooth ache.

I hope this helps you Zak and that you feel more comfortable about scheduling that root canal for your tooth!

If you have any dental related questions that you would like to have answered, please feel free to ask them in the comment section below or email Family Dental Care Park Ridge at info@ParkRidgeDDS.com .  We love responding to your concerns regarding dental issues.

And, remember, as always…we LOVE making you smile!

Howdy pardners….yep, it’s true! We’re back in the saddle again.

Most of you that know me, know that I almost always have a song playing in my head and this past week, as we accelerate the work at the new space, the song that is happily playing in there is Gene Autry’s Back in the Saddle Again. Because, that’s how it feels. After pumping those brakes and readjusting our focus, we are really chomping at the bit to get our doors open to you, our patient friends.

You and I can talk all day long about the lessons that we learn in patience.  In biding our time.  We can commiserate over unexpected challenges.

OR

We can celebrate the giddy feeling we get when we know life is good.

So, watch both of the video’s that I am sharing with you today…they are short and they are definitely sweet.

And remember, as always….we LOVE to make you smile!

It is felt that laughter plays a very important role in our emotional and physical health. Some of the effects of laughter are obvious.  But what about the more subtle effects.  I am such a fan of laughter that I wrote about it in a guest post over at my friend Al Smith’s blog , The CARE Movement, not too long ago.  If you click here, you can see what I said.  Today, though, I want to share with you some of the subtle and not so subtle effects of laughter.

• Contagious:  If you are going to spread something my way, please let it be laughter.  The contagious nature of laughter is something that I am pretty sure, most of us want to “catch”.  Sometimes we will join friends in laughter having no idea as to what we are laughing about…the laughter was just that contagious.  Pretty powerful!
• Tension Reducer:  In those uncomfortably tense situations that we find ourselves in occasionally, finding humor and evoking laughter can really offset the tension.  There is nothing like a little levity to diffuse a sticky situation.
• Endorphin Release: We know that the level of endorphin release increases with laughter and helps to create positive feelings that can even help in reducing responses to pain.
• Mood Enhancement: Laughter brings with it an overall sense of well being that works as a natural mood enhancer
• Immune Response:  Laughter is thought to be able to decrease the stress hormones and concomitantly increase the release of the  good immune cells which can decrease our chances of illness and increase our ability to heal.
• Increases Sense of Self:  Laughter is a unifier.  It can help you feel more relaxed socially and more able to be yourself.  It’s inherent tension reducing capability reduces the fear of being judged and allows more freedom of expression.

So, what can you do to increase the presence of laughter in your life?

• Surround yourself with positive people.
• Give yourself a laughter challenge and initiate the laughter yourself.
• Find activities that make you happy.
• Try to find the humor in situations.
• Be mindful of utilizing laughter therapy in your life.
• Take diligent care of your health.
• Be proactive in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

We are Family Dental Care Park Ridge can help bring smiles and laughter to your life.  As dentists that are experienced in cosmetic dentistry, we offer many options that will accentuate your beautiful smile so that when spontaneous laughter erupts, you are confident and proud of your teeth!  If you have concerns about the appearance of your teeth, give us a call and set up a time to meet with Dr. Carolyn Demas or Dr. Matt Demas.  They can work together with you to help make you feel good about your smile.

Remember, laughter definitely IS the best medicine!

And, as always…we LOVE making you smile!

Happy New Year!  May 2012 be a most amazing year filled with excitement, joy and success for each of you.

Angels

The word “angel“ is a Greek word meaning messenger.  The wings that angels wear are said to symbolize peace and love. Once again, Family Dental Care Park Ridge had an outpouring of generosity as we participated for a second year in the Angel Tree Program.  I’d like to think that each of you who so generously donated to help bring a smile to a child at Christmas this year are angels yourselves. You were indeed messengers of kindness….messengers of peace and love.   The joy that you brought to many children this year is priceless.  I am so honored to have patients that are so giving and so loving.  Thank you so very much.  As promised, a name was drawn randomly from the many participants this year to win a gift certificate for a dinner on Family Dental Care Park Ridge at one of the Wildfire Restaurants.  This years winner is Chris Collins.  Thank you Chris and all of the participants for making the Angel Tree Program such a huge success!!

Pinterest

Pinterest!!  Those of you who are familiar with Pinterest know, just by seeing that word that I am talking big time addiction.  Those of you who aren’t familiar with Pinterest, let me enlighten you! Pinterest is a new social networking site that is still in beta format and so, to participate you need an “invitation”.  Let me know if you would like an invitation and I will be happy to send one your way.  With Pinterest, you share your interests via photos…photos that you find on websites, photos that you find on online businesses, photos that you have taken…photos.  Within your own account on Pinterest (which is free BTW) you create boards that will organize your favorite “stuff”.  So, for example, you can create a board that you call Trees and you can share images of trees that you have found online or that you have taken yourself.  Food seems to be a big favorite category on Pinterest so, say you love to bake…you can create a board that is called Favorite Cookies and you can post images of cookies that you love from online recipe sites or of cookies that you have photographed when you are baking.  For me, the organizing of my boards is the most challenging but I am catching on.  One of my friends, Brankica Underwood wrote a fabulous article about Pinterest that really explains it so much better than I have here so you might want to take a look here at her post.  My Pinterest page can be found here if you want to see what I find fun and interesting.

Patience

Patience is a virtue…or so they say.  The vision that is our new office is still crystal clear and standing there right in front of us.  I am leery of making another projected opening date because I don’t want to disappoint people again and so, I have a projected goal.  The projected goal for the opening of the new office is… very early Spring…how’s that for vague?  We are now referring to our exciting project as a fabulous work in process.  We are constantly in the conversation of “life in the new office”.  We want you to be in the conversation of “life in the new office” as well.  Do you have suggestions as to what you want to see?  If you were to design the perfect dental office, what would you include?

Share with us!  Let us know!  We really love your suggestions and ideas!  See the comment box below?  Don’t let it feel neglected….use it!  AND….see the “email” tab up there on the tool bar?  I’d love it if you signed up to receive our website posts!  Or, if you have any questions you’d like answered, click on the “contact us” tab and we’ll get right back to you!

And remember, as always…we LOVE making you smile!

I realize that Christmas is over and that the strains of Silent Night  have been all but stilled for now.  But, I am reminded of the beauty in silence.

Due to the unexpected need to pump our brakes, I have had the opportunity to step back a bit and to reflect.  The hyper-accelerated pace at which we were going in preparation for our new office space was preventing us from taking it all in.  This amazing adventure that Family Dental Care Park Ridge is on is something to behold and, in our haste and hyper-focus, we didn’t give ourselves the chance to just revel in the joy of this journey.  To stand back and appreciate all of the reasons that we are where we are today.  To be grateful for the patients that trust in us each and every day and who believe in our vision.  We needed a silent night.  I see that now.  It is, in fact, the value that was residing in this obstacle all along.  And, I am thankful for this temporary silence.

Because we’ve pumped the brakes, each of us at Family Dental Care Park Ridge was able to enjoy a more peaceful and relaxed Christmas.  Because we’ve pumped the brakes, each of us has spent needed time with each other to fine tune our journey.  Because we’ve pumped the brakes, we can stop and look at our new space with awe and wonder and really see what gifts we have laying before us.  We have been able to experience gratitude in the silence.

It has been a wonderful Christmas holiday for all of us at Family Dental Care Park Ridge.  I hope each of you were able to put your lives quietly on hold for a few days and celebrate the joy of a silent night.

And we extend our wishes to each of you for a New Year filled with happiness, adventure, possibility and peace.

And, finally, as always….we LOVE making you smile!

So, picture this.  You’re driving along on a beautiful road with gorgeous scenery as far as the eye can see.  You’ve got your GPS programmed for the correct destination.  Fine music fills the air.   You are hitting all of the curves with confidence.  The tires on your car are virtually humming on the pavement.  You are thinking that it really doesn’t get any better than this.  All of a sudden, you see an unexpected road block up ahead.  It appears with no warning…there have been no signs to give you the heads-up regarding any potential bumps in the road.  You have to think fast.  Your reflexes need to be sharp and accurate.  Your adrenaline rushes with a mixture of fear and anticipation. You begin by pumping the brakes.  Because, in this situation, that is all that you can do.  Just pump the brakes.

This is the scenario that Family Dental Care Park Ridge has had to face this week.  The effortless ride on the smooth road that we were on as we created the space for the new home of Family Dental Care Park Ridge was abruptly interrupted by an unexpected large bump in the road and…we are pumping the brakes.  Gently and firmly. But never once, not even for a second, are we taking our eyes off of the road ahead…off of our final destination.  Hands firmly on the steering wheel, we have slowed our speed down a bit.  But we are not stopping.

So, instead of a January 4th opening date at our new office, we will pump the brakes and coast into a date a little further down the road…a “yet to be determined” date, if you will.  One that will allow us to smooth out the bump in the road without coming to a halt.  A mere hiccup.  An inconsequential blip.

And, you know what?  In a weird way, we think that the outcome will be more fabulous…certainly more appreciated…and, definitely more anticipated.

And, on that note, I leave you with one of my all time favorite Carly Simon songs…..enjoy!