Elkins Dental - January 2021

Elkins Dental - January 2021

FOR A BEAUTIFUL, HEALTHY SMILE

ELKINSDENTAL.COM JANUARY 2021

THE TRUE JOY MY HOBBIES GIVE ME

There’s one hobby I learned from my grandfather! He was an incredible person and excelled at a variety of art mediums: drawing, carving, and making stained glass are a few that come to mind. While not all of his grandchildren have taken on all his hobbies, we’ve each thoroughly enjoyed the hobby that he, in a sense, gave to us. For me, that is creating stained glass.

The start of a new year usually means a time to set goals for oneself or to try out new things, like finding a new hobby. Coincidently, January is National Hobby Month! I believe it serves as a representation of everyone finding new hobbies once the new year has started, and it gives people a chance to pick up new activities they can enjoy. However, I won’t be picking up any new hobbies this month. My wife accuses me of having too many hobbies, so I probably shouldn’t start up any new ones. Nonetheless, I think National Hobby Month is a perfect time to enjoy the hobbies I already have. Some of my hobbies I picked up as a kid include my love of baseball and softball, and, of course, the joy I have when I play guitar and sing with my brother. Russ and I have been playing and singing together since we were very young, and it’s something I still enjoy immensely today. Being able to get up onstage during one of our shows is absolutely wonderful — it’s an experience that never gets old. I do look forward to the time after the pandemic when Russ and I can once again hold a few of our gigs and get back onstage.

I ended up borrowing my grandfather’s stained glass equipment because he was too old to continue that particular hobby, but was happy to see my interest in it. Since then, I’ve enjoyed many stained glass projects, including making a friend fish ornaments every year. This friend has a saltwater fish tank, and I’ve enjoyed recreating his fish for him every year. It’s very much me supporting his hobby while enjoying my own — it’s fantastic!

My joy for many other hobbies came later in life. I like working for local charities, mostly those affiliated with animals. I love to help out the Idaho Boxer Rescue when I can, as they’re really a wonderful group that rescues homeless boxers and provides homes for them, as well as boxers whose owners can no longer care for them. I also can’t forget dentistry, which is not only my career but also a very dear hobby of mine too. I love helping people regain a smile they’re proud of and ensure that they’re oral health is the best that it can be.

The best part about my hobbies, though, is that I’m able to share them with the people around me, whether that’s with my family, friends, staff, or patients. Nothing gives me as much joy as seeing someone smile after I’ve helped restore their teeth, when I play a song,

when I give someone a stained glass ornament, or when I build a guitar for a friend. These joys draw me closer, not just to my hobby, but also to the people I care the most about.

–Dr. El kins

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HOW HABIT TRACKING AND DAILY RESOLUTIONS COULD TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE

It’s important that you stick with it because habits take a long time to create. One study published by the European Journal of Social Psychology asked people about a simple habit they wanted to form, like drinking water at lunch or taking a walk before dinner. They found that the average amount of time it took before the action became automatic was 66 days! Don’t be too hard on yourself if you miss a day, but know that sticking to a new habit is serious work, so starting small might help you out. Another important aspect of forming new daily habits is rewarding yourself. Bad habits, like smoking, have an inherent reward. However, healthy habits can have rewards too! Try consuming a bit of dark chocolate after a workout or treating yourself to a fresh beverage or relaxing to a podcast after tackling an important task. Find ways to reward yourself, and you’ll be more likely to stick to your new habit. Certain daily resolutions don’t have to be related to exercise or diet to majorly improve your life. For example, having a gratitude journal might boost your long-term happiness by 10% and improve your blood pressure. Don’t hesitate to improve your quality of life! Just start small, and you’ll be amazed by how far you’ll go.

Yearly resolutions are so last year … if they’re your only resolutions, that is.

Having long-term goals isn’t a bad thing, but do you have a daily plan to reach them? The huge boost of motivation in January isn’t always enough to sustain you all year long. That’s why there are major benefits to starting new healthy habits, whether you increase your weekly exercise time, eat healthier foods, or work on getting better or more sleep.

Luckily, sticking with these habits might be as easy as making daily resolutions to complement your yearly goals. BJ Fogg, a Stanford University professor and author of“Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything,”notes that tiny habits can make a new habit easy to implement into your daily ritual. For example, taking a short daily walk could lead to an exercise habit, or keeping an apple in your bag every day could encourage healthier snacking.

Kalie and Cheyenne: A Word on Dental Health Dental Radiographs: Ensuring Oral Health

As an added precaution, we also use sensors with our dental radiographs, which assures everyone receives a minimal amount of radiation. Even in a full process of getting X-rays completed, our patient's receive less radiation than walking from the building to their car on a sunny day. Every new patient who comes to our office receives a full series of X-rays. Then on every visit — every six months or so — we take another series of X-rays, as we do with all our current patients. These help us keep track of our patients' oral health for future visits, detect problems once they appear, and prevent those problems from becoming worse. If you or someone you know is experiencing dental health issues, we can help. Call our office today and schedule an appointment. –Kal ie and Cheyenne

For our January newsletter edition, we’d like to take the time to highlight dental radiographs, which is part of our standard care here at Elkins Dental. Dental radiographs are X-rays that we use for preventive care and diagnosing. Since dental radiographs have the ability to penetrate through the soft tissue of the mouth, such as our cheeks and gums, it gives our team the ability to spot problems and take action. The technology we use in office is the latest and most up to date that keeps exposure to an absolute minimum. We use equipment filters, which clear out any unnecessary X-rays (making it safer for the patient), but they also restrict the X-rays’ beams. In this way, our hygienists and dentists are able to focus the beam directly to one area of the mouth. Additionally, our team also uses a holder, which prevents our team from needing to do retakes, as well as an LED apron. This apron is draped over our patients’ shoulders and protects their organs.

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KOREAN BEEF RICE BOWLS

Ingredients

Inspired by SkinnyTaste.com

GOOD CHEER Beer lovers, rejoice! Idaho is the world’s largest hop producer, and more and more people are taking advantage of our agricultural bounty by opening breweries in the Treasure Valley. Share a few of these treasures with visiting family members and their only question will be “How did we not come here sooner?” • 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated • 2 tbsp gochujang sauce, or more if desired • 3 cups cooked brown rice • 1 small cucumber, slice • 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds, plus more for topping • 2 scallions, thinly sliced

MOUNTAIN RANGES Surrounded by the Rocky Mountains, we don’t have to go far to find mountaintop winter activities. If skiing or tubing is your idea of winter fun, Bogus Basin is just a short drive away, and heading to McCall makes a fun weekend getaway. ... AND RIVERS Not only are we surrounded by the Payette and Boise rivers, Idaho is also home to the deepest gorge in North America: Hells Canyon. Take that, Arizona! • 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce • 2 tsp light brown sugar • 1 tsp sesame oil • 1/2 tsp re pepper flakes • 1 lb lean ground beef • 1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped • 2 g rlic cloves, cr shed

Out-of-town relatives who are visiting for the holidays might wonder what makes Emmett so special. But we already know the Treasure Valley is full of gems — and we don’t just mean the rocks. Here are some additional reasons Emmett and The Gem State are great. WE’VE GOT SUNSHINE On average, we have 210 sunny days per year. Compare that to 144 rainy days in Portland and we can feel pretty happy about all our free vitamin D. Directions

4. Pour sauce over the beef, then cover and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. 5. Divide rice evenly into four serving bowls. Top each with scant 2/3 cup beef, cucumber slices, sesame seeds, scallions, and gochujang, to taste.

1. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, 2 tbsp water, brown sugar, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes. 2. Spray a deep, nonstick skillet with cooking oil and place over high heat. Add the ground beef and cook until browned. Break up the meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks. 3. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger to the meat and cook for 1 minute. JOKES DAD

Good night, son. Happy New Year. Son: Happy New Year, Dad. I'll see you .... Son: Don't, Dad. ... NEXT YEAR!

Wife: You forgot to get the evaporated milk. I put it on the list. Me, looking through the grocery bags: I definitely got it. Wife: Don't you da ... Me: It must have evaporated

BANANAS: THE FASTEST- TRAVELING FRUIT

It was 1890 in Limón, Costa Rica, and Minor Cooper Keith was the “Banana King.”Keith traveled to Central America to build railroads, but when he planted 800,000 acres of bananas to feed his workers, he ended up in the banana business, too. In 1899, he co-founded United Fruit and set his sights on the U.S. market. Two secrets helped Keith’s bananas cross the 7,175 miles from Limón to Seattle in under seven days. The first was the railroad, which United Fruit operated. Railroad cars sped the bananas from their plantations to the Port of Limón. There, they were loaded onto the first-ever refrigerated ships. Those ships steamed north, where their precious cargo was unloaded, stacked into yet more United Fruit railroad cars, and dispatched across the U.S. This mad scramble of plantation workers, conductors, and captains brought us the plethora of bananas we have today

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED US DONATE TO THE LOCAL FRIENDSHIP COALITION!

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1. A Life Filled With Hobbies 2. How Habit Tracking and

PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

3. Korean Beef Rice Bowls

4. Give Yourself the Boost of Getting Outside

Daily Resolutions Could Transform Your Life

The Great Banana

1110 S. Washington Ave. Emmett, ID 83617

Scramble of 1899

A Word on Dental Health

Wishing you a wonderful 2021 and new beginnings

208-369-4532 ElkinsDental.com

LET THAT FRESH AIR FUEL YOU

4 Tips to Make Getting Outside Easier

alarm to head outside and take a quick walk around the block just after waking. Don’t even wash your face or grab coffee. Just get out there. 3. TAKE YOUR WORK OUTSIDE. If you’re working from home, take some work outdoors. Phone and virtual meetings are a great outdoor option, especially if you’ll just be an active listener and aren’t required to do any work simultaneously. Attach a note to your meeting reminders to get yourself set up outside five minutes before you start. 4. CREATE A SCHEDULE. It might feel strange to set reminders throughout the day to step outside, but you easily get wrapped up in activities and overlook breaks, and these reminders are exactly what you need. Start with 10-minute blocks three times a day. If you stick to them, soon you won’t need a schedule to get outside anymore. Winter weather may be cold, but even when you’re bundled up under a jacket and scarf, just 5–10 minutes outside can do wonders for your mood and energy for hours.

Hunkering down and waiting for the dark and chilly winter season to pass sounds pretty nice. But the reality is, if we deprive ourselves of time outside, we do ourselves a big disservice both mentally and physically. Staying indoors all day affects your energy and mood, which makes it hard to get anything done, so here are four easy tips to make it easier to get a little fresh air.

1. MAKE IT A PRIORITY. Getting outside means making the conscious effort to do so. If you want to reap its benefits, you have to decide to make it a priority in your day-to-day schedule. If you make the act important to you, you have more motivation to actually do it. 2. USE MORNINGS EFFECTIVELY. Waking up and getting the day started can be hard. But studies have shown that natural light helps decrease your melatonin production, which means you feel ready to face the day sooner. So, set yourself a second

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