Premier Dental - August 2020

Premier Dental - August 2020

PREMIER DENTAL N EWS L E T T E R

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EDITION 18

The Cost of Deferring Why You Shouldn’t Delay Dental Care

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GumDisease (Periodontitis): It’s insidious. It creeps up on you. Gingivitis — gum inflammation — can advance through early, moderate, and advanced periodontitis. This results in bad breath and loose teeth. Often, since it does not hurt, you may not notice any signs. Regardless, the bad bacteria in your mouth can destroy your gums and teeth. In addition, as bacteria travel through the bloodstream and settle on various organs, it can adversely affect your overall health. Routine cleanings can prevent this. Oral Cancer: That uncomfortable mole, ulceration, or nodule may not be anything to worry about. Most disappear within two weeks, but some may not. These require a closer look. Yearly oral cancer screenings go far in catching early signs of oral cancer. It’s always better to play it safe when it comes to your health. While we may not find any concerning issues in our examinations, there’s still a chance your pain, sensitivity, and inflammation could be a larger, more serious issue. After all, chronic conditions and acute problems don’t just disappear because there is a pandemic. In this new coronavirus environment, some of you may have questions. We have seen plenty of patients during the past month, and many have commented about how easy their visits were. Our goal is to create a safe environment where you can receive the necessary cleanings and treatments for a healthier mouth and body. If you still have any concerns, we will be happy to explain the steps we have instituted for disinfection and social distancing to help keep our patients safe. Don’t let your fears prevent you from seeking needed care. We can guide you through it.

Recently, 600medical doctors sent a letter to the president. They expressed concern that as the emphasis on treating COVID-19 patients grew, not treating patients with othermedical conditions has resulted in a worsening of chronic and acute diseases. In some instances, this has even led to unnecessary deaths for patients who were forced towait too long for elective surgeries, chemotherapy, and other forms of important treatment. Similar concerns apply to dentistry. We know the need for dental treatment has not diminished, despite the challenges of COVID-19. Neglecting dental treatment now will only result in more pain and increased costs later. In this newsletter, I want to offer examples of common dental conditions you should get looked at immediately. If you experience any of these conditions, please call our office to schedule an appointment. Infection: Youmay believe an infectionwill go away or that it can be containedwith some painmedication. But left untreated, a painful infection can spread and become uncontrollable. The result is a lot of pain and suffering. As the infection travels toward the eyes or brain, it can even become life-threatening. An infection cannot wait. Call our office if you notice any swelling or pain in yourmouth. Cavities or Broken Teeth: You may notice a sensitivity to cold or sugary foods. It could be a cavity, which is actually decay. If you have a cavity, it will spread inside the tooth until a small area presents a large problem. Cavities destroy tooth structure, and the tooth may eventually need extensive treatment, such as a root canal. If you delay too much, you may even lose the tooth. Visual exams and X-rays can find cavities early when they are small, protecting you from tooth loss while keeping costs down. Similarly, a broken tooth may not hurt at first. If diagnosed early, the tooth can be restored and saved with a crown. Otherwise, the tooth will be lost and you will subsequently need a bridge or implant, which are more expensive options.

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OFFICE STAFF: PATIENT COORDINATORS

MICHELE JOHANNA DENTAL ASSISTANT

CATHLEEN

HYGIENIST

CHARLENE PRACTICE MANAGER

PETER

—Hema Gopal, DMD

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DR. HEMA GOPAL: 20+ YEARS IN PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

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Are You Quiz Savvy? Beware of Social Media Quiz Scams

You see fun quizzes on Facebook all the time. What kind of dog breed matches your personality? What Disney princess are you most like? These can be fun to pass time or learn new things about yourself. However, did you know that social media quizzes aren’t actually safe? The Better Business Bureau (BBB) recently warned people that distractions on social media aren’t all harmless. In order to collect personal information, scammers can’t knock on your door and ask about your mother’s maiden name or the name of the street you grew up on. Intentionally, they design scams to attract your attention so you voluntarily give your information to them. They will ask common security questions that seem to relate to the subject matter, but in actuality, your answers are recorded for scammers to hack and steal your personal information later on. That’s why it pays to be skeptical . If you’re about to take a quiz, first ask yourself who created it. Do you trust them and the website it’s on? Even if the quiz seems outwardly innocent, it’s a risk. To prevent quizzes and potential scams from popping in your newsfeed, adjust your privacy settings and monitor friend requests . Is one of your friends adding you on a second account? Sometimes, scammers make imposter secondary accounts of people just to have access to their friends’ timelines. Not everyone monitors

how much they post on Facebook; anyone can amass lots of invasive information just from scrolling down a profile. Which brings us to our next point: Remove personal details from your profile . Nobody needs to know your phone number and home address by clicking around on your profile. Let the important people ask! It’s safer that way. Lastly, never give answers to common security questions . Why would a quiz need to know the name of your high school? No matter what, when we volunteer information online, there’s always risk. Best of luck, friends! There are lots of safe, authentic quizzes out there. How else are you supposed to know what Disney princess or dog breed you really are?

Turn Your Entryway Into a Command Center Head Back to School Stress-Free

everything they needed to walk out the door eachmorning? Believe it or not, it’s possible! And it all starts with turning your home’s entryway into an organized command center. Get hooked on coat racks. Building an entryway command center starts with coat racks. You should have enough hooks for every member of your family to hang their jackets, backpacks, and purses. It’s also good to have some extra hooks just in case. Get your family in the habit of hanging their belongings in the entryway rather than trailing them through the house. Create a clever shoe solution. Keeping your shoes by the door ensures that on busy mornings, the left shoe isn’t in the bedroomwhile the right shoe somehow ended up in the playroom. However, shoes can quickly pile up into a mess of their own. If there’s space in your entryway, cubbies or labeled storage bins are a great solution to make sure each kid has a designated spot for

their shoes. If you don’t have storage space by the door, a wall-mounted coat rack is a great workaround. Install the rack close to the floor and have your kids hang their shoes on the hooks when they come in. To your battle stations, everyone! Make sure each member of your family has a designated spot to put their belongings in the command center, including you. Sure, you might not have homework to keep track of, but what about your keys? Your parent battle station can include a bowl for keys, a tray for newmail, and a calendar to help you monitor your weekly schedule at a glance. Organizing your entryway won’t magically make school mornings stress-free unless you consistently utilize the system. Kids will need to build the habits of leaving their shoes by the door and returning their backpacks to the hooks after they do their homework. So stick to the plan, be patient, and take it one day at a time.

“Has anyone seen my backpack?”

“Dad, did you sign my permission slip?”

“Mom, I can’t find my shoes!”

This is the household anthemheard on school mornings across the United States — a chaotic rush of tracking down shoes, throwing together lunches, and racing to the bus stop. What if there was a stress-free way tomake sure everyone in your family had

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DR. HEMA GOPAL: 20+ YEARS IN PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

609.298.1124

What Will Dentistry Look Like in 2050? How Artificial Intelligence Could Change Dental Visits Today, dental treatments are faster, easier, and less invasive than ever before. But according to Dental Economics and Healthcare in America, the gains dentistry has made so far are just the beginning. New advances in technology are coming that could revolutionize the field in the next 30 years — including the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI). Today, dentistry is human-centric. Patients rely on their dentists for the most important parts of treatment, including spotting any problems with their teeth. In most offices, it’s also up to the dental staff to get patients scheduled, sort through files, pull up X-rays, and catalog patient information. If you want a second opinion on something, you need to seek out another dentist. In 2050, that might not be the case! Step out of 2020 for a minute. Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and leap forward three decades. Cars probably aren’t flying yet, and maybe there isn’t a colony on Mars. But one place you can see change is in the treatment chair. In this futuristic world, you book your appointment with your dentist’s AI software. It networks with your own AI to find the perfect time slot. When you arrive, you’re immediately shown to your treatment room. Real people scan and clean your teeth, but every bit of information is cataloged by a computer. AI programs review your scans, identify and diagnose problem spots, and alert your dentist so they don’t miss them. When your dentist wants to review scans with you, they ask the AI to pull up a certain image, and it does it as quickly as Alexa zeroes in on a song. If you want a second opinion, your dentist can ask their software to check your X-ray readings against those of other dentists around the world. Companies are already creating AI platforms that can do all of these things and more. In fact, this kind of high-tech dental appointment could happen long before 2050! AI will never replace dentists, but it’s an effective tool to help them diagnose patients, and it can also act as a safety net when they’re overworked. If you’re curious about new technologies being explored in the dental world, ask on your next visit — the answers might surprise you.

Weeknight Curried Apple Pork Chops

Inspired by The Primal Desire

Ingredients

• • • •

2 tbsp coconut oil or ghee

• • •

1/2 cup water or apple juice 2 tbsp hot curry powder 3 cups diced apples (peeled or not, your choice!)

1 cup onion, diced

1 tbsp garlic, crushed 1 tsp ginger, finely chopped

• •

6 pork chops

•

1 tsp salt

Cilantro, roughly chopped

Directions

1.

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a large pan over medium heat, melt coconut oil or ghee. Add onions, garlic, ginger, and salt. Sauté for 10

5.

In an oven-safe dish, arrange pork chops, cover with sauce and apple mixture, and cook for 20 minutes (if using bone- in chops, cook for an additional 10 minutes) or until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 145 F.

2.

3.

minutes or until onions are soft andmixture is fragrant. 4. Mix in water or apple juice

and curry powder. Then add apples, ensuring they get coated in sauce.

6. Garnish with cilantro. Enjoy!

Take a Break

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DR. HEMA GOPAL: 20+ YEARS IN PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

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Inside

DR. HEMA GOPAL: 20+ YEARS IN PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

This Issue

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Don’t Put Off Dental Care

Don’t Fall for These Social Media Quiz Scams 3 Organization Tools for Stress-Free Mornings What Will Dentistry Look Like in 2050? Weeknight Curried Apple Pork Chops Are Your Thrift Store Donations Being Thrown Away?

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Are you thinking about donating your kids’ old clothes or that slow cooker you haven’t used in months? Though donating your unwanted items is a great thing to do, amid the pandemic, many people have not considered the future of secondhand shopping and charity-based thrift stores like Goodwill. In 2018, Goodwill funded nearly $5.3 billion in charitable services, like educational assistance, job training, and work placements. But now, Goodwill and similar organizations are facing a unique problem: They’re receiving too many donations. To prevent your items from ending up in a landfill, consider the following before you donate. Under the circumstances, this situation is understandable. Thanks to nationwide stay-at-home orders, many took advantage of their newfound spare time to spring-clean and subsequently donate unwanted items to charity. However, with the confusion about how long the COVID-19 virus can live on clothing, secondhand shoppers have been staying home, worried about the health risks of buying used goods.

merchandise, for example, isn’t sold in their stores. Instead, it’s sent to discount outlets and then into global markets. However, Mexican traders, who account for 30% of business at thrift stores close to the U.S. southern border, and Kenya, the world’s largest buyer of unsold secondhand clothes, have stopped buying during the economic shutdown. Meanwhile, some good-intentioned Americans are leaving their goods outside thrift stores’ front doors, not realizing that without enough space to house the excess donations, many of these thrift stores will have to pay disposal fees, costing the business potential revenue and sending your items into local landfills. However, Goodwill still wants your donations! You just might have to hold on to your items for a little bit. Check to see if your local thrift stores are open for donations. Many recommend waiting until the influx slows down, but others have expanded their inventory storage and are ready to keep up. Just make sure to follow their guidelines on acceptable items because any broken or worn items only add to their costs. Happy donating!

Are Your Thrift Store Donations Being Thrown Away?

Famously, thrift stores still keep unsold goods out of landfills. Up to 75% of Goodwill’s

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DR. HEMA GOPAL: 20+ YEARS IN PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

609.298.1124