Aberdeen Smiles December 2017

Aberdeen Smiles December 2017

December 2017

Aleaha Fettig, DDS Valerie Drake, DDS

1409 6th Ave. SE #8, Aberdeen, SD 57401 |

www.AberdeenSmiles.com

605-225-2236

|

My Greatest Gift What Makes This Holiday Season Special?

For my family, it’s not Christmas unless we’re gathered around the tree at my aunt’s house. Everyone’s getting older, so it’s hard to work around schedules and get together as often as we used to. When the holidays come around, we go all out and gather the whole extended family for a big Christmas Eve celebration. My uncle makes his amazing short ribs, the table is covered with ham and turkey, and everyone tries to grab a serving of Grandma’s lefse, a Norwegian flatbread dessert. After dinner, the family exchanges gifts, which is a lot of fun when you have little kids who are caught up in the magic of the season. This year, the holidays will be extra special with my grandparents celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary this month. Thinking about how long they’ve been together and how strong their love is inspires me. I am so happy I can celebrate this occasion with them, especially because, for a few rough months this year, we weren’t sure my grandparents would reach this milestone together. Last March, my grandma was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors gave her six months to live, not expecting her to reach Halloween, let alone Christmas and her anniversary. My grandma has always been a strong woman, and even when the doctors had given up, she wasn’t ready to call it quits yet. She went through chemotherapy, which was an agonizing process for our whole family. When you’re afraid each day might be your loved one’s last, you want to spend all your time with them. Unfortunately, you still have responsibilities and must be there for your job and home life. As a result, I

spent this last year running around a lot,

visiting my family and helping my grandparents whenever I could.

Chemotherapy can be as difficult on a person as the disease it’s supposed to

cure, but if you’re lucky, it might keep you from having to say goodbye to your family just yet. My grandma was truly lucky. By November she was cancer-free and happy to join us around the table for our Thanksgiving feast. The holidays are a time for giving, but this year, I can’t help but be grateful for what I’ve received. My family is overjoyed to have Grandma still with us. I know my grandparents are both happy they can celebrate their 70th anniversary together, with the rest of the family gathered around. There’s nothing more precious than family, and this year, I couldn’t be more thankful to spend the holidays with the people I love. I wish happy holidays to all our patients. May you and your loved ones enjoy health and happiness in the coming year.

— Dr. Aleaha Fettig

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Santa Tracking GOES HIGH-TECH

It’s almost Christmas, and if you have small kids, you know what that means: prepping for the arrival of a jolly man in a red

to “learn the Santa lingo from around the world.”

When the eve of the big day finally comes, Google promises a showcase of Santa’s “dashboard, the technology that powers his sleigh during his around- the-world journey.” Featuring “the latest and greatest … in sleigh engineering,” the app displays a Google Maps window that tracks each of Santa’s stops, gives status updates from Old Saint Nick, and tells kids how far he is from their city. It’s a colorful, fun adventure for the whole family. Of course, Google’s not the only kid on the Santa- tracking block. There’s also NORAD Tracks Santa , operated by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, the same organization that tracks nuclear missiles for the government. Similar to Google, noradsanta.org includes a variety of fun games and activities leading up to Christmas. But unlike Google, NORAD has a dedicated Santa-tracking app for your phone, where you can see a 3-D view of Santa’s location during his trip. The app also features videos, so you and your little ones can see clips of Santa flying around major landmarks and world cities. Just don’t stay up too late watching them. You don’t want Santa to skip over your house!

suit and his confusingly named reindeer. Some of us may remember spending Christmas Eve curled on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa as radio reports tracked Santa’s trip around the globe. But these days, kiddos have gotten a little more high-tech in their search for up-to-date, GPS-driven Kringle updates. First, there’s the Google Santa Tracker (santatracker. google.com), a full-fledged holiday hub for your browser powered by Google Maps, including, of course, an up-to-the-minute GPS tracker for the big man. The application arrived in 2004, and it’s been updated every year since. During the countdown to Christmas, there’s a colorfully animated advent calendar of sorts, where buildings around Santa’s village “thaw out” and reveal a host of fun games and activities. There’s even a section titled “Santa Tracker for Educators,” which includes kid-friendly coding games, information on international holiday traditions, and a translation app

DECEMBER TESTIMONIALS

“Everyone was so friendly and warm. There was no waiting time. I love the warm wax experience! I like how they just texted me to remind me of my appointment.” –Diane K.

interactions at Aberdeen Smiles with the staff and doctors.” –Terry R.

“Friendly staff, good service. I really enjoy the new dentists — very easy to talk to about any questions or problems you may have.” –Terry R.

“Libby is very good at her job and so much fun to talk and joke with. She is always upbeat and funny. I enjoy the

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2 Harmful Habits That Lead to Broken Teeth

is on this list of culprits — its dense sugars love to cling to your teeth. To combat this, make small changes to lower your sugar intake. Replace your daily soda with a cup of tea or sparkling water. Another beneficial change is switching from dried fruits to fresh ones. Sugar aside, you may have another addiction that harms your teeth. Are you a serial fingernail or ice chewer? Both can lead to cracked and broken teeth. If you aren’t looking to drop a vacation’s worth of dough on your dental visits, consider quitting — and quick. The Academy of General Dentistry estimates habitual nail biters will spend up to $4,000 more in dental bills over their lifetime. Carry a pack of baby carrots to munch when you’re tempted to reach for your fingernails. You can also place a rubber band around your wrist and snap it when you reach for a nail to nibble. Each painful snap can serve as a reminder to stop your destructive habit. Talk with your dentist about other ways to strengthen your teeth and prevent breakage. After all, you want to spend your holidays in the easy chair, not the dentist’s! Finding a replacement routine for detrimental chewing habits is key to kicking the habit for good.

Do you know when most dental emergencies happen? I’ll give you a hint: “Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus.” That’s right — holiday season. Why is this? Well, the abundance of hard candy and popcorn between October and January wreaks havoc on your teeth. Often, when a broken tooth reaches emergency status, it’s actually already cracked. At that point, all it takes is a piece of hard food for it to reach breaking point. Fortunately, there are simple ways to improve your tooth health and prevent cracks during the holiday season. First, stop overindulging in sugary foods! Sugar breaks down your enamel, so the more you eat, the weaker your teeth become. Plaque builds up in your mouth whenever you consume food. The bacteria that make up plaque love sugar, and when they consume it, they produce a certain type of acid. This acid wears away healthy tooth enamel and eventually breaks down teeth. Even worse, if you already have a crack (even one you can’t see or feel), sticky, sugary foods will further irritate the area. And though it might seem like a healthy alternative, dried fruit

HOLIDAY STAR COOKIES

Have a Laugh

Looking for something a little lighter to eat during the holiday season? Try these paleo-friendly star cookies! Ingredients • 2 ½ cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)

• ¼ cup coconut oil, melted • 5 tablespoons agave nectar or honey • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• ½ teaspoon Celtic sea salt • ¼ teaspoon baking soda • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon Directions 1. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. 2. In a small bowl, mix coconut oil, agave, and vanilla. 3. Mix wet ingredients into dry. 4. Roll out dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper until ¼ inch thick.

5. Refrigerate for 1 hour. 6. Remove top piece of parchment paper and dust dough with almond flour. 7. Cut out cookies with a small star cutter.

Recipe inspired by elanaspantry.com/star-cookies.

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1409 6th Ave. SE #8 Aberdeen, SD 57401 605-225-2236 www.AberdeenSmiles.com

Aleaha Fettig, DDS Valerie Drake, DDS

Inside This Issue Hope for the Holidays Page 1 Where’s Santa? Page 2 December Testimonials Page 2 2 Harmful Habits That Lead to Broken Teeth Page 3 Holiday Star Cookies Page 3 Step Aside, Balto Page 4

TOGO THE SLED DOG SAVES AN ALASKAN TOWN hero stood out above the rest: Togo, lead dog of renown musher Leonhard Seppala, who crossed the longest and most dangerous leg of the relay. Togo’s 91-mile race crossed the frozen Norton Sound, where unstable ice could break apart and claim the lives of a musher and their dogs. But this route saved a day of travel, and Seppala and Togo carried on. In a whiteout blizzard, with temperatures at -85 F and winds up to 65 mph, Togo’s incredible stamina and ability to sense danger led his team to safety. Thanks to their bravery, the serum arrived in Nome in 5½ days. The official death toll for Nome and the surrounding Native Alaskan encampments was less than 100 — far below the 100,000 predicted. Today, a statue of Balto, the lead dog of the relay’s last leg, stands in Central Park, New York City, though it’s worth mentioning the award on the statue was not actually given to Balto, but to Togo. As Seppala said himself, “I never had a better dog than Togo. His stamina, loyalty, and intelligence could not be improved upon. Togo was the best dog that ever traveled the Alaska trail.”

In the winter of 1924–25, the Alaskan town of Nome suffered a deadly outbreak of diphtheria. Facing an epidemic, with no medicine on hand, the entire population of Nome and the surrounding areas could’ve been wiped out. The doctor sent a plea to the U.S. Public Health Service in Washington, D.C., for help. Due to the harsh Alaskan winter, ships couldn’t reach the Nome port, and it was too dangerous for planes. Sled dogs were the only method of transportation available. They decided to send a shipment of serum by train to Nenana, Alaska. The serum was then transported to Nome by sled dog. The fastest trip from Nenana to Nome was nine days. Due to the brutal conditions, the serum could only last six days before it would expire. What followed was the Great Race of Mercy — a desperate relay to deliver the serum 700 miles across northern Alaska. Twenty mushers and 150 sled dogs participated in the relay, but most historians agree one

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