Sierra Crest Dental - Winter 2020/2021

Sierra Crest Dental - Winter 2020/2021

530-562-4089 SierraCrestDental.com Newsletter WINTER 2020/2021 Sierra Crest Dental

Happy New Year, 2021! LOOKING FORWARD AT THE YEAR AHEAD

we’re strong believers in the outdoors, we also gave to the Truckee Trails Foundation — an endeavor that Tahoe Oral Surgery joined us in! Now we’re starting 2021 off right. You can see a photo of our team gathered for continuing education, which was a training day at the start

There is no doubt that last year was difficult for everyone, and Sierra Crest Dental wants to thank each and every one of our wonderful patients for the understanding and patience you showed in 2020. You reminded us that we’re all in it together, even if there are times when we are kept far apart from others. We’re very grateful! We’re also grateful for the many new patients who moved to this area in the past year. Whether you came from the Bay Area or from across the country, you are welcome here. We’re sure you’ve already been told this by now, but it’s been a mild winter so far, so please join the rest of us in praying for snow! Dr. Mier, our own transplant, is doing great. She’s loving her new home and town, and all the wonderful activities the mountains have to offer. And we’re loving her skills in the practice, as well as her way with patients.

of January to focus on patient experience. We want patients to have the best experiences possible at Sierra Crest Dental, and training is one way to accomplish that. They’ll put the skills they learned to use every single day in 2021, both inside and outside of the office. Also important are the many specific services we offer, and we’re continuing to expand that list to meet our patients' needs. One new service that we’re now offering is Invisalign, which is an easier (and almost invisible) alternative to braces for teeth straightening and other needs. And soon we’ll also be able to produce same-day CEREC crowns right in our office, a huge step that will really benefit our patients and cut down on wait times. We know it can be tempting to look back at 2020 and focus on the bad, but if you look at what you achieved last year, you’ll see a different picture — and ways to have small victories each day in the new year. Whether that’s a walk, a conversation with a good friend, or the perfect cup of coffee, be sure to enjoy the things that go right. That’s Sierra Crest Dental’s attitude this year, and we think it’s a good one to have. –Dr. Delaney

Even as the community grows, some great things stay the same. For example, Sierra Crest Dental was voted “Best of North Lake Tahoe & Truckee" in the dentist category for the eighth year in a row! That is an incredible honor, and it’s due to your kind votes that we achieved it. Thank you, all. Of course, we wanted to show our appreciation for our patients

and community in more than words. We had a big Coffee Lovers Giveaway 2020, and the winner was Gabbi O’Neil, whose picture accompanies this article. Gabbi went home with a Nespresso machine and a milk frother, as well as 100 fully recyclable aluminum coffee pods! Another way we showed some community love in 2020 was through financial donations to the Tahoe Food Hub, which provides local, nutritious, and sustainable food to anybody in the community who may be facing food insecurity. Because

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Our New Cutting-Edge Technology

READY TO M

next crown! CEREC (crown-making) technology has finally caught up with the abilities of crown-making laboratories, and we are confident this technology will help improve the services we offer our patients. This new technology allows us to have full reign over designing crowns for our patients, making sure that we get exactly what we want. We no longer have to spend time going back and forth with a lab tech and are saving patients time by having a new crown made all in one appointment. Now, patients will no longer have to return for a second appointment to have their crown cemented, saving time and the hassle of being numb twice! With the digital scanner, we can even avoid getting the old-fashioned gooey impression of your tooth. That being said, not every patient or tooth is a good candidate for a CEREC restoration, and in these situations, we still have our wonderful lab to help.

At Sierra Crest Dental (SCD), we have always had extremely high standards. We pride ourselves in staying at the cutting edge of technology in dentistry in order to better serve our patients. Many procedures in dentistry have entered the digital world, including digital X-rays and 3D digital scanning, which are safer for our patients, more comfortable, and time efficient. An exciting advancement in dentistry is the ability to mill crowns in-office, through the use of a CEREC machine. Having top- quality standards for the restorations we provide our patients, we have waited to invest in CEREC technology until the quality of the in-office crowns matched the high quality of our lab crowns. We are excited to announce that the time has come!

In the upcoming months, SCD will have a new CEREC Primescan digital scanner and milling unit ready to make your

BEN HAS A NEW BROTHER!

Hi everyone,

It’s me, Ben! You might remember reading about me before. My mom, Denee, is one of the great dental hygienists at Sierra Crest Dental and has probably cleaned your teeth! Well, enough about HER. I'm here to tell you that I have a brother — say hello to Bodie! Bodie joined us in September 2019 after being found near Elko, Nevada, as a stray. He is about 4 years old and is a cattle dog and border collie mix. He's very smart and has tons of energy. I must say that I wasn’t thrilled to share my mom, but we've gotten used to each other and look forward to lots of hikes and adventures this summer. (Did I mention that he likes to shred pillows?!?)

Bodie is like Ben’s sidekick now. He may be even a little more trouble than his brother. Denee had to get a camera to watch them while she’s away at work because they are always getting into things.

We hope you have a lot of adventures planned this summer as well!

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HOW TO FIND YOUR FLOW IN 2021

MEET YOUR NEEDS

If a CEREC restoration is recommended for your tooth, we will take a digital image of your mouth with the 3D scanner, select the right color of ceramic so the restoration matches your tooth color, and start milling the ceramic block. This CAD/CAM technology works much like a CNC mill in a metal shop. All of this takes place in our office, and you get to walk out the door with a high-quality crown. There are very few downsides now that CEREC has taken technology to new levels. We’re pleased to offer this technology in-house, just one of many services and conveniences that we bring to the table. Been putting off some crown work because you’re worried about time? With a CEREC machine, we’re better poised than ever before to attend to your needs. Please, reach out to Sue, Haley, Wendy, or Whitney at the front desk to set up an appointment!

IS DEEP FOCUS THE SECRET TO SUCCESS?

Have you ever started working on an important project and looked up at the clock after what felt like minutes only to find that hours had passed? If you have, you’ve probably experienced “flow state,” aka the Holy Grail of concentration and achievement. What is a flow state? Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes a flow state as a "focus that, once it becomes intense, leads to a sense of ecstasy, a sense of clarity: you know exactly what you want to do from one moment to the other; you get immediate feedback.” That sounds complex, but you can also think of flow as being “in the zone.” And it might be the key to achieving your New Year's goals. That’s because a flow state almost always coincides with tackling a difficult task, and when you’re in a flow state, even the most challenging things feel relatively easy. Why are high achievers obsessed with flow? Flow state doesn’t only happen for people with desk jobs. You can get it while running, playing chess, dancing, or climbing a mountain, and it’s considered the Holy Grail because it has a host of benefits. According to the meditation app Headspace, those perks include heightened focus (goodbye, distractions!), a sense of clarity, feelings of happiness and pleasure, and the impression that all obstacles ahead of you have disappeared. That makes accomplishing your goals feel like less of a struggle. It's no wonder high-achieving hobbyists, workers, and creatives crave the feeling! How can you get in a flow? Usually, a flow state isn’t planned — it just happens. In a BBC article, author Steven Kotler describes flow as “a happy accident.” But he also notes that we can make ourselves “more accident- prone.” To set yourself up for a flow state, find a quiet place to work and choose an activity that’s difficult but meaningful for you. Ideally, it should be something you’ve already put work into perfecting. If you’ve never tried painting before, you probably won’t find flow on your first attempt, but an experienced painter could achieve it while mastering a new technique. Some people claim that being in a flow state is a form of meditation and that learning how to meditate can help you reach it. To that end, apps like Headspace and Evenflow (for iPhones only) are great places to start! Before you know it, you’ll be finding the flow like a pro.

SRIRACHA RANCH SALAD

Inspired by KimsCravings.com

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup Blue Diamond Almonds Bold Sriracha, chopped For the dressing: • 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt • 2 tbsp organic mayo, or additional Greek yogurt if preferred • 2 tbsp Sriracha sauce • 1/2 cup preferred milk product • 2 tbsp homemade or store-bought ranch seasoning

For the salad: • 6 cups spring greens mix, or a mix of arugula and fresh spinach • 1–2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved • 1 cucumber, chopped • 1/4 red onion, sliced • 1 large avocado, diced • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped • 2 cups ranch-seasoned chickpeas, or croutons or crushed tortilla chips if preferred

Directions 1. In a large serving bowl or in 4–5 individual bowls, combine all salad ingredients. 2. In a jar with a lid, combine all dressing ingredients and shake vigorously. 3. Pour dressing over salad and serve.

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Inside This Issue

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Happy New Year, 2021!

Our New Cutting-Edge Technology Ben Has a New Brother! Sriracha Ranch Salad How to Find Your Flow in 2021 Washoe Meadows State Park — Peace on Earth?

ASlice of Peace on Earth Winter is wonderful, not least because of the variety of outdoor activities it offers. From sledding to skating and more, there are a lot of ways to get outside and get in a workout at the same time. But sometimes you’re looking for mellow and calm, instead of the fast pace of Nordic skiing or snowboarding. When that mood strikes, cut yourself off a slice of mellow pie and head to Washoe Meadows State Park for winter relaxation. DD WA HOE MEADOWS STATE PARK TO YOUR WINTER LIST

you’ll hear less traffic and other noise here in winter than almost anywhere else in the Tahoe area, but it’s still easy to get to. Most experts rank the trails in this area as “beginner,” which is perfect for an afternoon trek. Once there you’ll see beautiful terrain and get to spot glimpses of wildlife, too. We recommend taking a pair of binoculars and a bird journal, and it’s also really fun to bring a wildlife tracking book and identify the prints and scat you’ll see on your journey. Deer are common and will be sticking close to food sources and water as well as shelter this time of year. You could also glimpse a coyote or fox flicking through the snowdrifts. And who knows — you just might run into one of the humans from Sierra Crest Dental as well! We all need a place to relax and mellow out, and Washoe Meadows State Park is a wonderful destination for that. See you there?

South of Lake Tahoe and southeast of Fallen Leaf Lake, Washoe Meadows is easy to access from Highway 50 and is pretty close to the airport, too. Although it’s a pretty spot all year-round, the Meadows really come into their own during big snow winters when you can bust out the cross-country skis or snowshoes. It’s a great place to learn either, but there’s a lot for experienced skiers and snowshoers to enjoy, too. Although it’s close to people, heavy snows cut it off from easy parking, meaning you have to snowshoe or ski in. At first it might seem inconvenient, but that’s actually the selling point:

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