Signature Smiles - January 2021

Signature Smiles - January 2021

3,562 Lives Changed Through Sedation 1,340 5-Star Reviews, and Counting 152 Years of Combined Experience

The Home of Anxiety-Free Dentistry

A LOOK BACK ON 2020 AT SIGNATURE SMILES

JANUARY 2021

Happy New Year to our raving fans, loyal patients, friends, and families of Signature Smiles, both Streetsboro and Elyria! It has been quite a year. We started last year with big plans, but by March 2020, we knew we would have to be flexible with those plans. The world was changing and changing fast. OUR GUIDING MISSION From day one, our mission at Signature Smiles was to change people’s lives and to provide them with the best anxiety-free dental care. When COVID-19 hit, it put a major strain on the community, including our patients and staff. Everyone was dealing with the anxiety of the pandemic. They were dealing with anxiety just being at home, on top of the anxiety they deal with when visiting the dentist. But we looked to our original mission for guidance. We wanted to make things easy for our patients and staff, so we went to work to figure out how to adapt. It started with safety. We made no compromises and did everything in our power to maintain the highest safety standards. We also had two very important things in mind when we planned for the year:

PATIENTS MEAN EVERYTHING! Maintaining operations became a big deal because we wanted nothing more than to be there for our patients. This was a major challenge. As you may recall, when the pandemic hit, we made the decision to close our doors for two weeks to make sure everyone was safe and healthy. However, while we were closed to general appointments, we kept a doctor on call to help with emergencies. We quickly realized that we would not be able to stay shut down for longer than two weeks. We have over 6,000 patients who need our help and support, and we couldn’t leave them hanging. So, we made the decision to come back for limited services. This was the right call. The team was ready and willing to help patients who had no other options. And we weren’t just helping our existing patients — Signature Smiles welcomed many new patients as well! There were many area dentists who decided to shut down for a few months, leaving their existing patients with nowhere to turn. We didn’t want people to feel that the emergency room was their only option, so it made sense to open, even on a limited basis. Over the course of 2020, we welcomed 1,400 new patients. And in total, both of our offices had over 12,000 dental visits — all while keeping everything safe, personalized, and anxiety-free! This was

1. Keep the team together. 2. Maintain operations for our patients.

Keeping the team together became one of the biggest goals, in fact. We have a wonderful team, full of five-star players, and didn’t want to risk losing anyone, so we put together a plan to keep everyone. And we did! In fact, we ended up adding people to the Signature Smiles team! One goal down, another to go!

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How Habit Tracking and Daily Resolutions Could Transform Your Life

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

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.

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.

Flossing Is a Big Deal Why You Need to Do It — and What Happens When You Don’t

Flossing is like squeegeeing between your teeth. It keeps them clean and healthy. But if you skip flossing here or there — or don’t floss at all — tartar will build up. To make matters worse, the bone under the gums does not get along with the tartar. As a result, the bone will actually start to erode away if it comes in contact with the tartar. The more plaque that hardens on the gum line, the more bone erodes away. If you prevent plaque from hardening, your jaw bone will remain healthy for the rest of your life! To make sure the worst doesn’t happen, floss at least once every 24 hours. Simply flossing when you brush your teeth is the easiest approach. You can also supplement with a toothpick or floss pick. Flossing is important because it can get where brushing can’t. How to floss: Thread the floss in between the teeth and focus on one side of the tooth at a time. Squeegee up and down the tooth five times. Then go to the other tooth on the opposite side and squeegee five more times. Move to the next space and repeat until you’ve cleaned between each tooth. If you take time to floss once a day, you’ll have a clear shower door at your next cleaning!

The minute after we brush our teeth, plaque begins to form, typically along the gum line and in between teeth — the hardest to reach spots. Plaque is the soft gunk you brush and floss off your teeth every day. It’s created by the bacteria that live on your teeth, bacteria that will always be there. Anything you don’t remove within 24 hours will start to harden to form tartar.

When you come in for a cleaning, our hygienists remove the tartar and clean away any excess plaque, leaving your teeth healthy and looking great. But here’s the thing: It’s possible to leave the dentist with sparkling teeth and return with sparkling teeth six months later if you are vigilant with your brushing and flossing! It’s like having a clean and clear shower door — if you squeegee it every day, it stays clean and clear. If you skip a squeegee here or there, buildup begins to form. Over time, it gets worse until you can no longer see clearly through the door.

HYGIENIST –Wendi

STREETSBORO

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BRINGING JOY TO THE COMMUNITY If there was one thing we didn’t have enough of in 2020, it was joy. One thing we insisted on doing last year was bringing joy to our patients and staff. For instance, during the holiday season, we hosted a day with Santa Claus. We knew visiting Santa would be difficult in 2020, but we thought, you know what? We have the equipment, tools, and safety measures to make it happen! So, we had a small “Santa Day” for our team and raving fans and it worked out well. LOOKING FORWARD In 2021, we’re looking ahead with big hopes and big plans. We’re committed to our goals of being able to offer same-day sedation appointments and providing an anxiety-free environment for our patients. Our goal this year is to help 1,800 patients overcome their anxiety with our sedation options. This is the number that will keep us on track for our 10-year target. I appreciate what we learned in 2020. I appreciate all of our patients and team, and I’m looking forward to what 2021 may bring. And from all of us at Signature Smiles, we wish you a happy and healthy 2021! Thank you and see you soon!

achieved with the effort of the Signature Smiles team and the effort of our patients, too. They helped us through the pandemic by understanding our limitations. Thanks to everyone’s support, we were able to power through! OUR 10-YEAR GOAL At Signature Smiles, we have a 10-year goal. This was a goal we set in 2018 we call “Fill the Q.” Our goal is to help 20,562 patients overcome their dental anxiety by 2028 — or enough patients to fill every single seat in Q Arena. In 2020, we helped 800 more patients overcome this anxiety with the use of one of our sedation techniques. That brought us to a great number: 3,562 since day one! On average, that’s about 15–20 sedation appointments a week, even with the pandemic! Many of our new patients came to us thanks to our existing patients. At our Streetsboro location, about 76% of our new patients were word-of-mouth referrals. At Elyria, it was about 40% of our new patients! I want to thank all of our patients for spreading the word and helping us reach our big goal while getting through a tough year. It meant a lot to see so many new patients, in addition to our existing patients. It sends us a valuable message when we see just how many new patients came to us thanks to word-of-mouth referrals. It tells us we’re on the right track.

–Dr. Omar

This delicious plant-based soup is loaded with vegetables, so it’s a healthy way to stay warm on a winter night! This recipe makes four servings, and you can freeze the leftovers for up to a month. Easy One-Pot Lentil Soup

INGREDIENTS • 2 tbsp coconut oil • 2 cloves garlic, minced • 2 shallots, diced • 4 large carrots, sliced thin • 4 stalks celery, sliced thin • Sea salt, to taste • Black pepper, to taste

• 3 cups red potatoes, cubed • 4 cups vegetable broth • 2–3 sprigs fresh rosemary or thyme, chopped • 1 cup uncooked green lentils, rinsed and drained • 2 cups chopped kale

DIRECTIONS 1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat and sauté garlic, shallots, carrots, and celery for 4–5 minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste. 2. Add potatoes to pot, along with more salt and pepper. Sauté for 2 minutes. 3. Add vegetable broth and herbs, then bring soup to a simmer. 4. Add lentils, stirring until soup returns to a simmer. Then, turn the heat to low and cook soup uncovered for 15–20 minutes. 5. Finally, add kale and additional salt and pepper as needed. Cook for 3–4 minutes, thin soup with additional vegetable broth as needed, and serve!

We guarantee an anxiety‑free experience—always!

Inspired by MinimalistBaker.com

SignatureSmilesOH.com — 3

9519 State Route 14 Streetsboro, OH 44241 330-423-6779

Also Serving Elyria! Elyria, OH 44035 440-281-8031

PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

SignatureSmilesOH.com

The Home of Anxiety-Free Dentistry

Inside

Free 24-hour recorded message reveals the “9 Questions You Need Answered Before Committing to Dental implants.” Call Now: 800-723-2012

1

Looking Back on 2020 — and Looking Ahead to 2021

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How Habit Tracking and Daily Resolutions Could Transform Your Life

2

Why Flossing Matters

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Easy One-Pot Lentil Soup

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Give Yourself the Boost of Getting Outside

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 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.

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Safety First! STARTING 2021 RIGHT WITH THE COVID-19 VACCINE

Nothing means more to us than the safety of our patients! To honor that commitment, the Signature Smiles team — both Elyria and Streetsboro — has received the first round of the COVID-19 vaccine! We’re excited to be a part of this monumental occasion as our community begins to turn a page to a better — and safer — tomorrow. Here are a few pictures from our experience.