Congrats to Dr. Urban on moving in to his new condo just up the street from the office.

If you’d like to have a dentist that is fresh as a daisy, on time, and unstressed by DC morning traffic give us a call 703-532-1712.

FallsChurchSmiles.com

So I figured what the heck, I might as well pile on too!

A friend posted something on Facebook that lead me to this photo

http://www.retronaut.co/2011/07/celebrity-teeth-now-and-then/

Wow! What a difference nice, white, well aligned front teeth make. He went from looking like an ignorant street thug to the handsome man we all know.

Being in dentistry I can’t help but see the discoloration at the gum-line of his upper right central incisor (upper right front tooth) and that this tooth is dead center of his smile, instead of just to the right like it should be. This is pushing his left central incisor way over to the left (this is in the handsome, recent photo), giving his teeth a bit of a side swept appearance, making an imperfect yet engaging smile.

If you want a great dentist who has all the latest magazines for you to enjoy give us a call 703-532-1712 FallsChurchSmiles.com

“No!” I exclaimed, incredulous.

“Yes. Really, it was on the news.” Beth assured me.

I looked up the story online, and sure enough many reputable news organizations were reporting this bizarre tale. So I made a note to be sure that I blogged about it.

I am so glad that I waited. I looked the story up again today. I initially went to the WJLA.com version of the story as I wanted to be sure I had a real news organization’s version of it. They, and everyone else, are now saying that the story was a hoax.

The fact that this story was a hoax made sense to me, as the story was just too bizarre (which is often the hallmark of a true story as well). As we all discussed the story here in the dental office a few weeks ago I said, “Wait a minute. Any patient in our practice would very quickly figure out we had extracted one tooth, there is no way we could extract every tooth in a patients mouth without them knowing.” The story claimed that the patient was surprised to find himself edentulous (the dental term for having no teeth) when he got home. We went with the assumption that this patient had been given complete sedation. We do not provide this level of anesthesia in our office, but some oral surgeons do.

This just hammers home the point that you cannot believe everything that you read. Even if you read only credible news sources, even they can be fooled. So many times one news organization is just reporting what they got from another organization, and anyone in the chain could be mistaken.

If you’d like to have the best dentist in the area, no hoax, give us a call. 703-532-1712 FallsChurchSmiles.com

“Ali, my tooth is bothering me.”

“Wiggle it some more, sweetie. It will come out soon.”

“Ali, my tooth is bothering me.”

“Let me see. Yep, it’s loose. Keep wiggling it.”

And sure enough, we were out on a boat yesterday and she said, “Ali, I don’t want to swallow my tooth at lunch, but it’s really, really loose.”

“Well, wiggle it a bunch now and it will come out before lunch. Then you won’t have to worry about it.”

And magically, painlessly a tooth appeared in her hand, at which point I said, “Hang on to it, honey. Let me take a picture real quick while you are still bleeding.”

I didn’t realize when I took the photo how distracting her hair was. She lost the side tooth. The two in front are actually her adult front teeth. They are still so far apart it looks as if she’s missing every other tooth, giving her that pumpkin toothed look.

Here’s one cleaned up. I’m looking forward to showing this to her fiancé’ in twenty years.

If you need a good dentist give us a call 703-532-1712

FallsChurchSmiles.com

Not many people realize how physically demanding being a dental practitioner is, and it’s not just the dentist; it’s they hygienists and assistants too. They twist and turn trying to see inside patient’s mouths, working bent over all the time. Hygienists scrape tartar off of teeth all day. It’s actually quite hard on their hands. They often get carpal tunnel syndrome.

http://www.jokeroo.com/pictures/funny/monkey-dentist.html

Both hygienists and dentists have to see well, and so many use magnifying loops on their glasses much like jewelers do. The loops help them to be able to maintain a comfortable posture while working inside a patient’s mouth. Some patients can’t open very wide, some have tiny mouths, some have back or neck problems and so cannot be reclined fully, which can really make positioning them a challenge.

Dr. Urban was not the first dentist to liken dentistry to fixing a watch in a dark pool of saliva, and it is an apt comparison. Over the years various things have been invented to help patients keep their mouths open, keep the mouth lit, retract tongues and cheeks, and keep saliva away from the area being treated. The equipment we looked at included dental chairs that recline patients in a way that is more comfortable for both the patients, and the dentist or hygienist.

We are still planning on renovating the office in August this year. Dr. Urban has already hired a contractor. The plan is nearly completed. If you’d like to try out the latest and greatest in dental chairs give us a call; you can try one of our current ones out and then compare it to a new one this fall.

703-532-1712  FallsChurchSmiles.com

http://www.toothartist.com

At first I thought a tattoo on a tooth is crazy, as I could only picture it right in the middle of an upper front tooth. However, you can have this on a back tooth, or a side tooth, or the tongue side of the tooth, so that it can only be seen if you are really trying to show it.

Dr Urban had an idea years ago of putting team logos on teeth. As soon as he reminded me of that I could see several of my friends getting these tooth tatts.

I see several advantages to this kind of tattoo over a regular one.
1. It’s tiny.
2. It can be very discreet.
3. A dentist can polish it off in 5 minutes if you want to get rid of it.

If you’d like a work of art in your mouth, regardless of whether or not you have a tattoo on it, give us a call we can help you with that.

703-532-1712 FallsChurchSmiles.com

I’m going to go wash my hands now.

703-532-1712 FallsChurchSmiles.com

It’s sort of like Pictionary with a touch screen. For the last month or so I was obsessed with, “Words with Friends”, which is a sort of crossword puzzle game. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zynga.words

I have found that the smart phone has made me much more patient during wait times. While waiting on lunch I check Facebook. While waiting on a doctor’s appointment I play, “Draw Something”. In fact, I had an orthopedist appointment this past summer; the office was running 90 minutes behind schedule. The waiting room was jammed. I counted 28 people looking irritated, waiting on the doctors. There were not enough chairs, some people were in the hall, and some sat on the floor. Many of us started to grouse about the long wait, and ask each other, “What time was your appointment supposed to be?”

Back before smart phones I am sure the more brazen of us would have been haranguing the front desk about their poorly run schedule. Instead, we’d burry our heads in our phones, look up occasionally, laugh or complain to each other about the long wait, then back to the phone, pacified electronically,  like a baby with a binky.

Here at the dental office we run on time, so the smart phone revolution has not helped our reception area. That’s right, we don’t have a waiting room we have a reception area, because we see patients on time.  We have had more than one patient who has come in a bit early, and when I thank them for coming in early they said, “You have a good selection of magazines; I like to get here early to read them.” Some have even been a tad disappointed when we take them back early. “Oh, I wanted to read People Magazine”, I heard one woman sheepishly admit. No one would have a subscription to that at home (would they?), but it’s a guilty pleasure here.

So if you are stuck with a physician that’s running 90 minutes late check out the Draw Something and Words With Friends Apps; they’re fun! If you‘d like to have a dentist who will see you on time give us a call. 703-532-1712 FallsChurchSmiles.com

Photo by Christina Taylor

My friend took this photo of me on Saturday, she also lent me the green boa. The reason I am posting it here is because I love the way my teeth look in this photo.
If you would like to have a smile like this give us a call, we can help you with that.

703-532-1712 FallsChurchSmiles.com

This machine is truly remarkable. There is no need for gloppy, gaggy dental impression material. The impression is taken digitally, so not only do we eliminate a lot of the nasty taste and feeling of choking for patients, the patient also gets digital precision fit.

These restorations are both strong and beautiful. See for yourself with this link. There are several types of material used with this machine, some are porcelain, and some are made from zirconium oxide. That’s right, teeth made of (man-made) diamonds,
http://www.cereconline.com

http://www.google.com/imgresq=cerec+machine&start=92&hl=en&sa=X&biw=1366&bih=528&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=x8HSXxDp3j3aSM:&imgrefurl=http://www.brentwoodsmile.com/CosmeticCrownin1Hour.aspx&docid=lT

If you’d like to have a dentist who is up on the latest and greatest technology give us a call 703-532-1712 or visit us on the web FallsChurchSmiles.com. We like hearing from you.

There is a dental condition known as “meth mouth”. This is a condition where the teeth decay quickly and dramatically, and it is often seen with methamphetamine abusers. My only experience with meth has been a positive one. I am a big fan of the AMC original series, “Breaking Bad”. This show is about a high school chemistry teacher who is stricken with cancer and ends up manufacturing meth in order to make ends meet. I have seen a few seasons and so far no one has suffered from meth mouth; although many other unfortunate things happen to the various meth dealers and users in the show. I am happy to say that’s been the extent of my familiarity with the drug.

The March 2012 issue of, “Dentistry Today” has an article about a study done by Dr. Michele C. Ravenel in which meth abusers’ dental conditions were studied. Previously it had been thought that meth abusers (as many people who use many drugs do, including over the counter and prescription medications) suffered from dry mouth, or a decrease in saliva resulting in higher decay rates. This study showed that meth users had “No significant difference in salivary flow rates . . . yet results showed significant trends for lower pH . . .” It goes on to recommend that dentists who are treating patients who have a history of meth abuse check the patient’s pH.

What it does not say is how to change the pH back to normal. So I am wondering what is the dentist to do with this information? So the Ph is low, now what? Fix the teeth, now what? Don’t do meth I suppose is the answer. This leads me to wonder about other drugs/medications and if they are also changing patient’s saliva pH levels. No real answers in today’s blog, folks, just the obvious – don’t do meth.

If you need a good dentist please call us at 703-532-1712, or visit us on the web at FallsChurchSmiles.com

www.erh.noaa.gov/lwx/winter/DC-Winters.htm

The site above gave me some insight as to why, in my mind, Valentine’s Day and Presidents Day have often had big storms. One reason is that February is the snowiest month for D.C., 6.3 inches is our average; although January is close behind with 6.2. However, NOAA is averaging these numbers from today back to the 19^th century, and I only remember DC weather from the 1970’s on.

Sure enough, there have been some big storms around both Presidents Day and Valentine’s Day in my lifetime. February 18-19, 1979 was called the, “The Presidents Day Storm”, and it was considered the worst storm in DC in 57 years. I was 14 at the time, so it made a big impression on me. As I recall we missed an entire week of school.

February 11-12, 1983, we had a huge storm that “beat the Presidents Day Storm and was the second greatest snowfall of record for the Washington area”. Feb 15-17 2003 Dulles saw over 21 inches of snow. Feb 13-14, 2007 there was the, “Valentine’s Day Sleet Storm”.

If you are into weather history, and like saying things like, ‘oh yeah I remember that one’, click on the NOAA link above. If you need a good dentist click on this link www.FallsChurchSmiles.com , or call us at 703-532-1712. We like hearing from you.

The top pen is the one that I failed to notice while checking my scrub pockets as I did laundry yesterday. I have put a non-melted pen below it for comparison.

When I took the clothing out of the dryer, and found the dryer to be caked with baked on ink . . .  well – I was just as happy as I could be.  Many pounds of my clothing (because I went ‘all out’ and bought the large capacity clothes washing machine and dryer) were ink smeared, and ruined.

Luckily when teeth stain we can usually fix that pretty easily. If you would like stain free teeth, give us a call. We can help you with that. 703-532-1712

FallsChurchSmiles.com

All together now - How slow was it!?

It was so slow that I could take some photos and videos of the mess. In the photo above we should have all been going about 65 MPH, but we were stopped. I hope I don’t get a chance to take such a photo again anytime soon.

Some poor soul, or souls, were in a traffic accident just in front of the scope of this photo. I hope they weren’t hurt, and I hope the road construction will be done soon. I can’t take much more.

My jaw now hurts from clenching my teeth as I went from 10 minutes late to work, to 20 minutes late, 30 came and went, white knuckles gripping the steering wheel. Finally I got to work an hour late. I need my mouthguard.

If DC traffic is causing your jaw to ache, give us a call. We can help you with that.

703-532-1712

FallsChurchSmiles.com

This year I am resolving to cook more and eat at restaurants less. As I have chronicled in so many blogs this past year, I moved to an area in which I can walk to about a hundred nifty restaurants, and just as many deliver food to my door with just a few clicks of the key board. I took a gander at my credit card bill last week – Ooof, restaurant, restaurant, delivery, restaurant, delivery, restaurant. I’m not going anywhere fancy or spending a lot, but $20-$30 bucks almost every day adds up. I am guessing that I am paying two or three times what I would if I would just grocery shop regularly, and eat at home most of the time.

So this year I am going to cook. My challenge is that I don’t know what to cook. The only thing I can think of is pasta and maybe crock pot soup. I suppose I should think about what I buy in restaurants. Pizza, pasta, chili, salad, soup, sandwiches . . . Oh, grape leaves, there is a restaurant that delivers stuffed grape leaves to my house. Mmmmmm, they seem like they’d be tricky to make. Maybe that can be my one occasional extravagance; I’ll treat myself to store-bought grape leaves every now and then.

I take for granted that I can eat anything that I can fit into my mouth. Having healthy teeth is a wonderful thing that I often forget to appreciate. Crunchy carrots, apples, corn on the cob, sticky gooey candy, sandwiches with wonderful chewy, crusty bread – no problem.

If you are having trouble eating everything that you’d like to because your teeth are not in tip top shape make a New Years resolution to change that, and give us a call at 703-532-1712
DrUrban@verizon.net

FallsChurchSmiles.com

One Christmas song I have stuck in my memory, but I don’t hear on the radio is “All I want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth”. Since I don’t hear it on XM, or Pandora, or commercial radio I started to wonder why I even know this song, so I googled it. Love Google, love Wiki, love You Tube.

According to Wiki, “All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth” was written in 1944 by Donald Yetter Gardner and it was published in 1948. Maybe that’s why I don’t hear it on the radio, because it’s so old? But I doubt it. Many of the Christmas standards are very old. My search did not reveal why the song seemed to go out of fashion, but it did reveal a cute rendition of this song from You Tube. Check it out.

If all you want for Christmas is your two front teeth give us a call. We can help you with that.
703-532-1712
FallsChurchsmiles.com
DrUrban@Verizon.net

I fight aging with the standard arsenal that many American women use. I dye my hair to hide the grey. I stay out of the sun to avoid more wrinkles. I’d like to avoid glasses, but I don’t think they make trifocals in contact lenses, and my optometrist tells me my eye sight is not bad enough to warrant laser surgery. I’ve had chemical peels on my face in the past, and I really need to get an appointment for another. So yeah, if I can look less old with relatively little cost and inconvenience count me in.

Back when I had TV I loved to watch the makeover shows. There was one called, “Ten Years Younger”. This is a case where you can pretty much judge a show by it’s title. A contestant would be put in a glass box, in a public square/ shopping mall type area, before having a makeover. Passersby would be encouraged to comment on the person in the box, and say how old they think that person is and why. Some of the comments could be quite hurtful, “Well, she looks kinda old. Her hair is a mess. Her clothes are too old fashioned.” I felt bad for the contestants. But we the viewers always knew that the makeover team would make that person look better/ younger by the end of the show. Of course at the end of the show they’d put them back in the box with their new hair and clothes, makeup etc. and invariably people would guess that person to be 8-18 years younger than they did previously.

I, of course, noticed the dental segments more than any other. I was always impressed with what the dentists did and they did it so quickly. But they edited the show so I do not know really how long any of this actually took. It seemed to me the contestants were often the most joyous when they revealed their new teeth. It’s amazing what a nice, white, even smile can do to make a person look better. These people never got actual plastic surgery, so often the dental portion of the show was the most involved and costly, of course it was free to the contestant.

So if you are like me, forty-something and trying not to look fifty-something, keep your teeth in mind. Take a good look in the mirror. Are your teeth worn, uneven, and stained? These are all things that happen even to those who started out with very nice teeth; time wears and stains almost everything. Too bad our teeth aren’t made of stainless steel.

If you feel like you could use a more youthful smile call us at 703-532-1712, or visit us on the web at FallsChurchSmiles.com, or email us at DrUrban@verizon.net; we can help you with that.

There are two types of oropharyngeal (mouth and throat) cancers. One is HPV positive and one is HPV negative. According to the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) November 2011 issue, there has been a huge increase in the number of HPV positive head and neck cancers, and a drop in the HPV negative ones. In 20 years the number of HPV positive oropharyngeal cancers has increased from 16.3% to 72.7%.

We have two bits of good news in this article. The HPV negative cancers are decreasing most likely due to, “Declines in smoking and tobacco use”. Yay, Americans are finally getting a clue and quitting smoking.

The other good news is that the HPV positive cancers can often be prevented. “Approximately 90-95% of HPV positive oropharyngeal cancers were caused by one HPV type – HPV 16, which is targeted by vaccines for cervical cancer.” The article goes on to say that, “With HPV vaccines, we have a great opportunity to potentially prevent oropharynx cancers in future generations”.

While more studies need to be done, the potential for a cancer vaccine is amazing. Sign me up! Too bad I’m too old to benefit from it. However, if I were young, or had a youngster, you better believe I’d be signing up for any and all cancer vaccines.

FallsChurchSmiles.com

We often try to take a full two weeks off in August as we have several employees who have family abroad. This gives them time to get overseas and back if they want to . We have a total of 6 people working here including Dr. Urban and myself. Since each one of us constitutes 17% of the entire team it’s vital that we are all here when the office is open. It’s great to have a small office and know everyone, but the downside is it’s tough to take a day off without upsetting the entire schedule. As the office manager I have a hard time getting everyone to agree on what days we want to take for vacation.

In January we look ahead at the new year and I ask everyone, “When do you want to go on vacation this year?” I don’t know why I still ask as the answer is always the same, “I don’t know yet.” It’s a little easier for our employees who have children. We just look at the school schedule and know when they want to take off for spring break, but summer is always a guess until we get closer.

Photo from Google Images

So, we will be on vacation the first two weeks of August. I will probably check the phone messages from home a few times to try to keep things orderly until we get back. Dr Urban is going to Canada. Beth, Jenny, and Maniella are all going to different East Coast beaches (we have been discussing the recent shark attacks). Li will be going to China! While I would like to do something I doubt that I will. My home renovation has taken all of my money and is not not quite done. UGH.

If you have a dental need in the next two weeks, and you are a patient of record, you can call Dr. Urban’s cell phone. He can advise you about what to do until he can see you personally. If you are a new patient feel free to call us at 703-532-1712 and leave a message we will call you on August 15 or 16th when we get back.

FallsChurchSmiles.com

I know from trying to write a blog each week just how tough it can be to come up with something new to say about dentistry. However, I think Allison achieved this. At first I thought this article might be about the obvious when I read, “Keeping soldiers dentally fit ensures that they can perform their military duties when called upon. In short, a dentally fit soldier is better able to serve their country by being mission-ready”. Duh, I thought, this applies to everyone in any job. We all perform better when we are healthy and pain free. I cannot think of any position in life, any career, or any moment in which a tooth ache helps someone. I don’t know, maybe if you want to get out of P.E. class . . .

She says modern day military missions use fewer soldiers so the loss of one soldier (due to tooth ache, or for any reason) has a greater impact on a mission than it did in WWII. OK, I’ll buy that, but the thing that I had never considered was that, “reducing the need for dental treatment when they are deployed, reduces (a soldiers) overall risk for injury.” How can that be, I wondered?

She goes on to write that when a soldier has a dental emergency in the field they have to physically get to a dentist, “and  that puts them at significant risk for being injured by an improvised explosive device (IED)”. I had never considered that every time a soldier gets into a vehicle, even just to see the dentist, that they are at risk of being blown to bits.

This made me think of what a cake walk my life really is. Sure, I complain about traffic, and while the construction on the capital beltway has made it fraught with ICP’s (incidental construction perils) it cannot compare to being in a jeep in Afghanistan. Very few trips to the dentist in the DC area end up with the patient losing a limb. I’ll go out on a limb and venture to say that no dental visits in the U.S. end up with a patient losing a limb. Apparently that cannot be said of dental visits in a war zone.

Sitting here, comfy and safe in the dental office, I am thinking about our soldiers in war zones, and feeling very fortunate that I am here. I also feel grateful that there are brave folks who voluntarily risk their lives for us everyday, so I don’t have to.

If you are a soldier please, please be sure you are in tip top dental health before you deploy (and maintain your oral hygiene when you are there); if you work at McDonald’s, or IBM it’s a good idea as well. If you need a great dentist call us anytime at 703-532-1712.

FallsChurchSmiles.com

Woohoo, I learned how to make a link on a Mac.

Yes, we had a firewall. Yes, we had the latest anti-virus protection. Everyone I spoke to said that PC viruses come out so often that the prevention software often cannot keep up. So no more PC web access for our office. I wish we could use Macs for our dental software as well, but the experts assure me that is not a great idea. ~Sigh~

I have been wondering who makes these computer viruses and WHY? I don’t see the motivation. Is it just vandalism? I mean I understand hacking, a hacker might gain valuable info, but a virus is just a nuisance, often a costly nuisance. Does anyone know the answer to this? Are the anti-virus companies making more viruses to keep them in business? I know that sounds cynical but I just cannot imagine another logical reason.

While it took me a while to figure out how to open word processing app on this machine, I like it so far. The knowledge that this machine will not get a virus is reassuring. Hmmm I wanted a better word than reassuring, so I right clicked as I would with a PC to get a thesaurus. I found a dictionary and some other things. I wonder if this word processor also has a thesaurus? I bet it does, I just have to figure it out. Hmmm, I just tried to ctrl-s to save this doc. I don’t think that worked. There will certainly be a learning curve for me with this Mac. Hmmm, this font is very small and I cannot see how to enlarge it. If you have any Mac word processing tips feel free to post them. I could use a tutor.

I just asked Dr Urban how to change the font. He laughed as he replied, “I felt happy to just be able to find websites. I feel like someone gave me a car in England and told me to drive. Sure I know how to drive, but everything is backward.” I feel the same way.

Now I have to figure out how to find our website on a Mac and post this to my blog. It’s now 1:27 PM. Lets see how long it takes. Well, I found this document again, thats a small victory. However, this machine does not seem to be connected to the internet. I will start the clock again after I have a connection. Woohoo, it was easy, just a bumped portal connection. 1:30 lets see how long it takes me to post this.

Why don’t I just type in the blog? Because I don’t like the interface. I prefer to make a document then paste it in.

YAY it’s 1:37, and I think I may have posted this. Let’s see if I can get our link in as well.
FallsChurchSmiles.com

I haven’t figured out how to make the above address a link, but I will.

I stayed in town brooding on the job site that I call home. My goal was to finish sanding my bedroom floors on my own. However, it was breaking my knees, and I finally realized it would take me a year to do this alone with a belt sander. So I broke down and had the upstairs floors professionally refinished before the drywall and painting was done. This is out of order and my G.C., who is also my aunt, was not happy about my doing things out of order.

(Can you see the black stains in the foreground and by the window. That was from some poor pet that was locked in that room years ago. Disgusting! That’s Gilbert with Capitol Floors. Thanks Gilbert & Rachid!)

I just couldn’t wait. I was so tired of walking on a filthy floor. When I got out of bed I had to put shoes/slippers on before I could walk to the restroom as the floors just could not be cleaned. Even socks were not enough as the dust would seep through the socks. ICK! It was awful to have to always walk in and out of the bathroom with shoes on. Jumping out of the shower to grab the towel I forgot was NOT an option.  I would worry anytime a pillow hit the floor as it would get dirty. I couldn’t drop a piece of clothing on the floor; if I did it had to go into the laundry. Keep in mind I do not have a washer or dryer (or a kitchen sink, stove, microwave, dishwasher, kitchen ceiling, kitchen walls . . . ) so needing to wash anything that hit the floor gets to be a hassle.

Now my upstairs floors are nice and shiny clean.

I love the result! However, now I have to use drop cloths every time I do anything up there. For instance, I have to clean the windows with, “Goof Off” as there is paint all over the window casements. I wouldn’t want to spill Goof Off on my new floor, it would mess up the finish.  My aunt is constructing a closet for me; she’s less than happy about having to be more careful about dropping drywall mud when she works on it. When we paint it will certainly be more of a hassle, but I just could not spend another minute with those floors.

Being able to walk across the floor barefoot, without the fear of catching a parasite is fabulous. When something falls on the floor I don’t flip. The most important part is that I have re-gained some sanity, and optimism about this project actually getting done.

In order to keep the bedroom floors nice and clean I have devised a way to keep the dust downstairs –Swiffer!

I attach a Swiffer dry cloth to each of my shoes with rubber bands. So when I go downstairs, the floor gets a tiny bit cleaner and the dust sticks to the Swiffer cloth and does not get deposited onto the new floor upstairs.

One warning about this Swiffer foot system – I must hold the stair rail when I go downstairs. These things are super slippery. I was carrying something downstairs and fell. Now I make sure to hold the rail.

So if you have any questions about living on a construction site, or my Swiffer system, or if you need a great dentist give me a call at 703-532-1712

http://www.fallschurchsmiles.com/

So, of course, my first question was, “what does the G.V. stand for?”

“Greene Vardiman”, Dr Urban replied.

“Green? Seriously, his name was Green Black?” In my mind I misspelled it.

http://www.google.com/search?q=GV+Black&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=jHGjTfe-GpCdgQf0z5XaBQ&ved=0CC4QsAQ&biw=1003&bih=567

“Oh, I had never thought of it like that.” Dr. Urban retains facts very well; he doesn’t always put two & two together. I think it didn’t occur to him as very few people use G.V.’s first name. Anytime I’ve heard him mentioned it’s G.V. not Greene.

Why would someone name a child, a baby, Greene, especially when the last name is Black, or any color for that matter? What would be worse – Green Brown, Greene Mile, Greene Hill, Greene Valley, Greene Fields, Greene Bush? I suppose if his name had been Greene Blue then his nickname would have been Teal.

If you want a great dentist who can talk for hours about dentistry and/or the Civil War give us a call at 703-532-1712  http://www.fallschurchsmiles.com/

I was just editing some previous posts to include a link to our site. The google gurus say that will get us higher on the searches, and really that’s what this blog is all about.

In re-reading some posts I saw the New Year’s Resolution blog. Ugh, I think I have failed at my resolution, so far. However,  I am still determined to speak more quietly. I just have to remember to do it.

How did your New Year’s Resolutions go? Since we are more than 25% of the way through the year,  it’s time to evaluate. I hope you are doing better with your resolutions than I am with mine.

If your resolution includes getting healthy teeth and gums that last a lifetime give us a call 703-532-1712. http://www.fallschurchsmiles.com/

See, I remembered to include the link this time. Soon I’ll be able to use my indoor voice routinely as well.

If you receive some candy from your valentine this year be sure to brush well, and floss!

Candy and cavities go hand in hand. Here at the dental office most of us have a sweet tooth. We eat plenty of candy and properly clean our teeth afterward – most of the time. There are lots of good reasons to avoid candy -perhaps you are a diabetic, maybe you want to decrease your sugar intake, lose some weight . . . However, most of us are going to eat some candy today.

This is just a sampling of what I have within arm’s reach in the back office. Mmmmm candy. I like those red hearts. They are tangy and gooey.

If you’d like to indulge and also avoid cavities there are four basics:
Get dental sealants – http://www.animated-teeth.com/tooth_sealants/t1_sealing_teeth.htm

Use fluoride toothpaste.

Use a timer when you brush and be sure to brush for two full minutes at least. Everyday

Do something, anything, to clean between your teeth. Everyday.

If you don’t like floss, try dental tape. It’s thicker and for me easier to hold. You can see I have two kinds that I just pulled out of my desk for this photo. My actual preference is the cheap store brand dental tape. It feels more substantial to me. Maybe a floss holder will help you; the green thing in the photo is a dinosaur floss holder for kids. Kids aren’t terribly dexterous; the floss holders tend to help them start good habits early.

If you don’t like floss use tooth picks. There are so many kinds of toothpicks out there – plastic ones, bendy ones, ones with tufts on the ends, round, triangular, mint flavored, expensive, inexpensive. Most of them are great, use whichever you like best.

If you don’t like tooth picks try a proxabrush. A proxabrush is that teal thing that looks like a pipe cleaner on a stick. It actually brushes between your teeth.

So go ahead, eat some valentine candy today, and if you want to avoid dental decay – get sealants, use fluoride, brush for 2 minutes and clean between your teeth every day. If you have any dental concerns call us anytime 703-532-1712. We are always happy to hear from you.  http://www.fallschurchsmiles.com/