The Value of Maintaining Social Connections in a Time of Social Distancing

As you might already know, as part of the effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 our office in Edmonds is closed right now except for dental emergencies. As we continue to monitor the phones and email, we wanted to share some tips for connecting with loved ones in this time of social distancing. 

Introvert, extrovert, or somewhere in-between, every human is by nature a social animal, but you may not realize how crucial these connections are for your overall health. 

The World Health Organization recognizes those with a greater support network experience better health and longevity. As the authors of one 2017 paper on social connections put it,  

Regardless of one’s sex, country or culture of origin, age or economic background, social connection is crucial to human development, health, and survival. The evidence supporting this contention is unequivocal.

Yet you may holed up at home right now, away from loved ones and colleagues, worried about what the next news cycle will bring. Even if you generally enjoy being alone, these times can feel unsettling. 

If you’re not alone -  your partner is home with you, or you’re caring for your children or parents, or your cat is sitting on your lap blissfully ignorant of current events - that still may not be enough to prevent those feelings of anxiety and isolation.  

What to do? Remind yourself social distancing doesn’t mean being antisocial. 

Replace your weekly girls’ night at your favorite cafe or pub with a Skype party, and chat while you share a glass of wine or cup of tea. If you have kids at home, maybe Grandma could read a book to them on FaceTime - or they could read to her! Games kids could play on a video chat - like Pictionary, charades, or Heads Up! - can also be fun on a virtual play date. 

Facebook friends can throw a watch party. Try Jimmy Fallon’s at-home editions of The Tonight Show, which are uplifting and silly. (His wife holds the camera, his kids make the signs, and each night he features a different charity and remote interview). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOS7e6UTNPI

Other options include watching one of the many concerts musicians around the world are live streaming at no cost. Or if it’s sports you crave, you can watch a classic playoff or game, as both the NFL and NBA have made their subscription services free for a limited time. 

If your anxiety is getting the best of you, try mediation or yoga or emotional freedom technique tapping. EFT tapping can seem a little odd at first, but many find it’s a great way to release stress and restore energy. 

You also could design your own Chopped challenge. Create a “mystery basket” for the chef in your family. Be nice - remember you’re going to have to eat whatever they make - and maybe even take a video with your phone to send to loved ones!

Home with the kids or not, there are so many fun educational videos available online, you can go down the YouTube rabbit hole and come out learning something new during this time at home - math, science, reading, and even doodling!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmzjCPQv3y8

But just as Mo Willems says - “There is no right doodle and no wrong doodle” - there is no right or wrong way to stay connected with loved ones. It’s just important that you do. 

Getting through this means getting through it together. 

 

The following blog post The Value of Maintaining Social Connections in a Time of Social Distancing was first published on: https://greencitydental.com

The Value of Maintaining Social Connections in a Time of Social Distancing posted first on https://greencitydental.com

CPAP Has Its Dental Downsides – But It’s Not Necessarily the Only Option for Treating Your Sleep Apnea

For some people with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), CPAP therapy can be a lifesaver. But not everyone is a fan. Up to 83% of users don’t use it as their doctor tells them to, sometimes giving up on it completely. They find the mask uncomfortable or claustrophobic. They find it a pain to have to regularly clean the hose and mask or nasal pillows to prevent infection.

There are also side effects that can crop up from this therapy which uses a steady stream of air to keep the airway open - a stuffy nose, for instance, or abdominal bloating, or dry mouth, which
which is not only uncomfortable, but also raises your risk of gum disease and tooth decay.

And as research has shown, over the long haul, CPAP can even change your face.

One study tracked 46 CPAP patients for two years to assess the impact on facial structure in long-term CPAP users. The researchers compared cephalometric x-rays of patients at the beginning of the study with images taken at the study’s end. A “ceph” x-ray is one that’s taken outside the mouth and shows the whole side of the head, letting a dentist see the relationship between the teeth, jaw, and profile.

While “none of the patients self-reported any permanent change of occlusion or facial profile,” the ceph x-rays showed changes in the dental arches, with both the upper and lower jaws shifting backwards a bit - something that could possibly worsen apnea symptoms over time.

A more recent case study reported that CPAP usage appeared to cause a patient’s front teeth to shift, creating gaps in her smile.

Follow-up questioning revealed that shifting of the teeth was first noticed in the months following the initiation of CPAP and the result of forward thrusting of the tongue during use. Following 12 months of orthodontic treatment, the malocclusion was corrected and teeth returned to their pretreatment positions.

As if a person needed another reason to avoid CPAP - avoidance led the authors of one paper on the matter to state that the “concept of CPAP as gold standard for OSA therapy is no longer valid.”

And frankly, while many have been helped by CPAP, the therapy is actually a kind of superficial one. As one apnea specialist has described it,

I think CPAP is like a band-aid for sleep apnea. It can be a good short-term answer. But it does not resolve the real issues that are causing the sleep apnea in the first place. It's like putting a spare tire on your car when you blow it out. They always tell you not to ride on the spare tire indefinitely and to get the original tire fixed.

Fortunately, we have ways of getting to the root cause and actually enlarging the airway - even in adults - so patients can breathe freely through the night again. Applying gentle, intermittent forces to your teeth and stimulating stem cells to help your jaws reach their full growth potential, the removable Vivos DNA appliance actually widens the upper arch so your lower jaw can move forward into its natural position. The tongue and soft tissues are brought forward and the TMJs align properly.

The result is a wide open airway. All you need to achieve it is enough healthy teeth and bone - and a year to two year commitment to both the appliance and supportive therapies that lead to the best results and long-term success.

But you’re not without options even if you aren’t a candidate for Vivos. There are other appliances, called mandibular advancement devices, which help hold your jaw in a more forward position during sleep and keep your airway open. A wide variety of options are available, depending on your specific dental situation, and all are customized to your bite and needs.

If your only issue is snoring, some patients respond well to Nightlase, a laser treatment for widening the airway by renaturing and restructuring collagen so that the soft tissues around the top of the airway are tightened. No anesthesia is needed, and there’s no post-op pain. Results can last up to one year before retreatment is recommended.

But if CPAP is your only real option for treating the life-threatening condition of OSA, be sure your dentist knows so they can monitor your teeth movement to ensure your CPAP mask isn’t negatively affecting your bite or the position of your teeth.

Otherwise, breathe easy knowing there’s a range of therapies out there to suit your needs and address those serious sleep apnea issues!

The article CPAP Has Its Dental Downsides – But It’s Not Necessarily the Only Option for Treating Your Sleep Apnea was first published on: https://greencitydental.com/

CPAP Has Its Dental Downsides – But It’s Not Necessarily the Only Option for Treating Your Sleep Apnea posted first on https://greencitydental.com

Boost Your Immune System Against Respiratory Illness

The recent outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) has been complicated by what the World Health Organization is calling a massive ‘infodemic’ due to 

an over-abundance of information – some accurate and some not – that makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it.

We agree. In fact, there may even be more panic in the air right now than airborne infection, especially if you’re following the outbreak online. 

That’s not to say you shouldn’t take coronavirus seriously. Like the flu, coronavirus is a  respiratory infection, and complications from these kinds of infections can be severe. They may also worsen long-term medical conditions, such as congestive heart failure, asthma, or diabetes. 

But there are plenty of practical everyday precautions you can take - wash your hands, for instance, and try not to touch your face; clean your cell phone, and stay home if you’re sick. There’s also lots you can do to strengthen your immune system and boost your body’s ability to heal if you do get sick. 

Start with optimum nutrition, getting more immune-boosting and inflammation-reducing nutrients in particular. For example vitamin D, which is also great for your oral health, may provide increased protection from infections. Vitamin A is likewise known for defending against infection while also having anti-inflammatory properties. With pneumonia being one common complication of respiratory infections, building your body’s ability to control that inflammation is key. 

Zinc is another good nutrient to increase for building up your immune system. Research suggests that it can help control infections by “gently tapping the brakes on the immune response.” Glutathione - the master antioxidant - also plays a key role in controlling infection in the lungs, as does selenium.

And who can forget good old vitamin C, which deserves its stellar reputation for being beneficial against all kinds of infectious agents, including bacteria, viruses, Candida albicans, and protozoa. And if you do become sick, megadoses of vitamin C may help you recover faster. The government of Shanghai, China has even gone so far as to officially recommend that COVID-19 should be treated with high amounts of intravenous vitamin C. While IV vitamin C isn’t exactly a DIY remedy, liposomal vitamin C, is another powerful way to prevent or lessen infection by controlling oxidative stress.

Ideally, you’ll get most of these nutrients in their original packaging - whole foods (though because of the need to megadose, getting enough C means supplements). Elderberry is one good food source of vitamin C (and makes terrific popsicles!), and leafy greens have a range of immune-boosting nutrients - especially when you toss in some bacteria-busting garlic. Elderberry juice syrup may also reduce the severity and duration of your infection if taken within 48 hours of the first symptoms.

Homeopathic remedies have also been found helpful over the years. A good homeopathic medicine cabinet for colds and flu includes the likes of gelsemium, bryonia, eupatorium, arsenicum, aconite, belladonna, ferrum phos, mercurius, rhus toxicodendron, and oscillococcinum. 

However, for supplements and remedies alike, especially if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, you should always talk with a knowledgeable integrative practitioner to make sure you get the right doses in the right combination of good quality products. (Not all supplements are created equal.)

Another thing you can do is cut out sugar or do intermittent fasting to enhance your immune system. Dr. Yasmine Belkaid, an immunologist at the National Institutes of Health, performed a study on mice where she restricted their food intake by 20%. “It’s like skipping a meal,” Belkaid said. And the result?

She found that memory T cells, which produce molecular weapons to kill pathogens and cancers, suddenly became supercharged when they retreated to the bone marrow.

“Not only were they able to survive, they were also optimized, and these T cells were able to protect [the body] better,” said Belkaid.

If it feels impossible to protect yourself and your family against the invisible infectious agents that cause disease, especially when the news outlets put you in high-panic mode, know the more you have in your immune-boosting toolbox, the better off you are. 

The following post Boost Your Immune System Against Respiratory Illness was first published to: https://greencitydental.com

Boost Your Immune System Against Respiratory Illness posted first on https://greencitydental.com

The 75th Anniversary of Fluoridation Is Nothing to Celebrate

While the CDC and ADA “celebrate” the 75th anniversary of community water fluoridation in 2020 as a public health success story, research showing the negative effects of this toxin on brain development continues to pile up.  

One of the most recent scientific reviews updates a review and meta-analysis first published in Environmental Health Perspectives in 2012 and focuses on the connection between fluoride exposure and IQ in children. For, as Harvard’s Philippe Grandjean writes in the current review, 

Prospective studies from the most recent years document that adverse effects on brain development happen at elevated exposure levels that occur widely in North America and elsewhere in the world, in particular in communities supplied with fluoridated drinking water.

While Grandjean acknowledges some limitations for various studies, the collective consistency of this research is compelling and strong.

These new prospective studies are of very high quality and, given the wealth of supporting human studies and biological plausibility, leave little doubt that developmental neurotoxicity is a serious risk associated with elevated fluoride exposure, especially when this occurs during early brain development.

Equally sobering is that while Grandjean acknowledges that most epidemiological studies involve some uncertainties, this most likely results in an “underestimation of the risk” of fluoride exposure for children. This means that “the evidence available today may not quite reflect the true extent of the fluoride toxicity.”

And what kind of effect does that have on the brain as measured by IQ?  

The substantial IQ losses associated with elevated water-fluoride concentrations are in accordance with the difference of almost 7 IQ points between exposed groups and controls in the meta-analysis from 2012. Also, the largest cross-sectional study from 2018 showed a statistically significant loss of 8.6 IQ points for each increase by 1 mg/L in the fluoride concentration in water, although somewhat less in another recent study.

Clearly, argues Grandjean, fluoride neurotoxicity during early life is a “hazard of public health concern.” The drop in IQ has very real and profound effects on both the individual and society, as he articulated in an earlier paper for The Lancet Neurology:

Loss of cognitive skills reduces children's academic and economic attainments and has substantial long-term economic effects on societies. Thus, each loss of one IQ point has been estimated to decrease average lifetime earnings capacity by about €12,000 or US$18,000 in 2008 currencies.

And the costs are hardly just financial. 

The persistent decrements in intelligence documented in children, adolescents, and young adults exposed in early life to neurotoxicants could presage the development of neurodegenerative disease later in life.

However distressing this news is, an upcoming court case has many concerned consumer groups hopeful for an end to fluoridation. The suit pits the EPA against several organizations - including the IAOMT and Food & Water Watch - whose citizen petition to end fluoridation it rejected. A judicial review in the US District Court for the Northern District of California is scheduled for April, where a judge will decide the merit of the evidence on fluoride.

Thanks to the Toxic Substances Control Act, which authorizes the EPA to prohibit the use of chemicals that present an unreasonable risk to the general public, there’s a possibility that this one case might lead to the end of water system fluoridation nationwide. 

Suddenly, that glass of (filtered) water is looking half-full. And that is something to celebrate!

The 75th Anniversary of Fluoridation Is Nothing to Celebrate was first published to: https://greencitydental.com/

The 75th Anniversary of Fluoridation Is Nothing to Celebrate posted first on https://greencitydental.com

The Queen Has Spoken: Up Your Dental Game

This week, we’re featuring a guest post by Green City Dental’s own Queen of Dental Hygiene - and recipient of the 2019 the Hu-Friedy/ADHA Master Clinician Award - Barbara Tritz. (Patients also know her as our resident specialist in myofunctional therapy.)

Below, Barbara will school you on the value of some of the key services we offer here in our Edmonds office - not just to help keep your teeth and gums health, but also to protect your brain and body from the ravages of bad bacteria and protect your wallet by emphasizing the value of oral hygiene in preventing (perhaps even reversing) gum disease before it gets ahold of your health and well-being.

With tools like saliva testing to detect dangerous pathogens, our phase contrast microscope to visually inspect your oral flora, perioscopy for periodontal treatments, air polishing to remove biofilm beneath the gums, and ozone to stop pathogens in their tracks, your periodontal treatment and preventative care is more effective and thorough than ever before at catching disease and decay the naked eye simply cannot see. 

She also shares info on some of the natural products she administers to help promote oral and total body healing and wellness the biological way.

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In October, I had the best time presenting on behalf of Bio-Botanical Research Inc to about 200 mostly dentists and dental hygienists in Nashville at the American Academy of Oral Systemic Health (AAOSH) 2019 Scientific Session. My talk was titled “Up Your Game!” and discussed how to incorporate more biological, holistic practices into your dental health protocols and address the real root causes of dental diseases rather than poking and polishing at symptoms. Today’s post will add to that presentation and hopefully “up your game” as well!

Tradition! Tradition!

Dental hygiene (and dentistry) is nothing if not traditional. Change comes hard to us. We have basically been doing the same thing for the last 100 years. Polish, scrape tartar, and teach oral hygiene instructions. Unfortunately, the statistics show the percent of people with gum disease and dental cavities has not reduced. Forty two percent of the US population has some level of gum disease, and tooth decay affects almost half the world’s population.

Doing more of the same is not an option because we now know the oral systemic connection between heart disease and periodontal disease is causal. We also know spirochetes are connected to dementia. Spirochetes arrive in the brain and trigger a bacteremia. They slowly form biofilms which are impenetrable and result in Alzheimer’s dementia multiple decades later.

We MUST kill the spirochetes before they arrive in the brain. Today, I had a 10-year-old child with a spirochete infection within her gum tissues as evidenced on the phase contrast microscope. It is vital to address these pathogens in our very youngest clients to change the below statistic.

By 2050, it’s estimated there will be as many as 16 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUo1hLCpi6E&feature=emb_logo 

We suspect many more oral systemic links such as preterm birth and stillbirth, chronic kidney disease, COPD, colorectal cancer, and stomach cancer. It is time to Up Our Game and truly address oral diseases with new tools and a paradigm shift toward health.

Scale Away, Come Scale Away with Me

The bedrock of traditional periodontal therapy treatment for periodontal disease is root planing or “deep cleaning”. The problem is it does not always really work all that well. We, the dental hygiene profession are leaving much calculus and biofilm behind and damaging the root structure. On top of that, certain bacteria are immune to the scaler.

Problem one - leaving calculus. How can we remove what we cannot see? Yes, we have developed wonderful tactile sensitivity but that’s not enough. Unless you use an endoscope, you have no idea what is really left underneath the gum line. Much calculus is burnished and undetectable, plus there’s microscopic calculus (called sparkle) flecks. All undetectable, yet all still can harbor pathogens. We cannot remove what we don’t know is present. Another issue is overworking the root surface with blind scaling. When you can see what the scaler is doing to the tooth, it reduces the excessive removal of healthy tooth structure.

Ideally, all periodontal therapy should be done with the perioscopy unit to truly see and remove much more calculus. Would a dentist drill by tactile sensitivity? Would you want a surgeon who could not see the entire surgical site work by feel? No, neither would I. Seeing is believing.

Part two of problem one: the biofilm- in addition to removing the calculus, we need to also remove the sticky, thick biofilm still attached to the root. The biofilm is full of the pathogens that are the real root of the problem. Several of the periodontal pathogens are immune to scaling and remain behind- Porphyromonas gingivalis (P.g.), Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (A.a), Tannerella forsythia (T.f), and Parvimonas micra (P.m.) (formerly called Peptostreptococcus micros or Micromonas micros). The tissues remain infected with these perio pathogens, as do the tooth tubules.

We must test for pathogens, treat and then retest. Salivary diagnostics as well as a phase contrast microscope are excellent additions to our tool chest. Then, knowing what we are dealing with, we can introduce products that will kill these pathogens, and change the pH and the makeup of the microbiome.  

Something in the Air Polisher

Along with a perioscopy unit to enhance scaling, we should also consider adding subgingival air-polishing with glycine or erythritol to remove the pathogenic bacterial biofilm (Guided Biofilm Therapy. Glycine and erythritol are safe to use on root surfaces, restorations, implants, and will debride the biofilm in pockets up to six millimeters. It improves healing for periodontal disease, peri-implantitis, peri-implant mucositis, and perio maintenance. We must address the biofilm and remove as much as possible to get healing of the tissues.

“Healing is a journey. It involves stepping out of our habitual roles, our conventional scripts, and improvising a dancing path.” – Gabrielle Roth

To help with disinfection and heal the gum tissues and periodontal pockets we need to treat the diseased gum tissues like a wound (which they are!). Proper wound management includes homeostasis, cleansing of the wound, analgesic, skin closure and dressing with follow up. My favorite disinfectants include ozone water and ozone gas, Liposomal Dentalcidin and iodine (50-50 betadine and ozone water).

Ozone is super oxygen and causes lysis of the pathogen’s cell walls almost instantly. I insufflate the pockets using ozone gas and flush the pockets with ozone water in my piezo scaler. I may also use hand scalers dipped in ozone oil while scaling. It reduces post-operative sensitivity and speeds healing. At the completion of scaling and perio therapy, I irrigate all the pockets with Liposomal Dentalcidin in a 24-gauge side port cannula, (occasionally I will use 50% betadine iodine irrigation- depending on patient needs/sensitivity). I finish by having the patient swish with SalivaMax (if too numb then they are sent home with several packets to swish later). SalivaMax and a similar product named Nutrasal are powders of calcium and phosphate that when mixed with one ounce of water are excellent products to remineralize root surfaces and help heal mucositis [21]. They are prescription products made especially for dry mouth, remineralizing teeth and healing mucositis – perfect for wound closure and dressing.

There Ain’t No Bugs on Me

Cleanse, disinfect and heal. Having the proper tools makes our jobs as dental hygienists/periodontal therapists so much more rewarding and successful and ensures better patient comfortable and faster, complete healing. Advanced training is required to properly and safely use these exciting products. We need to go beyond the traditional. These tools are part of my protocols which also include a phase contrast microscope, salivary diagnostics, blood work and nutritional collaborations.

Patient dental health will always be subpar if we do not invest in these 21st century tools – the very best tools for the job ensure success and true dental and systemic wellness.

The Queen Has Spoken: Up Your Dental Game was first published to: https://greencitydental.com

The Queen Has Spoken: Up Your Dental Game posted first on https://greencitydental.com

Is Your Child a Mouth Breather? How to Tell, Why to Worry, & What To Do

Mouth breathing is common in children. In fact, more than half of kids under 9 mouth breathe, studies show.  Sometimes it’s due to habits such as thumbsucking, pacifier use, or poor diet. Other familiar culprits include allergies and enlarged tonsils or adenoids. Often, it’s a combination of factors. 

Whatever the cause, the effects are serious. While nasal breathing contributes to good orofacial development and function, mouth breathing in children frequently means underdeveloped jaws, abnormalities in the bone, and crooked, misaligned teeth. Gum disease, Candida infections, and chronic bad breath are common. More,

Children with the clinical diagnosis of mouth breathing are usually pale, apathetic and they lack concentration and often get tired. Disorders resulting from hypoxy [lack of oxygen] may also be the reason [for] sleep disturbances, such as frequent waking-up, nocturia, difficulties falling asleep.

Other common challenges linked to mouth breathing and its effects include poor concentration, frequent headaches, bedwetting, and subpar academic performance. It’s not uncommon for kids who mouth breathe to be misdiagnosed with ADHD. 

That’s certainly not a fun future to think about for any child! The good news is that with early intervention and a shift to nasal breathing, such problems may be avoided all together. 

The first step is to determine whether a child’s mouth breathing is just a bad habit or if an underlying issue - allergies, say, or an obstructed airway - is keeping them from being able to breathe comfortably through their nose.  

When Mouth Breathing Is a Habit 

For some children, mouth breathing is simply a habit - one often encouraged by other behaviors. For instance, if the child was bottle-fed instead of breastfed, mouth breathing may have felt natural; likewise, with a pacifier or thumbsucking habit. 

Buteyko breathing exercises are one excellent way of transitioning from mouth to nasal breathing. Myofunctional therapy is another. You can think of “myo” as a kind of physical therapy for the mouth and face muscles that helps develop proper breathing and swallowing habits while eliminating parafunctional habits such as thumbsucking, cheek biting, and lip chewing. 

When Sinus Congestion Is the Problem

When your nose is plugged up, it’s natural to breathe through your mouth. So the question becomes: What’s causing the congestion? Find the root cause, and you can find the solution for it to promote healthy nasal breathing. 

If congestion is the rule rather than the exception, you may want to have your child checked for allergies. Three of the most common triggers are dust, dander, and dairy. Food sensitivities should be ruled out, as well. A naturopath, nutritionist, or other holistic health pro can help with testing and guidance here. 

That said, nose clearing can be an excellent practice to enhance or restore nasal breathing. Sometimes, all it takes is some simple exercises you can do anywhere at any time: 

https://youtu.be/pXWYYe3PZKY?t=25

An ever bigger benefit can come from regular saline nasal rinses, which flush out dust and pollen, shrink swollen mucous membranes, and may even help prevent sinus infection. At Green City Dental, we recommend a device called NetiFlow for rinsing with a simple saline solution two to three times a day and always before bed. Dr. T also recommends using XLear nasal spray right after each rinse.

Or Maybe It’s the Airway 

Some kids have trouble breathing through their nose because of enlarged tonsils and adenoids. If this is the result of inflammation, such as that caused by allergies, simply treating the allergies may alleviate the issue. 

Other times, though, the issue may merely be an underdeveloped airway, in which case appliance therapy can be used to enlarge it so there’s plenty of room for the tongue to rest and plenty of room for oxygen to get through to the lungs. 

What’s so amazing about correcting mouth breathing is that the results in healthier facial development can be remarkable, especially when you start correcting the problem sooner rather than later!  

Is Your Child a Mouth Breather? How to Tell, Why to Worry, & What To Do is available on: https://greencitydental.com

Is Your Child a Mouth Breather? How to Tell, Why to Worry, & What To Do posted first on https://greencitydental.com

Have a Heart-Healthy (& Sugar-Free) Valentine’s!

Nearly every holiday has some version of a guilty pleasure, whether it’s ice cream on the Fourth of July, a flood of candy on Halloween, or all that pie on Thanksgiving. Valentine’s is no different, from heart-shaped lollipops to heart-shaped peanut butter cups to heart-shaped boxes filled with all kinds of tempting, sugary treats. 

A piece of candy or chocolate once in a while isn’t a problem, but oral pathogens love sugar like Romeo loved Juliet. And just like their story didn’t end well, too much sugar in your diet can lead to both tooth decay and gum disease, which is linked to heart disease, diabetes, and a host of other systemic health problems. 

On Valentine’s Day - and every day - you want to prevent that kind of tragedy playing out in your mouth!

But don’t panic! Your holiday homework’s been done for you. We’ve got some lovely sugar-free Valentine’s ideas for you, no matter your talents or time. 

Crafty? Try these origami paper heart boxes:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6CSRBzM0S4
 

Use a large enough piece of paper and you could even fit some extra treats inside like dental floss or picks!

 

 

If cooking’s your thing, you could make a heart-shaped egg! 

Or how about some healthy heart-beet soup for you and your honey?

 

 

 

Got a green thumb? Maybe create a cute, heart-shaped topiary! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ATBTI2Wqqg

You also could spend the evening together starting garden seedlings inside - like tomatoes, peppers, or herbs. Just do your best to track down organic and GMO-free seeds. In a couple of months, they’ll be ready for replanting in your backyard organic garden. Let love grow!

If you want to stick with tradition and just go for that romantic dinner, look for a restaurant that sources local, healthy, and delicious cuisine. Some of our favorite options here in Edmonds include Kelnero, Epulo Bistro, Salt & Iron, and Caravan Kebab. Then head home for a romcom from the comfort of your couch - after cleaning your teeth of course!   

Truly, the best way to show your love isn’t with treats that are hard on your teeth, gums, heart, and overall health. It’s by making the most of the time you have, living healthy together. 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

The blog post Have a Heart-Healthy (& Sugar-Free) Valentine’s! is available on: https://greencitydental.com

Have a Heart-Healthy (& Sugar-Free) Valentine’s! posted first on https://greencitydental.com