Two actions you can take to protect your health

You would think our government would want to protect our rights and our freedoms. However you have to wonder when you see what’s up in the realms of nutritional supplements and organic foods. If having actual organic food and access to nutritional supplements is important to you please read the attached newsletters from Dr Mercola and Dr Rowen. Both of these doctors push their own brands of nutritional supplements so I always read their newsletters with some caution. However both of them are fighting for our basic freedoms to eat foods that are not laced with GMO foods and for us to be able to freely take the nutritional supplements of our choice. I have personal experience with this as the FDA shut down a company that made a chelation product that I used with good success over the years.

I have had great success in my personal life using nutrition, exercise and supplements to keep me off of all prescription drugs. Many of you are likewise taking no prescriptions. I am always looking toward the future. I think what if the government did ban our nutritional supplements?

I recently added 2 books to our office library, written by Jeff Primack. Conquering any Disease and his accompanying Smoothie Formulas, these books provide really good information on how to have radiant health by using the whole food (seeds and all). They are available on this website qirevolution.com

I have the books at the office and every person that looks at them doesn’t want to put them down. These are not part of our lending library but feel free to peruse them when you are in the office.

To your health and well being.

Rick

Newsletters:
http://www.secondopinionnewsletter.com/Health-Alert-Archive/View-Archive/1980/Stop-the-FDA-from-banning-your-supplements.htm

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/19/mark-kastel-cornucopia-good-food-movement.aspx?e_cid=20111119_DNL_art_1

For Patients With Dental Insurance....Use It or Lose it!!

Many of our patients have Dental Insurance that they use when getting their treatment or continuing care.
The way dental insurance companies help is by giving a annual benefit maximum amount. Most companies base this benefit period on the calender year, January thru December. Once the calender year is up that benefit amount refreshes, so any of the benefit amount that was not used the previous year goes away. We wanted to send out a reminder to all of you, to come in and get any of your treatment done before the end of the year so you can fully maximize your insurance benefits!
Our office will be open its normal business hours through this holiday season. We will only be closed on November 24th and December 26th.

Gives us a call and we would love to see you and help you get all you can out of those insurance companies!

50% Less Radiation Exposure in our Office!

Hi everyone,
Last week we had our semi-annual x-ray inspection by the state of Washington. The inspector evaluates the x-ray machines for how much exposure there is from each individual x-ray. He also checks the software to be sure it is providing good images.
The inspector commented that our x-rays tested 50% or better than many of the other digital systems he examines. I have one of the earlier digital x-ray systems in Seattle. I got it for several reasons. The most important is reducing x-ray exposure to the patient. The second is it gives me an excellent image that I can look at and show the patient if they are interested. The third is that it is faster and the fourth is that there is no need for the toxic developing and fixing chemicals. So the office air is healthier to breathe and we do not need to dispose of these toxic chemicals into the environment.

Your dental and overall health is our primary concern. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you. I love doing dentistry and helping people be well.

The best to you!

Rick

New Changes to Our Office Staff!

Well as some of you may have noticed, we no longer have a few of our longtime staff members. There has been a few changes.

Brooke and her husband recently moved to Texas to further their volunteer work, they will live there for a few months while getting prepared.....then its off to Africa! Brooke was a fundamental part of our team here.
Lacey also has new adventures in her future away from our office. She's now a proud new Mom! We'd like to welcome her new baby boy Asher! They are both doing great and we are very happy for Lacey and her husband. We wish both Brooke and Lacey all the best in their exciting new endeavors and they will be missed.

So due to these recent changes we have a new addition to our team. Our newest member will be sharing the ranks with Katlyn in assisting Dr. Stickney. So we wanted to take some time and let you get to know her!

"Hi, I'm excited to introduce myself to everyone. My name is Shandi Luellen. I've recently joined Dr. Stickney's team as a Dental Assistant taking over for Brooke, who is a close personal friend of mine as well. Which is how I got in touch with this wonderful office and staff. I am a Washington local. I grew up in Marysville. I started working in a dental office when I was 14 as a sterilization technician. My mother, aunt and cousin all worked in the same office so naturally I followed. I came to enjoy the dental field very much, so I attended the Sno-Isle Skill Center Dental Assisting Program in 2000. After completing the course, I continued on the job training and have been assisting ever since. I have worked for a variety of different dentists ranging from general to cosmetic to neuromuscular dentistry, where we would correct TMD/TMJ disorders as well as full mouth rehabilitation correcting the teeth aesthetics and function of the bite. I am thrilled to have been invited into Dr. Stickney's practice and to continue learning about incorporating holistic methods to truly benefit each patient individually. Its been a pleasure meeting some of you already and I'm excited to meet all of our patients soon.

Dental Implant Maintenance

Dental implants are a serious process and decision. Therefore, it is imperative that once an implant(s) is placed, it is maintained and cared for properly. Hygienists play an important role in the maintenance of dental implants. At each re-care appointment the dental hygienist should conduct a complete assessment of the implant. They should check the surrounding gum tissue for inflammation, bleeding and mobility. The implant should be scaled, preferably before the other natural teeth because studies have shown that the bacteria from the natural teeth can be transferred to the implant and cause damage. It is important that the implant and surrounding gum tissue is properly cared for at home and at the dental office to ensure the longevity of the implant and because plaque build-up on implants has been linked to bone loss. The hygienist should therefore also explain to the patient specific instructions for home care at the end of each re-care appointment.
We are so happy to have Annika as the new hygienist in our office. With her expert help and care, we can insure that we are maintaining our patient's dental implants to the best of our ability. We feel that it is extremely important to care for restorations appropriately in insure their ultimate longevity for our patients. This is beneficial for the oral and overall health of the patient and their pocket books.

Treating Gum Disease In Mothers

Treating gum disease in pregnant women and nursing mothers has long been a taboo issue. As it usually goes, if you are unsure of the affects, avoid it. But a new study conducted shows that pregnant women and nursing mothers can be treated for gum disease without having to worry that it will affect their baby's health. The original concern was that when the mother was being treated for gum disease with aggressive teeth cleaning, such as scaling and root planing, bacteria would be released into the mother's bloodstream and affect the health of the developing baby. Dr. Bryan Michalowicz, a dentist at The University of Minnesota School of Dentistry in Minneapolis, and his colleagues conducted a study where they tested 400 two-year-olds who had been born to mothers with gum disease. Half of the mothers had been treated with aggressive teeth cleaning and half had not. The conclusion? "Women can be confident that it's not going to have clinically meaningful effects on their child's development," said Dr. Bryan Michalowicz, whose findings are published in the journal Pediatrics. The study didn't show, however, that treating the gum disease in the mother benefited the child.
What should we take from this new study? Periodontal disease is serious and needs to be treated with urgency. Now mothers, who may have put off treatment of their gum disease because of the concern it would affect their babies, can now feel confident about continuing treatment. Even though the study did not show it would improve the health of the baby, it will improve the oral and overall health of the mother. (Although Dr. Jeffcoat a dentist at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia stated that the study couldn't completely rule out that treatment might benefit the baby in some cases. And there have been studies that link periodontal disease to low birth weight in babies.) So, first and foremost, for pregnant and nursing mothers as well as everyone else, the primary goal is prevention. Brush and floss properly everyday to avoid gum disease. But in the case you do end up with gum disease, which pregnant woman seem to be more susceptible to because of hormonal changes, pregnant and nursing mothers do not have to, or shouldn't, put treatment on the back-burner.

First Annual AAOSCH Scientific Meeting

Hello everyone. As a founding member of AAOSCH, American Academy for Oral Systemic Health, I am very excited to be attending our first annual meeting on June 24-25, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. There is clear evidence of the link between periodontal disease and other health issues such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes; therefore, it is imperative that each care provider be aware of the seriousness of early diagnosis and early treatment of both heart disease and chronic infections such as periodontal disease.

This meeting will be extremely helpful in connecting medical and dental professionals in their quest for prevention of these serious diseases. The goal is to create a working partnership between the medical and dental communities, helping each to identify and understand their role in this prevention and treatment.

As my role as dentist, I am looking forward to learning how to best partner with medical physicians in order to provide my patients the best possible care.

The course objectives are as follows:

• To show that both systemic health and oral health are important to save the lives of our patients that are at risk for arterial disease, including heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

• To show the scientific evidence that the body is interconnected and that disease at any location may present risk to all areas of the body: not just the area affected.

• To help create a strategy of early intervention for all health care professionals in the earlier diagnosis and treatment of these patients. Including …

• When should a dentist refer a patient to a physician? Why?

• When should a physician refer a patient to a dentist? Why?

• What tests will the physician run?

• What tests will the dentist run?

• What risks do these combined tests and evaluations equate to regarding heart disease, stroke and diabetes?

• Who should each clinician refer to?

• To show the cumulative effect of many sources of inflammation that may increase risk: Including the oral / systemic connection.

• To help create a community of physicians and dentists that understands how to evaluate risk, to communicate with each other, and to effectively treat these patients.

The panel of speakers for this meeting is very impressive, including:

Bradley Bale, MD

Amy Doneen, RN, BSN, MSN, ARNP

Thomas W. Nabors, DDS, F.A.C.D

Casey Hein, RDH, BSDH, MBA

Duane Keller, DMD - Chief Scientific Officer for Perio Protect LLC

G. Lee Ostler, DDS

Robert Maccario, MBA

I am happy to see that more and more medical and dental professionals are understanding the importance of oral systemic health and are altering the care they provide to adapt to this new information. I feel it is equally important to share this information with my patients, in order for them to make the best possible decisions regarding their health and future. I am looking forward to reporting back to you after I have attended this meeting with further information!

Thank you and be well,

Dr. Rick Stickney