Team Appreciation Night!

At Toms River Family Dental, our staff loves spending time together and coming to work each day - and it shows through the care we give to our happy patients. Our positive, hard-working, caring team is what makes the different between our practice and any other, and we know that! That's why we celebrated our First Annual Team Appreciation Night!

What better way to celebrate than with a Lakewood Blue Claws game in Lakewood, New Jersey! Our favorite, local Minor League Baseball team. 

After a great team dinner we watched an incredible ball game - and Dr. Shapiro even threw the ceremonial first pitch!! 

The Blue Claws won and we even got a few pictures with Buster, the team mascot! 

We love our team, and our team loves having fun. In or out of the office we love smiling, and making other people smile. Isn't that what dentistry is all about? It was a special night with our wonderful staff, and we can't wait to do it again next year! 

We hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day Weekend! Remember to keep flossing, brushing and coming in for your check ups :)

Great Posture: Get in the Habit

Great posture makes a great impact. Not only on how you look, but also how you feel. Confidence, ease, and professionalism are seen in the way you carry yourself, and research shows that standing and sitting up straight can positively affect other areas of your mental and physical health too. One such area your posture can impact is your mouth - and that's what we'll discuss today! 

Posture that doesn't properly position your spine upright can actually put unwanted pressure on your jaw and other facial muscles. Hunching over shifts your bottom jawline forward, and in doing so your teeth are no longer properly aligned. This can lead to larger issues like chronic jaw pain, which is something we see in our practice. 

What can you do about it day-to-day? Being more aware of your posture is the first step. Correcting yourself slouching is an important move towards better posture that will eventually become a natural habit. Keeping your shoulders back and down as much as possible will help. Also, stretching is a wonderful technique to elongate your natural position and relax your muscles. Whether it's through yoga or just standard stretching, every bit helps towards giving you a better, more relaxed stance and smile. 

Success is in the Smile

The fall isn't just a fresh new start for kids making their way back to school, it's also a popular time to explore the job market and search for a new position (or at least just see what's out there). As important as your qualifications and communicative abilities are in an interview, so is your appearance. Dressing for success and keeping your personal hygiene up to par can go a very long way (check out this great interview outfit from Men's Wearhouse pictured below)!

Personal hygiene can actually be the difference between getting the job you want, or missing it by a hair. Being clean and well-kept is a sign of discipline and a window for employers into your life outside of work. Having bad breath, yellowing teeth or any food visibly lodged in your teeth can keep you from being hired. 

The job market is more competitive than ever, and with the economy in it's current state, even the securest of positions can be up for grabs. Every little edge can make the difference, and coming in for a cleaning and whitening treatment will put you in a better position for success. Do your teeth need more than just a standard cleaning? Come in for a consultation to discuss cosmetic dentistry options like veneers.   

A happy, confident person will always have the edge over someone who doesn't smile and make eye contact. It really does remain true that a great smile can go a long way! 

Back To School We Go!

We can't believe it's really that time of year again, and we imagine that you're just as surprised too. Summer is starting to wind down, and back to school preparations are just beginning. 

School supplies - check. 

New outfits (especially the all important first day attire!) - check. 

But what about a back to school teeth cleaning?

We want to remind you to add a dentist visit to their back to school list. For kids, back to school always feels like a fresh start. It's the best time to get into the practice of good habits, like flossing daily and brushing twice a day! Getting them on track now is the best way to keep their mouths healthy and clean for the long haul. A visit to our office is a great way to remove all of the plaque build-up that's accumulated through summer, and let their pearly whites speak for themselves - the best back to school accessory in our opinion :) 

Special Times Call For Extra Care!

At our practice, we care greatly for every patient and take pride in delivering personalized care. We emphasize that depending on different stages in a patient's life, their dental care at home may need to be adjusted. One such life benchmark is pregnancy. Are you or someone you love expecting? Then you'll want to read on! 

If you're not familiar with gingivitis, consider yourself lucky (it's not fun). It's essentially gum inflammation caused by plaque building up between your teeth and gums. This bacteria growth can lead to tooth decay and down the road, tooth loss. All in all, it's not a good thing! 

During pregnancy, it’s more common for women to experience a form of gingivitis known as pregnancy gingivitis – in fact, about half of pregnant women do! During pregnancy, there is a dramatic increase in hormones and the natural response to plaque can become heightened while gums are more sensitive.

There is a solution though! It’s all about maintaining very active and healthy oral hygiene. We recommend diminishing the amount of plague that’s present by brushing twice a day, flossing daily, visiting the dentist more often and avoiding sugary snacks. If sugary snacks can’t be avoided, just be sure to brush your teeth and rinse afterwards! 

Have you dealt with pregnancy gingivitis? Or are you increasing your brushing/flossing routine to avoid it? Tell us in the comments section below and keep having a wonderful summer! 

Smiling and Laughing – It’s Healthy!

At our office, we believe in smiles. Having a healthy smile not only looks great, feels great, and is great for you physical health…it’s also great for your mental state and overall well-being. Research shows that there are definite health benefits in direct correlation with smiling and laughing. Let’s talk about them today.

We’ve all heard of endorphins right? They’re a chemical in our body that makes us happy and lowers our stress levels. Often they’re associated with physical exercise, but they’re also released when you smile. Whether the smile is real or fake! Can you believe that? So once you smile, the muscle movements in your face trigger the release of these chemicals. 

Endorphins are an amazing part of our biology. They work to lower our stress level by reducing the stress hormone cortisol. Endorphins even help  minimize physical pain and increase your pain tolerance. Smiling and laughing more has also been linked to lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar, improved immune system functionality and mucus minimization. While we by no means claim that a simple smile and laugh can achieve all of this instantly, studies do connect these health benefits with a lifestyle that includes more smiling and laughing.

One more great advantage has to do with the benefits of a happy and positive lifestyle – which is also connected to the way you feel.  It’s no secret that smiling can make you more attractive to people, making you more approachable too. For your overall well-being and social life, whether it be at home or work, a smile a day goes a very long way :)

Flossing 101

Flossing is an important part of your daily routine. It loosens up plaque wedged between your teeth and is a great defense to help fight against gum disease and tooth decay. All in all, we're big fans of flossing, and always advise our patience to make it a habit. 

We always want our patience to get the most out of their dental health routine day to day. So we'd like share 3 tips for flossing the right way.

1. Position Yourself

Wrap the floss around both middle fingers and grip the floss between your thumbs and pointer fingers. Make sure you're working with around 20 inches of thread each time your floss. More is more when it comes to floss!

2. Be Kind

It's all about being gentle. Don't forcefully push the thread into place. Once you've positioned the floss between your teeth, lightly curve the thread down, then up, around the sides of each tooth.

 

3. Stay At It

Consistency counts when it comes to flossing. It's a great habit to get into every day, and once it's a part of your daily routine it really becomes second nature. Plus, the more your teeth and gums are used to flossing, the less painful the process will be as your gums become stronger. 

So position yourself, be kind to your gums, and stay at it - soon you'll be a flossing pro!

'Filling you in'

We have two brand new members to our Toms River Family Dental Team! We couldn't be more thrilled.

• Harry is our new, full-time dental assistant and he's already a patient favorite! So happy to have him as a part of the family.
• Dr. Jesse Hofer is our new board certified Periodontist! He'll be at our practice every Thursday and many Fridays. We're very excited to have him with us!