Happy New Year! #2017

Happy 2017!  It's a new year and a common time to be a new you.  In fact, a recent Marist poll shows that the number one resolution for 2017 is to be a better person.  Losing weight and exercising more, eating better, improving health, and spending less are most people's top goals this year.

We at Fifty-Seven 57 Dental want to help you achieve your New Year's Resolutions!  A healthier you includes a healthy mouth, so be sure to keep your teeth pearly white this year by going to your routine dental exams and cleanings.

Eating well can help keep your teeth healthy, too.  Cutting down on sugary foods and drinks is important for dental health and overall health.  Leafy greens are not only low in calories, but can be good sources of calcium, which helps strengthen teeth, and folic acid, which may help prevent gum disease.  You can find a nice summary of waist and tooth friendly foods here.

Ensuring routine care of your teeth may also help save money.  Generally speaking, preventing problems or addressing them when they first are known is typically easier (and less costly) than waiting until they become bigger concerns.  I tell this story to my patients all the time: when I was in high school (or maybe college ... it was a long time ago!), the door handle to my mother's Honda got stuck to the point where we would have to jimmy it in a particular series of directions to get it to open.  When my father learned of the cost, he said he'd wait to fix it.  A few months later, the door would not open at all, and with three daughters to taxi around, it became a somewhat emergent situation.  Not only did my parents need to pay the amount to fix the door and door handle that they were originally quoted, but the mechanics had to take the door off, too, requiring extra time and labor costs!  In the same way that it's easier to fix a door handle than to take off the entire door to fix the handle, it's easier (and less annoying, less visits, etc., etc.) to have a cleaning/fluoride treatment/filling than a root canal!

I can't help too much with the exercising more resolution, unless you want to walk to our practice!  Or maybe take a walk through nearby Central Park afterwards.  Other than that, you may want to check out this article, which may hold the key to explaining why some people love and other people detest exercise.  (Spoiler alert: blame or thank your parents!  There's a good chance this is an innate love or hate that is influenced by variation in your dopamine receptors.)