Total Body Health

If you haven’t heard, the theme our staff has adopted for 2013 is staying healthy from head to toe and we’ve worked hard to keep that pledge going throughout the year. What’s been so inspiring is that many of you have joined us in making that commitment in your own lives from keeping your heart healthy through regular dental visits to running a half marathon. As we reach the halfway point in the year, we started to brainstorm some ways to keep our commitment level up while celebrating all of the incredible ways you’ve joined us thus far…. What better way to celebrate and encourage others than with a party? A BE WELL Party, in fact. As a way to encourage the entire downtown Nashville community to join our commitment to stay healthy from head to toe, we’re bringing in a host of local vendors for a night of food, entertainment, and healthy living education. On Thursday, August 1st from 5:30 pm -7:30 pm, we’ll host an evening for you stop by our office and enjoy food, drinks and music…
  • Nashville Running Company will be there to help runners find the right type of shoe for their style and discounts to get your run off on the right foot.
  • Massage Therapist Jules Saunders will be there to help relieve all the stress you’ve been building up with free massages.
  • Third and Church Healthcare will be there to provide you with resources to stay healthy throughout the upcoming months including free B-12 shots for our first 75 guests.
  • Nashville B-Cycle will be there to showcase how you can stay healthy and have fun all at the same time along with membership discounts.
  • We’ll be showcasing our new Waterlase iPlus Laser if you haven’t had a chance to see it in action.
There will also be a drawing for a new iPad mini for those that RSVP and attend the event. The more co-workers and friends that you bring, the better chance you have of winning! Complimentary food will be provided from Wrapper’s Delight, brews from Jackalope Brewery, and wine from Midtown Wine & Spirits. Finally, Josh Roberts will be be there to provide live entertainment. What should you do next?
  1.  The first thing you should do is RSVP.
  2. Immediately after you do that, don’t forget to mark it down on your calendar. You can walk, bike, or jog to our offices after work (and get extra points for staying healthy) or public parking is available underneath the Justice A.A. Birch Building.
We hope you’ll join us as we celebrate staying healthy from head to toe with a night of food, drinks, and inspiration with your friends and co-workers For more details or RSVP information, you can contact us here.
One of the most common misconceptions about pregnancy is that it’s unsafe to visit the dentist while you’re pregnant. Over the years, people have assumed that visits to the dentist could cause issues with a pregnancy through the various x-rays and procedures. In all actuality, scheduling an appointment with your dentist is one of the most beneficial things you can do for you and your baby during pregnancy. While it’s important to work with a dentist who you trust and one that’s well informed on the proper treatment options for expecting mothers, visiting the dentist to ensure you’re taking care of your teeth during pregnancy is extremely important. To help combat some of the misconceptions, here are three primary reasons expecting mothers should visit the dentist during pregnancy. Hormone levels can cause Periodental Disease. During pregnancy, your progesterone hormone levels are on the rise, which can cause your gums to have a weird response to plaque bacteria -- a lot more plaque buildup than normal. Often times, the build up causes gums to become more tender, swell or even bleed. If left untreated, build up can lead to a more serious condition known as Periodental Disease. At Downtown Dental, all of these issues can be treated with our pain-free, laser dentistry option, making dental care even easier for soon-to-be moms. Cleaner teeth can reduce pregnancy issues for moms. Research shows that appropriate and timely care for dental issues during pregnancy can significantly reduce the risk of adverse pregnancy issues, such as preeclampsia, for expecting moms. By visiting the dentist to remove all the excess bacteria that commonly builds up during pregnancy, you can lower the risk of any possible pregnancy issues you experience that are common if left untreated. Taking care of your teeth helps you take care of your baby. Poor dental care has been linked to premature births and may interfere with a baby’s development in numerous studies. Clean teeth not only help prevent possible issues for moms, it also reduces the risk of premature birth or low birth weight for your baby.   As an expecting mom, this is one of the most special, yet crucial, times of your life and we’d love to do our part in helping ensure you and your baby are staying as healthy as possible. If you’re wondering what kind of dental work is safe to have during pregnancy, know that cavities and root canals can and should be treated to reduce the risk of infection. It’s also important to note that as an expectant mom, the best time to schedule your appointment to do these procedures is during your second trimester. In your third trimester, you may have a harder time staying comfortable during a long dental appointment. Hopefully, this post clarified any misconceptions about visiting the dentist during pregnancy. If you’re interested in scheduling an appointment as an expecting mom, please feel free to give us a call or let us know when you schedule an online appointment.
As part of our effort to stay healthy from head to toe, we wanted to take some time this month to talk about heart and dental health. A few months ago, we shared two unconventional ways to commit to total body heath. Instead of spitting out statics from the latest studies, here is how and why taking care of your teeth help keep your heart healthy. How does taking care of your teeth affect your heart health? Understanding the connection between heart and dental health isn’t complicated. Most people know if you don’t take proper care of your teeth, diseases such as tooth decay and gingivitis develops. Also, you probably know that if you don’t regularly floss, your gums can become sore bleeding can result. Studies have shown the bacteria you’ve built up from poor dental habits can make its way into your blood stream. Traveling through the rest of your body, the bacteria can provoke inflammation or cause clogged arteries. Over time, these issues can develop into more serious problems. Why does it matter? Over time, the issues caused by bacteria in your blood stream can contribute to heart disease or other heart related issues. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the U.S. According to the American Heart Association, an estimated 2,600 people in the U.S. die of heart disease every day. That's an average of one death every 34 seconds. In short… By not taking care of your teeth and gums, you’re ultimately opening yourself up for the potential to be diagnosed with heart disease or other heart related issues if dental bacteria enters the blood stream. It is evident from research that the two are directly related. How do you prevent this from happening? While regular dental exams and cleanings are necessary to remove bacteria, plaque and tartar and detect early signs of gum disease, you can play a major role in preventing bacteria build up: • Brush for two to three minutes twice a day with fluoridated toothpaste. Be sure to brush along the gumline without using too much force. • Floss daily to remove plaque from places your toothbrush can’t reach. • Use a mouth rinse to reduce plaque up to 20 percent. • Eat a healthy diet, low in refined sugars, to provide essential nutrients (vitamins A and C, in particular). • Avoid cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. At Downtown Dental, we want you to have more than a nice smile; we want you to live a healthy, vibrant life. That’s why we’re committed to total body health. Join us in staying healthy from head to toe and taking care of the most important part of your body: your heart.
Earlier this month, we announced that our staff at Downtown Dental is committed to running the Music City Half Marathon as a way to commit to total body health and raise support for St. Jude Heroes. To help you join our cause, we’re rolling out a partnership and promotion with Nashville Running Company to give current and potential Downtown Dental 200 reasons to join in on staying healthy! Screen shot 2013-02-12 at 10.35.49 AM To help Nashville residents stay healthy from head to toe, we’re partnering with Nashville Running Company to offer 15% OFF and the opportunity to win an exclusive $200 gift card to anyone who schedules a new patient appointment or refers a friend to Downtown Dental from now until the end of April! Whether you’re one of the 30,000 people training for the Country Music Marathon or Half Marathon or you’re just looking to stay active during the winter months, investing in good running or walking shoes is important. However, most of us aren’t racing to buy new running shoes, even if we are preparing for a race. This is the perfect excuse to give us a call whether you’re a businessman who works downtown looking to beat your personal record for the half marathon or you just moved downtown and are looking for a new dentist. How can you tell what Country Music Marathon finishers are Downtown Dental patients? There are a couple of ways: 1) They’re part of Downtown Dental’s St. Jude Heroes Team! 2) They’ll be the ones with the fresh new kicks and white smiles in the pictures at the finish line…

MCM

Whether you’re running in the Country Music Marathon or not, we hope you’ll join us as we continue to promote healthy living from head to toe and support St. Jude’s and support our St. Jude Heroes T as we raise support for St. Jude's lifesaving mission of finding cures and saving children. New patients can click here, call 615.254.1393, or email us to schedule your appointment today. Current patients can receive the exclusive discount when their referral mentions their name while scheduling their appointment. Are you running the Country Music Marathon or Half Marathon? If so, leave us a comment below!
Last month we shared how to proper dental hygiene can improve your overall health and wellbeing. This idea of total body health has helped our team to set goals and work alongside our patients in staying healthy from head to toe.

MCM

As a way to commit to total body health in 2013, our team has decided to run the St. Jude Country Music Half Marathon this April. In the past, we’ve enjoyed watching marathoners and half-marathoners run by our offices as they head down the home stretch of their runs. If you’ve never cheered on runners for the Country Music Marathon, it’s quite the spectacle. But this year, we thought, “What better way to stay healthy from head to toe than by running it ourselves?” What started out as an idea turned into reality after we did a little more research… As we were checking out the details, we learned that giving back is a big part of the Country Music Half Marathon. The Country Music Marathon has partnered with St. Jude’s to allow participants to create St. Jude Heroes Teams as a way to improve the treatment of childhood cancer and other deadly diseases through its groundbreaking research. After working alongside patients and downtown residents to collect over 1,000 canned goods for Second Harvest Food Bank at the end of 2012, we realized that registering our team was a no brainer! St. Jude Along with our goal of running the half marathon, we’re launching a Downtown Dental Heroes Team to raise funds to support St. Jude's lifesaving mission of finding cures and saving children.   Join us in giving back and staying healthy from head to toe... We we’re so grateful for our friends and patients supporting Second Harvest Food Bank back in November and December. Because you love to help others as much as we do, we thought that this was the perfect opportunity to combine staying healthy with giving back. We hope you’ll join us in training, running and raising money for the St. Jude's children's hospital. By joining the Downtown Dental Team, we can work together to raise thousands of dollars to help children in need, all while staying healthy and having fun along the way! CMM 2
Health & Smiles If you're like us, you're shocked at how quickly the middle of January arrived. It seems like just yesterday we were counting down the last seconds of 2012 and ringing in the New Year. Now, Target it already selling swimsuits in stores! Weren't we also just deciding our New Year's goals? While you may have made several resolutions for various areas of your life, we think it's safe to say that one of those areas is probably related to your health. In fact, the most common resolution Americans made in 2013 was to eat healthy and exercise regularly.

We care about more than just your teeth.

Our staff's commitment to educating and advocating our patients to their best advantage doesn't stop with your pearly whites. We believe committing to total body health will help our families, patients, neighbors, and, frankly, the city of Nashville live fuller, richer lives!

But, before you hit the play button on Physical by Olivia Newton-John, let us share two other ways you can commit to total body health in addition to hitting the gym this year from our area of expertise: your teeth.

Maintaining a clean mouth can keep your body healthy. There are several studies showing good teeth do more than keep dental bills low - they can help protect you from a whole host of health problems.

Clean teeth can help prevent heart disease.

This study published in the British Medical Journal analyzed data from over 11,000 adults. It determined that participants who reported brushing their teeth less frequently had a 70% increased risk of heart disease versus those who brushed twice daily.

Clean teeth can keep your lungs healthy.

Could proper dental hygiene help you to breath better? Possibly so. Another study published in the Journal of Periodontology uncovered a suspected link between periodontal disease and pulmonary disease (such as pneumonia and acute bronchitis).

As you continue to achieve your 2013 healthy goals, don't forget that your teeth can play an important role in your overall health throughout the year.

Stay tuned over the next several months as we partner with our patients and downtown Nashville to help them commit to making 2013 the healthiest year yet.

Earlier this month, we announced that our staff at Downtown Dental is committed to running the Music City Half Marathon [LINK TO: Join us in staying healthy from head to toe] as a way to commit to total body health and raise support for St. Jude Heroes. To help you join our cause, we’re rolling out a partnership and promotion with Nashville Running Company to give current and potential Downtown Dental 200 reasons to join in on staying healthy! Whether you’re one of the 30,000 people training for the Country Music Marathon or Half Marathon or you’re just looking to stay active during the winter months, investing in good running or walking shoes is important. However, most of us aren’t racing to buy new running shoes, even if we are preparing for a race. To help Nashville residents stay healthy from head to toe, we’re partnering with Nashville Running Company to offer the opportunity for an exclusive $200 gift card to anyone who schedules a new patient appointment or refers a friend to Downtown Dental from now until the end of April! Whether you’re a businessman who works downtown looking to beat your personal record for the half marathon or you just moved downtown and are looking for a new dentist, this is the perfect excuse to give us a call. How can you tell which Country Music Marathon finishers are Downtown Dental patients? There are a couple of ways: 1. They're part of Downtown Dental’s St. Jude Heroes Team! 2. They’ll be the ones with the fresh new kicks and white smiles in the pictures at the finish line. Whether you’re running in the Country Music Marathon or not, we hope you’ll join us as we continue to promote healthy living from head to toe and support St. Jude’s and support our St. Jude Heroes as we raise support for St. Jude's life saving mission of finding cures and saving children. New patients can click here, call 615.254.1393, or email us to schedule your appointment today to be in the running for the NRC gift card. Current patients will also be put in the running when their referral mentions their name while scheduling their appointment! Are you running the Country Music Marathon or Half Marathon? If so, leave us a comment below!