What You Can Learn From An Injury

I found out recently that a skill I believed I had mastered still had a ways to go. I mean walking. After all, how hard is it? I have been doing it since very early childhood.

Still, with all that practice, on March 9th I tripped and fell and broke my shoulder!

I don't recommend it.

But now that I'm healing and getting able to do more and more regular activities every day, I did my usual thing – I've been thinking about what can be learned from this miserable experience.

Here are some observations I want to share with you:

It is a truly wonderful idea to be married to a smart, good looking nurse.

The people who work in the emergency room are very overworked, very dedicated and very good at their jobs. They took good care of me. However, the emergency room is not a fun place to have to spend time. Everything takes forever, you better have all your information available because they are gonna ask you for it (maybe more than once), you have a hard time finding out what's going on, privacy is minimal, and, of course, they don't actually fix you. That comes later, somewhere else. But it's a good place to start because they are very good at, well, emergencies.

Dr. Lawrence Kusior of Orthopedic Associates of Dutchess County is an excellent doctor in an excellent group of doctors. He is warm, caring, efficient and direct. He shared information with me freely. I felt he was involved. I did not feel rushed with him even though I know that physicians today have killer schedules.

Physical therapy, which is what I'm doing now, is hard and uncomfortable. A lot of the time it just hurts. But it is the key to success. It's not my first time with P.T., and I didn't like it any better the other times, either. Heather Kelly, my therapist at Orthopedic Associates, is terrific. She motivates and pushes me even when I tell her, "That's enough." Because it isn't.

Good health insurance and good access to health care is a must and the fact that our country lags behind most western nations in providing it for all their people is shameful.

My colleagues reacted to the news of my injury with empathy and offers of help. Every one of them whom I asked stepped up to the plate for me.

My patients have been fabulous. They waited patiently while I got able to resume their care and they have been so concerned. I appreciate them so much. They are the best!

My Assistant Jennifer and Care Coordinator Joan have been unbelievably effective. I could not asked for more or better. And their patience with me in my irritable times (pain can shorten your fuse) tells of their maturity, devotion and focus. I am lucky to have them with me.

A famous physician-teacher once said that every doctor should have to undergo a sickness or injury and be in the health care system before being allowed to care for patients. This is a terrific idea. There is a good movie called The Doctor, starring William Hurt, that tells this very well. I recommend it to all who care for others.

It's important to look for the gift in any experience. Sometimes it's hard to see it while you're in the middle of the crisis. But it's there.

And finally: Life goes on. The crisis passes. You get stronger if you learn something.

I would like it if you would share this blog with others. Maybe someone you know might be helped by something in it.

"TMJ" - Initials That Stand For Lots Of Unpleasant Things

OK, let's talk about pain. Wait! Don't run – stay with me a minute. I'm not talking about toothache pain. I'm talking about something more subtle. Tons of people live with this kind of pain most days or even every day and can't figure out why. Their doctors tell them different things depending on the doctor's specialty (when you are a hammer everything looks like a nail).

The chronic discomfort makes people depressed and sometimes a little desperate. Patients sometimes tell me they feel as if they are going crazy. They change they way they eat and they avoid foods that make them hurt. Sometimes they take medications, often strong medications, to get some relief.

A surprising percentage of the time, the problem turns out to be what dentists who know about this call "TMJ" (it has other names like "TMD" and "Myofascial Pain Dysfunction syndrome"). They are all pretty much the same thing and the name doesn’t matter if you have it.

Do you have any of these symptoms?

• Frequent headaches, including what has been diagnosed as "migraine".
  
• Clicking or pain in the jaw joints.
  
• Pain or difficulty when opening or closing the mouth.
  
• Pain, ringing, or fullness in the ears.
  
• Neck, shoulder, and/or facial pain.
  
• Eye pain or visual disturbances.

Some things that can cause this are:

• Trauma to the jaw.
• Teeth clenching or grinding (bruxism), especially in sleep.
• Improper bite alignment.
• Overactivity of the motor and sensory nerves that connect to the muscles of your face, which sets off spasms in those muscles.

Sound familiar? If it does, you may have TMJ.

You'd be amazed how many people have this. It shouldn't be ignored, because it gets worse over time.

Call our office. Send e-mail. We'll take you seriously. We'll review your history, conduct a gentle thorough examination, and discuss our findings. If you do have TMJ problems, we'll help get you feeling better again.

We have a special interest and special training in the the treatment of these special problems. You can feel comfortable again. Don’t live with chronic pain or dysfunction any longer. Relief could be just a few visits away.

Hushing Up Your Lizard Brain

We say we want one thing, then we do another. We say we want a great smile, but we say no when the dentist tells us how to have one. We say we want to replace some missing teeth, but we hesitate when the dentists tells us how.

Why is it so difficult to do what we say we want?

The lizard brain.

The lizard is a physical part of your brain, the pre-historic lump near the brain stem that is responsible for fear and rage and reproductive drive. Its actual name is the amygdala.

One writer described it as the resistance. The resistance is the voice in the back of our head telling us to back off, be careful, go slow, wait, compromise. The resistance is about putting things off because we aren't absolutely dead perfect sure about something.

The resistance grows in strength as we get closer to deciding to act.

That's because the lizard brain hates change and achievement and risk.

Want to know why so many companies can't keep up with Apple? It's because most companies compromise, have meetings, fear critics and generally work to appease the CEO's lizard. Having lots of meetings is just one symptom of an organization run by the lizard brain. Late lunches, middle of the road products and the excuses that go with them are others.

Dental patients are like that sometimes. They say that they will talk it over with someone, or do it next year, or they really aren't that eager to have it, they are worried about money, or the treatment, they are busy right now, and on and on.

So time passes and they get older and older and they never pull the trigger and say "YES". And they don't experience that wonderful feeling of making a decision and getting something they want. And the lizard wins.

So sad.

The amygdala isn't going away. Your lizard brain is here to stay, and your job is to figure out how to quiet it and ignore it. This is so important, and that's why I decided to blog it.

Now you've seen the lizard and you know its name. What are you going to do about it?

We can help. All you have to do is call and say, "I want (whatever) but I'm having a problem with the lizard." We'll focus in with you on your lizard's fears and help you tell the lizard to shut up. We are very good at that; it's why we are successful.

It's easy. 845-297-6206. DrSteveRoss@aol.com. You can dial or use a keyboard, can't you? After all, it's only a little lizard stopping you.

Starbucks and Toyota: How They Messed Up

There once was a coffee shop where people could come and pay a little more than it cost in other places for a truly great cup of coffee made just the way they liked it by people who really knew how to make it just right (they wore black aprons displaying the title "Coffee Master" and they completed the Coffee Master course, which educates employees in coffee tasting, growing regions, roasting, and purchasing). And they trained their employees to deliver that great coffee with great service, great style and a kind of special attitude. They named the company Starbucks.

And there once was a car company that had a tradition in the company called "kaizen" which meant "continuous improvement". And they built a reputation as a company that made cars that were very well built, with practically zero flaws and which lasted a long time with no problems. Dependable, trustworthy quality was what everyone knew about that company's cars. The company was called Toyota.

But then something happened.

Starbucks decided that they had to be everywhere and outsell everyone and they started to open stores all over the place – hundreds and hundreds of them. A newsletter called the Onion sarcastically wrote that Starbucks just opened a Starbucks inside a Starbucks rest room! And they got spread pretty thin. They hired lots and lots of new counter employees to work at the hundreds of new stores. The new employees were not trained and experienced like the old ones and they did not know how to make that wonderful coffee like you couldn't find anywhere else. And they didn't have that special pride and attitude that the older ones had. The quality and the service dropped off and people quickly figured out that they could get just as good coffee in other places, like Dunkin' Donuts. And sales dropped and hundreds of stores had to close.

Toyota decided to get huge. They greatly increased their manufacturing capacity and dealer network. And they outsold all other car manufacturers. But they forgot what got them there. They got sloppy and serious flaws started to show up in their cars. And they hid those flaws and didn't respond to them promptly. And they got caught. And now everyone knows about the brake, accelerator and steering problems Toyota is having and Toyota's reputation has been destroyed.

What's the moral of all this? It's this:

A company has to decide and understand what its mission is. Is it to be the busiest and most convenient, to have very low or even the lowest price, to give the customer an average or even less than average product and grow like crazy and have the most customers of anyone?

Or it is to focus on delivering superb quality to customers who are seeking exactly that, with wonderful service that is hard or even impossible to find anywhere else and charge what it takes to deliver that time after time, dependably and flawlessly to that smaller base of customers?

Starbucks and Toyota chose to deliver quality and superb service to a group of customers who treasured that but they wanted to grow and grow and grow. So they had to compete with the coffee shops and car manufacturers who cared way less about quality and way more about having their shops and cars on every corner at a medium or low price.

And they found out that you can't have it both ways.

So what's the lesson for Smart Dental Patients? Here it is:

You gotta choose what kind of dental office you want to deliver your care. What kind of environment do you want? Fast, cheap and open 6 days a week? Or personal, thorough, committed to excellence, dedicated to personal attention and delivering superb care by superbly trained people for a fair fee?

You can't have both. Even though you want it.

We know who we are here in Dr. Steve Ross' office. And our patients know why they chose us to create and guard their dental health.

We won’t make the Starbucks-Toyota mistake. We promise.

Valentine's Day 2010

Sally Field, playing the character of Nora Walker in the TV series "Brothers and Sisters", said that she wanted to feel like she was enough, all by herself, just like she is — enough for the man in her life.

I think there is tremendous wisdom in that thought. How wonderful it would be if we each knew totally that with all our faults, with our failings, regardless of our age, our job or our current health, that the person we love feels the same way about us.

Falling in love is easy. Showing that love, helping the people we love feel like they are special, that they are the most important thing in the world to us ... that’s harder.

People have busy lives. Work, children, keeping the home together, the stress of a schedule packed to the minute, all get in the way of reserving some time just to be together.

We can't look great all the time. We certainly can't compete with the people we see on TV and in movies and magazines. But those people, those images, don't love you. They won't be there when you're down, they don't share your tears — or your triumphs and joys, either. They won't be there for you through the good years and the not so good ones.

Young people sometimes think they will look, act, feel and function the same when they are "old" as they do today. Some adults still think the way they did when they were 20.

But eventually everyone looks in the mirror and sees that time and mileage take a toll on us physically. We might begin to wonder, like Sally Field, if we are enough any more.

I'm one of the lucky ones. I found my soul-mate and after all our years together I still love her dearly. I know I'm very lucky and I'm thankful every single day.

Do something nice for your partner on Valentine's day. You don't have to spend a lot of money, you don't have to buy diamond jewelry that goes out of style, or flowers that die, just do something to make him or her smile.

Let your partner know that he or she is not only enough for you, that he or she is everything to you.

And if love hasn't smiled on you yet, don't give up on it. When it does, and it will, don't be afraid. Let it in. Love is the best, the very best thing in life.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Are Your Teeth Wearing Down?

Are your teeth kind of worn down?

Sort of beat up? Looking a little older than you look yourself?

Like this?

Lots of people come to us with teeth like this. They've been chewing all their lives and things have just gotten worn. Or chipped by accident.

This is not a character flaw! It's just a condition. It happens. Sometimes fast, sometimes a little at a time.

You know, we get used to the way we are. Gradually we lose a little here and a little there and before we know it things are not what we want them to be.

Like this:

If this is beginning to look like you, please call us. We know how to restore the lost structure and make your teeth whole again. It's easier than you probably think.

Worn teeth are fragile, can get really sensitive and make you look old. And they change your bite and that's usually not good.

This is the 21st century. Dentistry does not struggle with worn, old-looking teeth like these anymore. Neither should you.

Don't live with worn out teeth. Call us. We can help.

Evaluations. Some of the Most Important Time We Spend With You.

Our patients know how much importance we place on regular evaluations.

So I wanted take a few minutes to explain what is happening when you are with us for that hour or so.

Because those visits can make all the difference between having oral health and teeth you like for your lifetime or a future with lots of dental problems.

And those little visits can actually save your life. Did you know that the links between dental health and a variety of systemic disease is growing every day and is now acknowledged by the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society and other major organizations dealing with some of the most life-threatening diseases?

So what do we do?

First we catch up on what’s going on with you. Our patients are family and we want the news. You are much more than a transportation system for your teeth to us.

We'll ask you if there have been any changes in your general health or medications you may be taking. We need to know that to be sure you are safe when we care for you.

We'll ask you if you have any concerns or wishes.

And then it begins. Our tour is done with you watching and we talk with you while we work. An evaluation is a conversation, not a lecture.

All our patients know about plaque – that sticky transparent film of biofilm that attaches to your teeth and is dead center as a cause of most dental disease. We make sure our patients know all about that and how to prevent it from taking over.

So we use a special stain to make your biofilm visible. This lets us – and you – see where you might be missing it so we can help you get on it. Tools and techniques are reviewed so you can have the power to control your own bacteria instead of being a victim of them.

And let's face it. We all need a little motivational boost every once in a while. Right? Of course right.

Next we take a tour of the mouth you brought in.

First is the health of your gum tissues and deeper supporting tissues. This is what dentists call your periodontal health. We look for places where your gum tissues may bleed (healthy tissues don't bleed), areas where gum tissue may have separated from the roots of your teeth (healthy gum tissue is tightly attached to the necks of your teeth), and the general color and tone and contour of your tissues.

We look for teeth that may be getting mobile (teeth with healthy support are not loose).

We check to see if you are building up tartar and where it is.

Next we take a look at your teeth themselves. We look for visible decay, chips, cracks, and any signs of abnormal wear.

We check the dentistry you already have to be sure it is functioning well and is in good condition.

If you are scheduled for x-rays we took them at the beginning. And if something we see makes us want an x-ray of it, we do that now.

And we'll update our photos of you if necessary.

We will conduct a careful exam for oral cancer. We'll evaluate your bite and your jaw joint function.

We're not just interested in identifying potential problems. We will compliment you on what we see that is good, healthy, strong. And we will share our thoughts about what we wish were different about your mouth and your smile. We'll talk with you about these things.

If we have suggestions for care, we’ll make them and answer questions. We'll schedule any follow up testing or treatment.

And if you are scheduled for professional cleaning services, we'll do that.

And by the way, we'll probably share a laugh or two. Dentistry should be fun. Laughter is good medicine.

This is the way people keep their teeth for a lifetime and avoid dental trouble. You, the patient and we, your coaches, work together in a partnership to create your dental future.

Working together, we can accomplish your goals.

A bright smile is the most convincing form of human communication. We want you to keep yours always.

Here's Joan!

Hi. My name is Joan and I am the Patient Care Coordinator for Dr. Ross. Dr. Ross likes to tell our patients that I'm in charge of everything here that doesn't get wet.

Dr. Ross thought our patients would like to know more about who I am when I’m not in the office helping them.

So here goes.

What do I do when I’m not in the office doing what I do here for you? I follow a lifelong passion.

After helping people throughout my nursing career (I'm a Registered Nurse) and with Dr. Ross here at our office, my next biggest passion is music. I sang in children and youth choir in Church, was allowed into the adult choir at age thirteen (probably because my voice was too tiny at that time to do any harm and I loved the Alto part), sang in high school choirs and played piano for the high school choir in my Senior year. Then nursing school and my Bachelor's and Master's degrees from University of Pennsylvania. That tough schedule got in the way of my singing but I never lost my connection to music. In 1979, I was watching the Phil Donahue Show and saw the Penna-Fores, an international champion Sweet Adelines quartet, and thought, hey, I wanna do that.

Well, I did end up as a member of both Sweet Adelines International and Harmony, Inc., two women’s barbershop harmony organizations. I have sung in three Sweet Adelines choruses and one Harmony Inc. chorus. One of the Sweet Adelines choruses won the International Championship three times. It's hard to describe the feeling when they hang a gold medal around your neck in front of 12,000 screaming, cheering people. That's a thrill you never forget.

Here I am in full Lion King Costume and makeup for a performance (2nd from right)


And I have been in four quartets (but not at the International Championship level).


My most recent chorus is Harmony Celebration Chorus, which was formerly Ramapo Valley Chorus (the one that won the championships). When our great Director Renee Craig retired, the chorus retired the chorus’s name in her honor and re-invented ourselves with a new name. We have a wonderful Director named Scott Brannon who in less than two years helped us back to the Greater New York Regional Chorus Championship and we are going to compete at the International Chorus Contest in October 2010.


I sing Baritone, which is the Barbershop harmony world’s name for a harmony part that isn’t the highest (Tenor) and isn’t the lowest (Bass) and sometimes is above the melody part (Lead) and sometimes is below the melody part. I love it because it is the smart part and is what helps form the special close harmony four-part chord that is the special sound of Barbershop Harmony rather than the sound of glee club singing.

I judged Barbershop Contests for 17 years. That includes my time training to become a Certified Judge plus 15 years of active judging. I coached performance presentations for both women's organizations and also was part of the first group of women judges allowed to judge at contests for the men’s Barbershop Harmony Society. I taught at music schools for all three organizations, and I represented Harmony Inc. as their International Education Services Coordinator for seven years.

So when I wasn’t here in the office where I am a familiar helping face, I have had more than plenty to do. If you hear me around the office humming a tune, you’ll know that the music is in me all the time and sometimes it just has to pop out!

Want help with your teeth or your smile? Call me. I'll see that you get it.

All The Best To You and Yours!

2010 is almost here!

Here's my hope that your holiday is filled with joy, and that the coming year overflows with all the good things in life.

I wish you all the very best for 2010.

Dr. Steve Ross

Never Have A Loose Lower Denture Again. Mini Dental Implants To The Rescue

I wrote this blog today because there are still lots of people who have lost their teeth and are using dentures. There are approximately 50,000,000 people in the United States who are "edentulous" (literally meaning lacking teeth. Many suffer discomfort as a result of loose or ill-fitting dentures. Many denture wearers simply withdraw from any type of social engagement as a result of having to wear them. Moreover, it's not uncommon for family members to complain about a denture wearer's disagreeable breath as a result of food being trapped and decaying under their denture prosthesis.

I know this is unpleasant and I apologize, but it's important to know.

Wearing and using dentures is not a character defect or a cause for embarrassment. A denture is a prosthesis – a body part replacement. People lose body parts through accidents, disease and other unfortunate facts of life. And prosthetics is the science of replacing the lost structures and function and restoring quality of life.

Dentistry replaces lost and missing teeth all the time. We do it pretty well, actually.

But there is one type of dental prosthesis that is still not where we and our patients would like it to be. And that is the case of the complete lower denture.

When a person loses all their lower teeth, the denture for that has been a problem for many, many denture patients. There are a lot of reasons why. They have to do with the shape and mobility of the lower jaw, the presence of the tongue and the narrowness of the lower gum ridge.

But things have gotten tremendously better. Because now we can make lower dentures stay in place, be comfortable and stable and that ma

kes lower denture patients very, very happy.

How, you ask? I'll tell you how.

Mini Dental Implants, that's how.

A mini dental implant consists of a miniature titanium implant that acts like the root of a tooth and a retaining device that is incorporated into the base of the denture, The head of the implant is shaped like a ball and the retaining device acts like a socket for the ball. The retaining device grips the ball and holds the denture firmly on the implant. The denture gently rests on the gum tissue, but the ball/implant prevents the denture from pressing hard into the gum tissue. The implant fixtures allow for micro-mobility while resisting natural lifting forces.

Having trouble visualizing how it works? I think a picture will help. Here's one.

Successful placement of Mini Dental Implants addresses and solves all the social and practical problems. Denture patients all over the world have experienced relief from loose or ill-fitting dentures from doctors who are trained to place these implants.

In our office the entire procedure of placing four Mini Dental Implants and the retaining devices into a denture that otherwise fits well takes about two easy hours. The patient walks right out with a stabilized prosthesis.

There is none of the surgery associated with conventional dental implants. No incision is made in the gum and only a local anesthetic is used. It is NOT a traumatic procedure. Most patients are absolutely amazed how easy it was.

If you have a lower denture and would like it to be tight, functional and comfortable, Mini Dental Implants are for you. We can help.

Our patients know how to call us. But if you are not a patient of our office, that's OK. We'll be glad to answer questions and help in any way. It's easy. Send us an e-mail at DrSteveRoss@aol.com and tell us what's on your mind. We will respond to you promptly. Don't be shy.

Don't suffer with a loose lower denture anymore. You deserve better.

Recipes, Anyone? We Want Your Recipes.

We are putting together a looseleaf notebook for our reception room and we will call it

"Recipes From Our Patients".

Many of our patients love to cook. We got to thinking that it would be terrific if we could share some of their best recipes with our whole patient family.

We'll print your recipe up real nice and put your name on top. If someone wants a copy, we'll make a copy to give to that person. Your recipe will then make others happy.

This is good karma and also a nice thing to do.

So if you have a favorite recipe we welcome your sending it in by e-mail, fax, computer file, even snail mail.

The first 50 patients who send a favorite recipe will receive a Dr. Steve Ross' World Famous and Highly Prized Patient Mug the next time he or she walks through our door.

Here's where to send your recipe:

e-mail: DrSteveRoss@aol.com

Fax: 845-297-1481

Snail Mail:1576 Route Nine, Suite 12, Wappingers Falls, NY 12590

If you care, you share! So let's hear from you.

Aha! Hah Hah! Ahh!

A visit to your dentist means many things to people.

But my office team and I want every patient's appointment to contain these three things:

Aha! Hah Hah! Ahh!

Let's talk about them.

Aha!

My dictionary defines Aha! as an exclamation expressing, by different intonations, triumph or surprise. For us, this means that every visit should bring a learning experience to our patients. We want our patients to find something out. It might be great news, such as "You are amazingly healthy. It's terrific to see how well you've healed. You're doing a good job taking care of yourself." Or maybe it's not so great, like "Well, you have developed a little gum inflammation and you're beginning to lose some supporting bone around the roots of your teeth. But don't worry, because we have completely effective ways of stopping that, so you're gonna be OK." Or it could be something like "Did you know that chewing certain types of gum can actually prevent cavities? No, really. Chewing gum that contains xylitol is decay-preventive."

These are all examples of Aha! And a dental appointment should always provide learning. Because a Smart Patient is better able to have teeth he really likes all throughout his life. Knowledge is power. A dental office should be a place of education.

Hah Hah!

Here's a revolutionary idea: A dental office should be a place where you have fun. "What?", you say. I'm not kidding. Laughter feels good. Laughter makes everything better. Laughter is a great way to promote health. Who doesn't like to laugh? You should expect your dentist and his team to take their work very seriously, because it impacts on people. But taking your work seriously doesn't mean taking yourself so seriously. Life is tough enough without your dental office making it grimmer. If your dentist and his team doesn't look and sound like they're having fun, and if you are not having fun there, you should go somewhere else. Dentistry is a high tech thing, but it should also be high touch. One of my colleagues does magic in his office. What fun! We like to tell funny stories and jokes. We fool around a little. Laughter, love and a little Hah Hah! silliness provide a human touch and that goes a long way to making a dental office a fun place to visit.

Ahh!

This is what you say when something feels good. Good news. Relief. Pleasure. A great new smile. A very comfortable appointment that surprised you with how easy it was. A dental office should want you to feel an Ahh! at your visits. Attention to your comfort is important. A comfortable chair, great anesthetics that produce painless dentistry, lip balm for your lips, a soft touch, a hand on your shoulder if you're tense, appreciation spoken out loud for how great a patient you are, a phone call later that day or the next day to find out how you are doing – all these things and lots more create an Ahh! that makes your dental visit a great experience.

Aha! Hah Hah! Ahh! Part of what makes a great dental office great.

Check to see at your next visit if you're getting them.