5 On-The-Go Dental Health Tips
For Busy Professionals
In a fast-paced business world, people often don’t have time to stop for lunch, let alone take care of their teeth.
But dental professionals say it’s well worth carving out some minutes for your mouth during the busy day – every day.
“No matter how crazy your days are, you deserve excellent oral health and a beautiful, healthy smile,” says Dr. Nammy Patel, DDS (www.sfgreendentist.com), author of Age With Style: Your Guide To A Youthful Smile & Healthy Living. “But consistently neglecting your teeth and gums during long days in the office can be very costly both from a health and financial standpoint.
“Many people don’t realize there are lots of ways to take care of your teeth during the work hours, no matter how busy you are.”
Dr. Patel shares five on-the-go dental health tips:
Keep water close. “Water neutralizes the acid in your mouth in addition to keeping you hydrated,” Dr. Patel says. “Too much acidity leads to enamel erosion, decay, cavities and gum disease.” She recommends drinking eight eight-ounce glasses per day, keeping a water bottle or water glass on your desk as a reminder.
Store oral essentials at your desk. This means keeping a toothbrush, toothpaste and floss handy in a drawer. “After any meal or snack, our teeth and gums require attention to remove bacteria, and keeping these dental tools on hand will ensure you’re readily equipped,” Dr. Patel says. “Too many people go an entire work day without any oral care.”
Snack on naturally cleansing foods. Eating on the run at work can lead to sugary snacks that compromise oral health. Dr. Patel recommends packing healthy items such as apples, carrots, celery and almonds. “Not only are these foods full of great vitamins and minerals for your teeth and body, they also naturally cleanse your teeth,” she says. “Crunchy snacks like these help scrape away food or plaque stuck on your teeth.”
Sip beverages thoughtfully. Patel says it’s not just what we drink at work that affects our teeth, but how we drink certain beverages. She recommends keeping a reusable straw in your desk. “Whenever you opt for a beverage, use a straw to help limit the chance of tooth decay and staining,” Dr. Patel says. “Place the straw toward the back of your mouth to keep the liquid from coming into contact with your teeth.”
Relax your face. The stress of a busy day causes tension in your head, neck and jaw. Consistent tension in the jaw can lead to TMJ. “Take time at your desk to relax your jaw and face muscles,” Dr. Patel says. “Use your fingertips to gently massage your jaw, open and close your mouth a few times, and stretch your tongue forward to the top front teeth, and then up to the roof of your mouth.”
“Taking moments here and there for self-oral care, throughout your busy day, can make a big difference,” Dr. Patel says. “It just means a little more planning and taken individually they are small things that can prevent major problems.”
About Dr. Nammy Patel, DDS
Dr. Nammy Patel, DDS (www.sfgreendentist.com) operates a practice called Green Dentistry in San Francisco and is the author of Age With Style: Your Guide To A Youthful Smile & Healthy Living. A graduate of the University of California’s School of Dentistry, she is a leader in the movement to bring environmental sanity and well-being into the dental world. Dr. Patel focuses on helping patients recognize the vital connection between dental health and whole body health.
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No Country for White Men?
Why the Left Should Appeal to the White Male Identity
By Matthew Johnson
550 words
Liberals and progressives, with the notable exception of Bernie Sanders, too often fail to appeal directly to white men in the United States. I am not suggesting that they fail to appeal to individual white men or that white men are not interested in their platform; I am suggesting that left-wing activists and politicians often do not even attempt to reach out to white men as a group. This is despite the left’s long-time embrace of identity politics.
Why cede so much ground to the right? Why permit Fox News and other conservative media to target white men as their main, sometimes sole, audience? Not only are self-identified white men an extremely large political bloc, they are far from monolithic in their political leanings. Even though 60 percent of white men voted Republican in the midterm elections this year, that still leaves tens of millions of white men who voted Democrat, independent, or not at all. Moreover, a significant portion of that 60 percent could be convinced to support parties and candidates that better promote their interests if more were done to appeal to those interests — to target white men directly as a distinct voting bloc.
Conservative pundits and politicians use fear as a tool for encouraging white men to vote Republican: fear of immigrants, fear of unemployment, fear of feminists, fear of ISIS, fear of Antifa, and so on. Ambitious Republican politicians and operatives then use the same fear to move the party further to the right by undermining moderate voices. While the use of fear to manipulate is an insult to both the intelligence and values of many white men, it is often a winning strategy. In fact the ‘conservative’ label itself is seemingly born out of fear: Researchers have determined that conservatives can be transformed into liberals if the perception of physical danger is eliminated.
The answer for Democrats, however, is not to create an illusion of total safety or scare white men into voting for them instead of Republicans. The latter strategy might make sense, given the current administration’s fascistic tendencies, but it allows Republicans to control the discourse. Campaigning in opposition to Trump — rather than promoting alternative values and policies — still gives Trump the attention he relies on to manipulate the public. He wants you to not only be afraid of Muslims, immigrants, and feminists: like all other authoritarians, he wants you to be afraid of him.
The opposition should not grant Trump this psychological victory. There are many pathways to white male hearts and minds that are not paved by fear. White men care about many of the same things women, transgender folks, and people of color do. They care about health care, jobs, social mobility, the environment, education, and future generations. They are doctors, lawyers, teachers, scientists, sanitation workers, salesmen, and students. They may not feel economic and social regression as deeply as less privileged groups do, but they feel it nonetheless. What if a few more downtrodden white men in Georgia, Florida, or Mississippi had voted blue in those tightly contested races? What if they had chosen to be taken in by the opportunity for progressive change rather than by the fear of that change?
White men are not a barrier to progressive advancement but the missing link to achieving it.
–end–
Matt Johnson, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is co-author of Trumpism.
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Salt Lake City, UT - BBB is offering the following advice in the wake of the Marriott data breach.
Stay calm. Consumers are not liable for fraudulent charges on stolen account numbers.
Check with the website of the company that was breached for the latest information. Type the company name directly into your browser. Do NOT click on a link from an email or social media message.
If a credit card has been compromised, you will likely hear from the bank or card-issuer first. If you have questions, call the customer service number on your card.
Consider putting a credit freeze or fraud alert on your credit reports with the three major credit reporting agencies (go.bbb.org/creditfreeze). A credit freeze will prevent anyone from accessing your credit report or scores. This means you cannot apply for new credit without lifting the freeze. A fraud alert flags your account but does not automatically halt new credit being opened in your name.
AnnualCreditReport.com is the only website authorized by the Federal Trade Commission to provide you with a free annual credit report. Be wary of ads, emails, and social media messages for other services. Everyone should check their credit reports annually, whether or not they have been the victim of a data breach.
If your credit card(s) has been breached:
Monitor your credit card statements carefully (go online; don’t wait for the paper statement).
If you see a fraudulent charge, report it to your bank or credit card issuer immediately so the charge can be reversed and a new card issued.
Keep receipts in case you need to prove which charges you authorized and which ones you did not.
If your debit card has been breached:
Do all of the above as for credit cards, but pay very careful attention to your account. Debit cards do not have the same protections as credit cards and debit transactions withdraw funds directly from your bank account.
Contact your bank for more information, or if you want to pre-emptively request a new debit card or put a security block on your account.
Beware of scammers who may purport to be from the retailer, your bank, or your credit card issuer, telling you that your card was compromised and suggesting actions to “fix” the problem. Phishing emails may attempt to fool you into providing your credit card information or ask you to click on a link or open an attachment, which can download malware onto your computer.
Visit BBB.org/breach for more information.
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ABOUT BBB: For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands, and charities they can trust. In 2017, people turned to BBB more than 160 million times for BBB Business Profiles on more than 5.2 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at bbb.org. There are local, independent BBBs across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, including BBB Serving Northern Nevada and Utah.
Media Contacts: Whitley Ray, PR and Marketing Specialist, wray@mw.bbb.org 801-506-1057
Tim Johnston, VP of Outreach, tjohnston@mw.bbb.org 775-284-0277
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Do you dread the holidays and winter break — especially your child’s accompanying ADHD symptom flare-ups? Stay ahead of the curve with these tips >
House rules for a happier, saner holiday season
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GETTING THROUGH THE HOLIDAY HOME STRETCH
House Rules for a Happier Season
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