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Charles Briscoe, DDS 858-454-3221 www.LaJollaDental.com August 2012

You've heard it said

before, "brush more, floss more and come back

sooner". But, you may not really understand the

reasons.

There's a link between

bacteria and hardening of the arteries. In gingivitis,

the early form of gum disease, infection leads to

chronic inflammation - gums are swollen, red, and sometimes bleeding. In periodontitis, the more

advanced form, the

infection affects the bones that support the teeth,

often leading to tooth loss.

In both cases, disease is caused by an

accumulation of bacterial

plaque in the gums. These

organisms release toxins that can circulate around

the body.

With professional cleaning and removal of bacterial

plaque and tartar buildup, gum disease can be

reversed - if it is caught early enough. Further

studies have noted that treating gum disease and

keeping it controlled can lead to an improvement in

the lining of the blood

vessels.

Good oral health will not only produce healthier

teeth and gums and bone, it may also be the ticket to

a healthy heart.

In particular, the body's

arterial system may be

affected. Multiple studies have shown that the more

severe the gum disease,

the thicker and harder the

walls of the arteries. this is true even for young

healthy adults with no other symptoms of heart

problems. Narrowing of

the arteries (atherosclerosis) is a key

component of heart disease.

However, gum disease

threatens more than your heart. Research is finding

more and more links between oral health and

conditions such as

diabetes, kidney disease,

preterm labor, Alzheimer's

disease, osteoporosis, and

certain types of cancer.

A new $700 million D.C.

National Mall redesign calls for turning many grassy areas

into new attractions.

The plan calls for the Mall to be a grand urban park with

spectacular gardens, a

skating rink and a tree-

framed theater, says the Trust for the National Mall.

Former first lady Laura Bush is

the honorary chairwoman of

the fund-raising campaign.

She often went for early

morning strolls on the Mall

during her White House

years, wearing sunglasses and

a baseball cap. She says the new designs will enhance the

park experience for 24 million

people who visit each year. At Union Square, a reflecting

pond that leads from a

fountain to a hard surface

pool will accommodate various events. The design includes an outdoor museum

of gardens extending from the

U.S. Botanical Garden.

In summer, picnickers will be able to rent toy boats to sail on

the pond, which will become an ice rink in winter.

Constitution Gardens, the park and pond north of the Lincoln

Memorial reflecting pond, will be updated to be

ecologically sustainable and will revive the "social life" of

the park, according to USA

Today.

The first project is scheduled to be completed in 2016 to mark

the centennial of the National Park Service.

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All Physical Activity

Reduces Alzheimer's Risk

An important new study

shows that any physical activity, not just exercising,

is linked to a reduced risk

of developing Alzheimer's disease.

The finding should be considered by people in

middle age, since the disease develops for years before any symptoms occur. Protective activities

included washing dishes, cooking, cleaning,

gardening and even playing cards.

Study subjects had no signs of dementia at the start of

the study, which is part of

the ongoing Memory and Aging Project at Rush

University Medical Center in Chicago.

This is the first study to use an objective measure of

physical activity in addition to self-reports. Participants

wore an actigraph on their wrists to assess levels of

activity. Those in the bottom 10 percent for

physical activity were

almost twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's.

Healthy Gums and a Healthy Heart

Renovating the D.C. National Mall

2 NEWS YOU CAN USE, COURTESY OF CHARLES BRISCOE, DDS

ies

Most professional golfers

had their first lessons at an early age. During their

careers, they continued to get coaching along

the way.

Not so for Bubba Watson,

winner of this year's Masters Tournament. He's

a natural, untutored and spontaneous player. The

Wall Street Journal's John

Paul Newport says, "His is a classic, almost mythic

American tale of bootstrap success, fueled

by a carefree, fun-loving passion for the game."

One well-known golf

coach studied how professional golfers grew

to become so good. One nearly universal finding is

that from age six to 12, they were allowed to play

and experiment with golf on their own. Most had to

learn the basic grip and

stance plus how to keep from hurting themselves and others with their swings. But primarily many

of the greats began golfing just for fun. At a

young age, beginners learn by instinct how to

make the golf ball do what they want it to.

Over-teaching at this stage is

counterproductive, experts say.

When Watson was age six, his father gave him a cut-down

nine iron that a local club pro donated. Watson took his

new toy into the yard and started hitting whiffle balls. He

played for hours every day. When it rained, he took his

club into the house to pitch

balls off the carpet.

Watson invented his own

game with a whiffle ball. He made a 5-foot circle in the

dirt driveway to serve as a

The Hazards of Over-Teaching When Learning Golf

hole. Then he would hit his

ball around the house, seeing how few strokes it

took him. First he went clockwise around the

house hitting left-to-right hooks, then

counterclockwise, hitting right-to-left slices. He

played the balls wherever

they landed, even from bushes.

Why Your teeth Are Wearing Down Occlusal Disease is a

condition that causes unnatural wear and

damage to your teeth,

often requiring extensive

repairs. Damage isn't

limited to your teeth. Occlusal disease can

also affect the tissues that support your teeth,

and even lead to facial pain and headaches.

Occlusal Disease is a

generic term (like Periodontal Disease) that

covers a number of

pathological conditions associated with the bite,

jaw muscles and the

temporo mandibular joint

(TMJ). Some experts believe that Occlusal

Disease is the number one cause of tooth loss,

and of the fillings and

crowns breaking and needing to be replaced.

Properly balanced teeth

show minimal or no wear with natural use. When

people have Occlusal Disease in the forms of

bruxism (involuntary

tooth grinding) or an unstable bite, they can

wear their teeth up to 100 times faster than

healthy people. Teeth are able to withstand the stresses of

normal function, as are dental restorations. Most

of the time, when teeth

break or restorations fail, the cause is an

unbalanced bite that places excessive force

upon one or several of the teeth.

An uneven bite and

bruxism can also cause

the teeth to flex laterally (as opposed to

vertically), causing a microscopic loss of tooth

structure. Over time,

these continuing flexural forces cause the

formation of deep abnormal notches near

the gumline.

If your teeth, fillings,

and/or crowns are wearing or breaking,

Occlusal Disease is likely the cause. Set up an evaluation appointment or discuss it with us at

your cleaning appointment, and we

can determine your

options.

Occlusal Disease

Before Treatment

After Treatment

3

Congress Praises New Facebook Organ Donor Program

Capitol Hill lawmakers are applauding Facebook's new

program that allows users to share with their friends the fact that they

are organ donors.

The new feature also provides a link

that enables prospective donors to register with the official donor registry

for their states.

Thousands of Facebook users signed

up on the first day. Facebook encourages its 526 million American

users to officially register as donors in their own states. On the first day of

the program, some 6,000 people

enrolled in 22 state registries. Normally, fewer than 400 sign up in a

given day.

That rate "dwarfs any past organ

donation initiative," said David Fleming, CEO of Donate Life America, Facebook's partner in the effort.

Today, about 114,000 people in the United States are waiting for the

heart, kidney or liver transplant that will save their lives. Due to lack of

donors, 18 of them die every day.

Both Republicans and Democrats are praising the effort, hailing the initiative as an innovative way to

save lives.

Congressmen Emanuel Cleaver of

Missouri, Judy Chu of California, and Charles A. Gonzalez of Texas issued

a statement about how the new Facebook program had the

potential to positively impact

minority communities. Roughly 50.5 percent of people in the United

States waiting for an organ transplant are minorities.

According to ABC News, the

transplant community hopes Facebook can increase organ

donation in three ways: by increasing the number of potential

donors; by guaranteeing that families know the wishes of their

loved ones; and by helping match live donors with needy recipients.

They say that by simply letting people know you're an organ

donor, the power of sharing and connection plays an important role.

Organ donor status can be kept

private, shared publicly or shared only with friends.

Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg says, "The organ-donation crisis is not

a medical crisis. It's a social crisis."

If You Think Your Smile Is Beyond Repair, Think Again! Are you fed up with trying to hide your teeth when you talk or smile? Do you find yourself gazing

enviously at “those men” or “those women” with perfect teeth?

Are you worried that even if a dentist could help you, it would be

too expensive?

Good news! At La Jolla Dental Care, we’ve helped moderately to

severely smile-challenged people just like you every day for more

than 25 years. So believe me when I say there’s nothing we HAVEN’T

seen in this office and almost

NOTHING we can’t handle!

After all, smile restoration is our specialty and making it as painless

as possible is all part of the package.

How Do You Know If Corrective

Cosmetic Dentistry Is Right For You?

Well, only you can say for certain but in

my experience you will benefit the most if you:

1) Want to recapture your youthful

appearance.

2) Are unhappy with earlier attempts to fix your teeth

3) Have missing teeth or are about to

lose teeth due to decay or fracture

4) Have chronic bad breath

5) Feel you are (as several patients

have put it) a Dental Disaster with no place to turn

6) Experience numbness or a burning

sensation

7) Have suffered a motor vehicle or sports accident and want to regain

function and appearance.

Dr. Briscoe

8) Wear dentures and are

frustrated or tired of the goo, the pain and the

embarrassment of teeth that can literally fall out on your

plate If one or more of these

descriptions sounds like you, please call (858) 434-3221 for

your FREE Consultation now. It

won’t cost you a dime and you’ll learn everything you

need to know to reclaim your health and your good looks

with the miracle of cosmetic dentistry.

4 NEWS YOU CAN USE, COURTESY OF CHARLES BRISCOE, DDS

On The Personal Side. . .

Summer is well under way and Fall is quickly

approaching. Our “Family Vacation” was spent in

Colorado this year since Matthew is working and taking summer classes. Luckily, we missed the fires, however, the heat was triple digit. We escaped the heat by driving through Rocky Mountain National Park— beautiful! Estes

Park is at the entrance and we loved visiting all the quaint little shops. As Boulder is known as one of the “foodiest”

cities, we enjoyed trying several local eateries.

Last week I celebrated my birthday (29th— I wish)!! Over the weekend we went to Sonoma and visited my Mom and celebrated her 85th birthday. Not much time to visit the wineries, but did squeeze in a couple. We always

enjoy our trips to the “Wine Country”— during the different times of year.

I know many of you vacationed in the summer months and I’ll look forwards to hearing about your travels

as well!

See It, Touch It, Use It, WIN IT!

The new Apple iMac computer is in

our reception room for you to experience!

Check your emails and surf the internet on

Apple’s latest desktop computer.

Best of all, you can win an iMac, just

like this one, in our Summer Raffle. During

August and September, for each adult you

refer, you will receive entries in the raffle.

You can only win if you enter, and

you can only enter by referring family,

friends, and neighbors to our office.

There is a sixty day window to enter.

Enter early and often.

The more you refer the more entries you

receive, and the better your chance to win.