Big New Beginnings

August, for me has been about new beginnings.
    I am thrilled and excited to share all the new things going on for the Queen of Dental Hygiene.  My keyboard has been a little quiet lately because I've been busy doing, creating, and traveling for summer fun as well as education.  Now I have a little down time to catch all of you up to date!

Big Changes

As I posted previously, I'm working in a new office.  What's changed is I'm now in two new offices and I'm in love with both of them!  How lucky am I to have found not one but two incredible, exceptional dental practices right here in Bellevue.

On Tuesdays and now Wednesdays I'm so lucky to be working with incredibly smart Dr. Alireza Panahpour and his dedicated staff.  Dr. Panahpour centers his practice around the Oral-Systemic Connection and his philosophy is holistically based.  I've written previously about how very important a healthy mouth is to a healthy body.  (IMHO, Traditional dentistry has treated the mouth as a separate planet, and not looked at disease occurring there infecting anything below the chin.  Drilling disease out of a tooth does not cure the cause of the problem, it just puts a band aid on it.)
Prevention is the key word at this office.  We look closely at breathing and swallowing issues- proper breathing, where your tongue is, and how big your airway is!  It all starts with oxygen.  Not breathing correctly is central to the oral-systemic connection breakdown.  Tooth decay occurs when the mouth becomes too acidic, saliva is not healthy (dry mouth, could be from mouth breathing) which takes us right back to breathing dysfunction again.  Gum disease, same issues- thick sticky plaque, growing a thick biofilm of bacteria plus other bad bug pathogens and no saliva to wash it off, thus gum infections.  Breathing could well play a part there too.  Swallowing, who's looking at that?  We are!  I've written before about the mighty tongue- and how it moves your teeth around.  Got open spaces between your teeth? It could be from the way you swallow and where your tongue presses.  This office goes beyond the normal stuff and is dedicated to helping you get well and stay well.  I'm so honored to be a part of this team!

Come see me on Tuesdays or Wednesdays at Dr. Panahpour's office for an in-depth look at your mouth and let's make a plan for you to get and stay healthy.  Call 888-338-6336 option 2 and talk with Elizabeth about coming in to see me and meet the master of oral-systemic connections, Dr. Panahpour.
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AND! now on Mondays and Thursdays, you can find me working with the incredible, fabulous Dr. Lynn Jones and her associates- Dr. Ilya Miloslavskiy and Dr. Kelly Yu, as well as a most welcoming, warm staff of  talented women.  Can you tell I'm in love!?!  Everyone there has made me feel so welcome, and they're as excited as I am to be working together.  Dr. Jones's artistry and knowledge of smile design is a beauty to behold.  Her expertise is exquisite.  Dr. Jones is the first and only female Accredited member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) in Washington state.
The AACD is an organization dedicated to advancing excellence in the art and science of comprehensive cosmetic dentistry.  Accredited members do even more advance training.  Before allowing anyone to touch your smile, ask to see photos of their work.  Dr. Jones is proud to show you what she has done for many patients' smiles.
I'm a fan of beautiful healthy smiles, and if things need a little enhancing or tweaking, why not!?  I'm certainly okay with that.  I love makeup, lipstick and all things lovely (and healthy).  Crowded teeth make cleaning around them difficult, causing gum disease to creep into these hard to access areas.  White teeth make you look younger, and who doesn't want that?   You should love your smile.  It's your signature, it's you telling the world "HELLO".

Dr. Jones and  her associates, however, are not limited to smile design, they also concentrate on helping you create that healthy mouth/body connection as well.  They do caries (cavities) risk assessment, Invisalign braces, and thorough gum disease prevention.  You cannot have a beautiful smile if the underlying support structure - the teeth and gums - have infection!   I'll be adding my expertise to their line up.  I've just started this week, so as that unfolds, I'll keep you updated.   Come see me there on Mondays and Thursdays!  Call Melissa or Juana at 425-284-9336 to schedule time there, and meet Dr. Jones and her team.
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How fortunate I am to work in two incredible offices.  Each unique on the outside but dedicated to your oral health and wellness, and willing to add me to their staff.  I'll bring my nonsurgical periodontal therapy programs, as well as more tooth decay prevention, ozone therapies, myofunctional therapies and airway wellness to their offices.  We'll learn much from each other, and I'll share it all with you!

To all my former patients- I miss you!  I thank you from the bottom of my heart for working hard with me to achieve oral wellness.  I'm so very proud of all your accomplishments. Your successes make my job, my career so rewarding.  It's because of you that I love and am passionate about what I do as a dental hygienist.   If I can ever be of any help, if you have questions, please let me know.
I'm your oral health coach for life!

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Washington Oral Wellness (W.O.W.)

More  big changes- I am adding one more thing to my plate- I have started a business called "Washington Oral Wellness".  For now, it's out of my home.  In June, I traveled to Los Angeles to complete my (official) training in Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy.
There's still so very much to learn, so while I may have the credentials, I will keep on educating myself.  In September I head down to Tuscan to attend the  American Academy of Physiological Medicine and Dentistry's Airway Summit.

W.O.W.  officially opens it doors on Friday, September 2nd.  We'll be available on Fridays and Saturdays by appointment.  The goal of W.O.W. is breathing re-training, swallowing, muscle re-education, and even noxious habit elimination- (think thumb sucking, pacifier dependency, or even blanket sucking.)  Walk through the airport and watch everyone with their head down, looking at their phone - airway problems in the making.  We can even do this therapy through video conferencing over the internet.

Stay tuned- there will be more on this soon!
You can reach me at barbaratritz@gmail.com, or through the contact section on the right side panel to learn more and schedule an appointment for evaluation.  Health really starts with the airway.
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Life is such a grand adventure.  For me, it's time to mix things up and move forward, even when those changes are hard.  I've been learning about airway, muscles, and all things tissue related, and how those impact the rest of the mouth/head/body.  How can we not incorporate that into comprehensive 21st Century oral care and total body wellness?  Heart disease, the oral-systemic connections, tempomandibular jaw pain, tongue ties, headaches, crooked teeth, open bites, drooling, malformed jaws, and small airways are not okay to ignore but are often beyond what the traditional dental office knows much about.  It is time for them to learn and grow so they can help you be healthy.

 You, my loyal reader, are curious and obviously want to learn, grow, and be healthy.  Good for you!

Hugs, and keep smiling with the smile you love!
Barbara