Thanksgiving Dental Tips

Thanksgiving is just around the corner...a delicious turkey, creamy mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, cranberry relish, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, sugary drinks and more desserts! Don't get us wrong, we at the dental office indulge once in awhile too, but it's important to remember your oral health after a day of eating delicious holiday sweets.

If you're looking for a few tips on how to keep not only your smile healthy but also your waistline, consider the following.

• Try to avoid a lot of starchy foods. These foods contain a lot of sugars which we all know are bad for our health and teeth. It's OK to have a dinner roll but try not to over indulge!
• Sweet potatoes. A classic Thanksgiving side dish. If you can, make them yourself and avoid using marshmallows. Although sweet potatoes are delicious with the extra sweetener, it can be a sneaky sugar in your meal that you could eliminate easily.
• If your family eats a green bean casserole, have you ever tried making it without canned soups? Eliminating these can eliminate extra carbs, sugars and high sodium intakes. Here's a recipe you can try out: http://bit.ly/1rUWqlj
• If the first few tips are not an option, have you tried a gluten free stuffing? Trying this will also help eliminate sugars in your feast! 
• Try to drink lots of water prior to eating your Thanksgiving meal. It will help fill your tummy a little and you won't eat quite as much and you won't have to add an extra notch to your belt or slip into those Thanksgiving "fat pants" for the night.
• Finally, when you're finished with your meal, relax with your family of course! But don't forget to brush and floss after. This will ensure any sugars that were in your Thanksgiving diet are removed from your teeth and gums and as a result plaque and build up will be eliminated.

If you're looking for more great healthy Thanksgiving recipes, we recommend thefoodnetwork.com . They have so many tasty options that you, your family and friends will love!

Here's a great plate example for a balanced Thanksgiving meal.

Glacier Dental

First and foremost we want to say Happy Veteran's day to our patients, family and friends who have served and who are currently serving. Your sacrifices give all of us our freedom in this country and it is truly appreciated by each and every Glacier Dental team member.

Secondly, as a locally owned practice in the Oshkosh area, we want to ensure we are doing our part to give back to the community. Not only do we want promote excellent oral health, we want to donate what we can and help Oshkosh and the surrounding area to help it become and even better place to live.

We are always trying to volunteer time or make donations to the area. Currently we have two programs going on. The first is our $19.95 Boys and Girls Club donation. We are offering new patients a $19.95 cleaning, exam and x-rays and all proceeds will be going to the Oshkosh Boys and Girls club. The Boys and Girls Club serves more than 4,000 youth in Oshkosh and surrounding areas. They have provided a safe place to grow and learn for more than 45 years. Currently the are in need of board games, art supplies, musical instruments, electronics and toiletries. These donations will help the club tremendously!

The second program we have going on in office is our food drive! We are collecting as many canned goods as possible throughout the month of November and we will donate them to the local food pantry. We are also going to help them stock their shelves so anyone in need of help can have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner! If you're in the area, please drop off any donations you may have, we truly appreciate your help!!

2014 Food Pantry Donation

Canned Food Drive at Glacier Dental

Glacier Dental has started a wonderful tradition! Each year our office collects as much canned goods as possible to donate to the less fortunate around Thanksgiving.

If you have extra boxes of Mac ‘n Cheese or cans of soup that you are willing to split with, please drop them off at our office either at your next visit or when you’re on your way to town.

In 2014 we had enough food to fill four shopping carts! You would not believe the smile on the faces of the volunteers at the food pantry as well as the smiles on all the customers in need of these donations.

With a little bit of your support and Glacier Dental’s, we can help make Oshkosh an even better place to live!

Thank you!