Join Us for the Pink Pumpkin Run!

This is the second year of the Pink Pumpkin Run and we kind of feel like the proud parents of this event! While the Pink Pumpkin Run committee has been running this for two years, the idea of painting the pumpkins pink and giving back to the breast cancer cause started right here in our office. 

Dr. Wilk's wife, Julie, is a breast cancer survivor of 6 years! Her and her daughter (our marketing director!), Erin, started painting pumpkins years ago and then the entire staff got involved. Since then, the Pink Pumpkin Run committee has taken it up a few notches, but we here at Grand Avenue Dental Care are still the HOT PINK SPONSORS and we still paint pumpkins and decorate the office in pink. This year, you will even see us donning some Pink Pumpkin Run scrubs in October as well to show our support! 

We whole-heartedly believe in the mission of the Pink Pumpkin Run: to help local families affected by breast cancer, by providing basic daily needs in the form of gift cards and services. We also hope to encourage, empower and inspire our community, and the families within it, through our efforts!

We encourage you to take part in the day's events by running, walking or signing your kids up for the new Kid's Dash this year! Or paint some pumpkins pink and donate them to the event. Lastly, you can go online and donate to their cause and know that ALL money raised is given back to local families who need it. 

If you have any questions about this great event or how you can get involved, don't hesitate to ask! For more information on the Pink Pumpkin Run OR to sign up, please visit their website or Facebook page:

www.PinkPumpkinRunHartford.com                          www.facebook.com/PinkPumpkinRun

To Floss or Not to Floss? That is the Question.

There has been much said in recent weeks about that pesky habit your dentist and hygienist talk to you about every time you go in for a visit with them. Recently the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) has decided to not include flossing in their five year recommendations. In an article from Associated Press (AP), it was stated that this was based on the fact that there are not enough dependable clinical studies that show major differences between patients who floss and those who don’t. So, the question is should you floss or should you not worry about it?

Now, let’s clarify something. 

First, the DGAC has said that their recommendation had little to do with a lack of evidence to support flossing and more to do with the fact that they were focusing more on food and nutrient intake: for example, added sugar.

Second, looking at the studies that the AP brought into question, none of them said that flossing had ANY negative effect at all. Rather, the results were “weak” and/or “unreliable”.  So the studies were still praising the activity of flossing, there were just “weak” connections to a healthy mouth and some unreliable conclusions. These studies are hard to do because to truly get strong and reliable results, one would need a group of people to NOT floss for a certain length of time, as well as need a group of people to floss consistently for that same amount of time. Both of these criteria are hard to guarantee and make the ‘ideal’ study hard to come by.

Lastly, both the American Dental Association (ADA) and the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) still continue to recommend flossing to everyone. Dentists and other health care professionals who see patients everyday and see the results of ‘proper oral hygiene’ versus ‘not caring for your teeth’, are still standing by the “floss once a day” standard. 

Our own Dr. Wilk weighed in on the matter, “Whether or not flossing is scientifically proven to fight plaque is of little consequence when I see patients on a daily basis who do and do not floss. I can tell you that those patients who floss have much better overall oral hygiene and a lower incidence of plaque and cavities between their teeth.”

Dr. Dowden estimated that of all the decay she diagnoses, “I would say that more than half is interproximal decay- decay between the teeth. It’s a major clinical problem.” 

While flossing is a cost effective, relatively easy and fast at-home treatment, we find that many of our patients don’t adhere to a consistent flossing routine, which in turn can lead to plaque build-up, cavities and sometimes gingivitis or periodontal disease.

At Grand Avenue Dental Care, we stand by the ADA and the AAP and recommend that our patients floss once a day, in addition to brushing for two minutes, two times a day. Perhaps there will be a study in the future that will strongly link flossing to a decrease in plaque build-up between teeth, but in the meantime, we see the results on a daily basis. We are confident that the practice of flossing your teeth is a good one and we encourage all of our patients to continue to make this a part of their daily routine. As always, if you have questions, please feel free to reach out to us or your dental health care professional.

Sharing Smiles Kid's Day is nearly here!

This year marks the 4th annual Sharing Smiles Kid's Day on Saturday, July 30th from 10 am to 2pm! This started as a way to provide free dental care to children within our community who needed it and it has grown into a fundraiser for local children's organizations.

This year we will once again offer free cleanings, exams, fluoride treatments, sealants, fillings and extractions to children with our community who are in need of dental care. Most appointments are booked through the local chapter of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Washington County, but if you know of a child in need, please email Erin at erin@drpeterwilk.com as there are a few spots remaining. 

In addition to offering free dental care, we are also hosting a raffle with some amazing donated prizes from local businesses. Tickets are just a suggested $2.00 or 6 for $10.00 and you can choose which item your tickets go to. Items range from Mary Kay gift baskets to gift certificates for massages and facials to a Faith and Giggles gift basket and a pet-themed gift basket from the Hartford Animal Clinic. No matter what your interests are, there is something for everyone! 

On the day of our event, we will also host a cookout, complete with stories from Storyteller Jerry, Nick Wagner and his race car, games, Mickeys Custard and MORE. ALL proceeds raised from the cookout AND the raffle items will be split between two great organizations: The Boys and Girls Clubs of Washington County and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washington County. Both of these organizations offer big help to the children in our communities and we are happy to promote them and fundraise for them!

Lastly, we will host a school supply drive from now until the end of July. Please bring in school supplies to our office during any normal business hour OR on the day of the event.

For more information on these worthy charities, please visit:

Boys and Girls Clubs: http://www.wcbgc.org

Big Brothers Big Sisters: http://www.bbbswashco.org

 

Our NEW Newsletter!

Very soon, you will be receiving in the mail our very first, original, newsletter! It is filled with information about our office, our new staff members and upcoming events, and we are so excited to get it in your hands. 

In addition to all of that fun information, there is also information on our referral program AND a coupon that you could pass on to a friend or family member who is in need of a dentist. We are always happy to welcome and serve your referrals here!

We hope you enjoy this newsletter as an extension of our Sharing Smiles mission in your home. We see this as an extra way that we can communicate with you when you aren't in the office and we would be happy to hear from you too. So please feel free to contact us with any suggestions or thoughts as to how we could do things better - we are all ears and we are here to serve YOU!

Ask us how you can WIN YOUR DREAM VACATION!!

You may have seen the signs in the office or noticed the pictures of some of our finalists on our Facebook page. You may be wondering, "What is all this talk about a DREAM VACATION?!" Well, here's the low down.

We LOVE our patients. You've likely heard us say this before. There is no greater compliment than when one of our patients refers their friends or family members and entrusts us with their care. It is why we do what we do every day!

So, a few years ago, we decided that we should be doing more for our patients, especially when they pay us this great compliment of referring patients. We stepped up our referral program and created these contests! In 2016, we are giving away TWO (2) Dream Vacations! From January until June, we will choose FIVE (5) finalists EVERY month for a total of 30 finalists. From this pool of 30 finalists, ONE lucky person will be chosen at random to win a Dream Vacation of up to $7500! Then we will do the whole thing over again between July and December, giving one more Dream Vacation away to ONE lucky patient!

Entries into our WIN YOUR DREAM VACATION contest are easy to acquire! 

1. Become a new patient- just come and see us and you will get ONE entry!

2. Refer your friends and family to us: Every time you refer a new patient to us, you will get TWO entries!

3. Like us on Facebook! That will get you an entry!

4. Write an online review for us! Visit our office page on Facebook or google or Yelp and write us a review! It will get you three entries!

We will give away the first Dream Vacation at our patient appreciation event on July 15th! Stay tuned for more information and don't hesitate to ask our staff for more details on  how you can WIN YOUR DREAM VACATION! 

Where would you go??