Monthly Archives: January 2013

Need a Dose of Commitment?

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Need A Dose Of Commitment?

If you had plans to change or improve or evolve in some way this year, I would love to know how you are doing!

Year after year, all of us who are regulars at the gym witness the “January Phenomenon.”  For about six weeks beginning at the end of December, there are too few parking spaces near the gym entrance.  It seems like long walks in the cold wearing only gym clothes is the norm until mid February.  Similarly, those of us who like to take classes – and I do love spin class – must arrive very early to claim an available bike as classes are generally full during that same time period.  Those that arrive in the nick of time are often bikeless and very disappointed.

Maintaining my commitment to exercise has never been an issue for me – I enjoy both working out as well as the people I’ve come to know at the gym.  As reported to you earlier this month, I began the “Clean” nutritional program again this year for the second time.  I felt great and had lost most of the holiday pounds which had been gained.  Then, came my birthday last week!  My wife loves to travel that week, so we went away for five days to “celebrate.”  Boy did we celebrate!  We traveled with two of our closest friends and played golf, ate great food, drank some nice wine, and forgot the cold weather – and our commitments.  Actually, for the first few days, except for some really nice wine, I ate only foods which were on the program and did not overindulge even a tiny bit.  On my birthday, fuggettaboutit!  What the heck, it was my birthday!
dentist check list

That one day turned into a four-day food fest, and I felt like the prior two and a half weeks were wasted.  But, not true!  On Monday I started the program in earnest all over again without any signs of withdrawal!   So, I’m back on track with goals in tact and a plan to succeed.  The discomfort in my arthritic knees and the mirror in my bedroom are all I need to stay on track.  In the back of my mind is always the thought that a little compromise grows into a big one resulting in a loss of focus and the end of commitment.  Rewarding one’s self is another story and can help us meet our obligations to ourselves for the long haul.  That’s my view.

So, I wonder.  What can you share about your commitments?  What helps you to meet your goals or resolutions?  What experience can you share to help others?  I’d love to hear from you!  You may add a comment on this blog, send me an email via our website at www.DesignsForDentalHealth.com , or post a comment on our Facebook page.  May you all enjoy smooth sailing in the direction you have chosen for your lives!  All the best in 2013!

Improve Your Workouts And Lessen TMJ Pain With Six Exercises

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Mariano Rocabado, DPT is a physical therapist who specializes in problems with the head, neck and spines. His work with Temporomandibular Joint Disorders (TMJ or TMD) is very extensive, and he developed an exercise program that is taught to all over the world to address postural relationships with the head to neck, neck to shoulders and lower jaw to upper jaw. The objective of this home exercise program is for patients to learn a new postural position, fight the soft tissue memory of the old position, restore the original muscle length-tension relationships, restore normal joint mobility and restore normal body balance.

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder is a term which encompasses inflammatory disorders of the jaw. Symptoms of TMJ may include headache, earache, neck pain, jaw tenderness and clicking or aching facial muscles. TMJ usually occurs when the muscles used for chewing and your jaw joint are out of balance.  The cause of TMJ is most commonly improper alignment of your teeth, and is exacerbated by stress and tooth grinding.

What is most interesting is that when the body’s posture is corrected, amazing things happen with regard to strength, flexibility and balance.  Similarly, there are bite appliances which place the jaw in its “physiologic” neuromuscular position.  Such appliances are used not only to treat TMJ but are also worn by athletes of all kinds to improve their performance – golfers, basketball players, football players, etc.  I have seen demonstrations of such “instant” improvements and they are amazing.  Feel free to ask me for a demonstration the next time that you visit the office.

I began using one of these exercises during my workouts in cycle classes which I have grown to love.  These spin classes have been the core of my cardiovascular exercise for many years now.  Proper posture improves performance while exercising and playing sports, and I find that that there is a simple maneuver to help ensure good body position to allow me to get the most of my workouts.  It’s the last exercise in the series described below.

Rocabado advocates that the program be performed by the patient at home, and it consists of six different exercises and six repetitions of each exercise, performed six times per day until symptoms subside. The Rocabado exercises emphasize correct postural position and help to combat the soft tissue memory of your old posture. Perform the exercises one after the other until your session is complete. It will take about one minute.

The six exercises:

  1. Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Position the tip just behind your teeth and take six deep breaths.
  2. Keep your tongue on the roof of your mouth and open and close your mouth six times.
  3. Your tongue remains on the roof of your mouth and two fingers are placed on the chin to open your mouth against gentle resistance. Following that, place your fingers on both sides of your jaw and move the jaw sideways six times.
  4. Place your hands behind your neck and bend your chin down as if nodding your head.
  5. Move your chin down and back as if making a double chin.
  6. Finally, correct your posture by lifting your ribs and chest upward while squeezing your shoulder blades together.

Perform six repetitions of these exercises six times a day.

Give these exercises a try.  If you feel pain while performing these exercises, stop doing them and consider calling us to arrange a TMJ screening or consultation about your symptoms.  If you have questions, feel free to call us at 908.359.6655 or send us an email via our website at www.DesignsForDentalHealth.com

New Year ~ Old Resolution: How Dr. Nadler eats “Clean”

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On January 2, I began my annual nutritional cleansing program as I have done for the past decade and a half.  After a solid month of holiday and party food, I usually have a few pounds to shed and just don’t feel 100 percent.

This year, just like last year, I began the twenty-one day “Clean” program, which I had heard about from another dentist who attends the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies, where I also studied.  Not only does this cleanse help me to lose weight – eight pounds so far – but, it also has changed the way I eat entirely.  And, most importantly, this program introduced an awareness of the quality and healthiness of the foods that my family and I eat.

I had never before heard of GMO’s – Genetically Modified Organisms.  These are foods which have been engineered for a variety of reasons to produce more crops, be more insect resistant, be bigger and so forth.  And, there are a growing number of consumers, health professionals and producers who feel that GMO’s can be hazardous to our health.  I guess this is why we see an ever-increasing assortment of organic and gluten-free products and dairy substitutes like almond milk in our grocery stores.

To get a better sense of what has been happening to our food supply, I recommend that you watch a 2008 movie called “Food, Inc.”  This 90-minute documentary created quite a stir in the agribusiness community and was highly rated by critics.  You may also wish to read a short article (read here) entitled “GMO alert:  top 10 genetically modified foods to avoid eating.”

As for the cleanse, the program is rather rigorous as there is only one solid meal per day for three weeks.  Only fresh, non-processed, preferably organic foods are consumed.  After the initial cleanse, different foods are reintroduced to the diet.  This way, you can easily see which foods may be having a negative effect on your health and well-being.  After last year’s cleanse, I learned that dairy (except eggs) were out for me.  I have also eliminated gluten and starches like potatoes.  The result?  More energy, excellent health, much less flab.

So, if this is of interest to you, check out the book CLEAN by AlejandroJunger, M.D.  If you have any questions about this program or my experiences with it, feel free to call me in the office at 908.359.6655 or send an email via our website at www. DesignsForDentalHealth.com

Finding ways to “zen” with Diabetes

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zen-gardenDiabetes patients may reduce depression and emotional problems through mindfulness based cognitive therapy!

For many patients, living with diabetes is no easy task. The day-to-day struggle of controlling the disease can take a toll on one’s mood. Being mindful of the moment may help diabetes patients boost their mental health.

Diabetes patients dealing with emotional problems may benefit from mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, according to a recent study.  In mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, patients learn to pay attention to their feelings of stress and depression while developing a new relationship with those feelings.

The idea is to help patients understand their negative feelings, to discover what makes them vulnerable to those feelings and to become aware of the factors that lead to those feelings.

Find out more about finding a “zen” in diabetes here!