Dr. Pascal Dalseth Archives - Page 5 of 6 - Dalseth Family & Cosmetic Dentistry

Make 2012 the year to improve your oral health

December 26, 2011 by Dalseth Family Dentistry

Many folks consider the beginning of a new year a time to not only reflect on the year that was, but also to set personal goals for the upcoming year. How are you planning to improve your health and happiness in 2012? Dr. Pascal Dalseth and our team recommend that you make a New Year’s resolution to benefit your oral health!

It is important that New Year’s resolutions are reasonable and attainable, and that they improve your overall quality of life—for example, did you know that flossing every day is the very best way to prevent periodontal, or gum, disease? Using a straw when drinking sugary beverages can also help prevent cavities. There are many small steps that you can take to prevent cavities, oral infections and bad breath.

Be sure to give us a call if you need a few suggestions on ways to improve your oral health, or visit this helpful article from our friends at the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD). After all, we know your oral health is about more than just a beautiful smile.

Happy New Year!

Beware of those Christmas goodies!

December 19, 2011 by Dalseth Family Dentistry

Maintaining a healthy diet over the holiday season can prove a difficult task. After all, who can resist the tasty treats of Christmas? With grandma and everybody else offering you candy, chocolate logs or Christmas pudding, you just can’t say “I’ll pass” each time. But trouble lurks: every time you chow down on that chocolate or candy, the bacteria in your mouth have a feast on the sugar—at your expense. The sugar turns into acid, and the acid eats away at the enamel on your teeth. Then, you start getting cavities.

Instead, our friends at the American Dental Association recommend nuts or dried fruit, which are a nice alternative to sugars and have a greater nutritional value—and can satisfy your sweet tooth! Both nuts and fruit are a great source of fiber and act as an appetite suppressant. In addition, nuts are a great source of Vitamin E, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B9, nutrients that contribute to a healthy immune system. Nuts are also a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, which have been linked with reducing heart disease and lower blood pressure.

If you must indulge in chocolaty goodness this Christmas or holiday season, remember to brush your teeth after eating sugary treats. Hope this helps! Give us a call if you have any questions!

– Dr. Pascal Dalseth and team

Getting married this fall? Smile bright!

December 2, 2011 by Dalseth Family Dentistry

It’s Fall. Leaves are turning shades of orange and red, the wind is picking up and getting cooler, and pumpkin patches are full of bright orange pumpkins. Families gather together, kids head out trick-or-treating, and as always, wedding bells are ringing. That’s right, Fall is one of the best times of year to tie the knot! If you are gearing up for a wedding this Fall, consider matching that white dress to a perfectly white smile!

At Dalseth Family & Cosmetic Dentistry we offer in-office tooth whitening for the bride, the groom, or the entire wedding party! You get the girls together to get their nails done, and now you can get them together to get their teeth done!

In-office whitening is the quickest, most effective way to achieve whiter teeth. Because we are dental professionals, we have the expertise to use higher percentages of whitening agents than the at-home systems allow. So you can get a brighter white, usually in just one visit!

Give us a ring and let us add some extra sparkle to your “I do”!

A personal Thanksgiving message from Dr. Pascal Dalseth

November 23, 2011 by Dalseth Family Dentistry

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of year. It is a time that brings families together, gives us an opportunity to appreciate and be thankful for all that has happened throughout the year. Thanksgiving also seems to be the commencement of the giving season and thinking about helping those less fortunate than most of us. At Dalseth Family and Cosmetic Dentistry we also believe in giving back.

This past week we had the opportunity to visit Feed My Starving Children again. It is a wonderful organization that allows volunteers to pack and ship nutrient rich meals to children in countries where starvation is cause by drought, political unrest, or natural disasters. Last Friday the entire staff packed 25,056 meals, which is enough to feed 65 children for 1 year. At the end, a FMSC employee shared a story about an 8 year boy for EL Salvador who weighed 19 pounds, after 6 months of Manna pack meals the young boy weighed 74 pounds. His stomach was no longer distended and his hair had begun to grow. It is an amazing story of how a few people working together can help so many.

The one thing I took away from when volunteering at FMSC was, that sometime the greatest gift a person can give is one of time. The gift of time is important, whether you are reading to your child, listening to your grandparents share a story, picking up trash along the roadway, or working at a foodshelf. Without your gift of time, you are leaving a void that cannot be filled.

On this week of Thanksgiving all of us at Dalseth Family and Cosmetic Dentistry wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season and want to thank you all you for sharing your time with us.

Dr. Pascal

Giving thanks this holiday season

November 22, 2011 by Dalseth Family Dentistry

With the start of the busy holiday season right around the corner, our staff at Dalseth Family & Cosmetic Dentistry wanted to stop for a moment to say how thankful we are to have you in our dental family. We realize that our practice thrives because of great patients like you. We are the lucky ones because we not only help keep you and your smile healthy, but we also have the pleasure of knowing you and your loved ones.

As always, if you know anyone we can help, just let us know. We promise to give them the same quality care that we have given you over the years.

We hope that this Thanksgiving and holiday season brings fond memories. Thank you for being part of our family.

A child’s first visit to the dentist

November 15, 2011 by Dalseth Family Dentistry

Visiting the dentist for the first time should be a positive experience, one that child would like to repeat again and again. When I was young I loved to go to the dentist, but perhaps that is because my father was my dentist. But as kids I think we are all looking for the same thing: a cheerful, friendly person who is willing to explain and show things before they were done. A prize at the end is also a plus! Dalseth Family & Cosmetic Dentistry has seen families for multiple generations now, and even some of the young adults are telling their children about the prize basket they had when they came to see our office as a kids. It’s the same basket that we use today!

I think it is important for parents to talk to their children about coming to the dentist in a positive, non-threatening manner. The majority of the kids we see at our office love to come back for their next appointments. Their parents love to share this, and it makes us feel good about the work we do.

For our staff we have family night. We see all the staffs’ kids and spouses, and clean their teeth. When we are all done we have a pizza party and ice cream! We try to make everyone’s dental experience positive and enjoyable.

-Dr. Pascal Dalseth

All about tooth sensitivity

November 7, 2011 by Dalseth Family Dentistry

At Dalseth Family & Cosmetic Dentistry, we know that tooth sensitivity affects a lot of people. While the reasons may vary, there are many different ways to help those with tooth sensitivity:

1. One reason that tooth sensitivity may occur is because of gum recession. Exposure of the root surface can dramatically increase sensitivity. An exposed root has open channels into the nerve sensors, which can be activated by hot, cold and sweets. Regular use of a sensitivity tooth paste with the active ingredient 5% potassium nitrate can close or restrict these channels, which can help reduce tooth sensitivity.

2. Clenching and grinding of teeth can also contribute to sensitivity. If force is placed on the teeth, it can aggravate the nerves. Some theories state that clenching and grinding is one cause of gum recession and abfraction (the loss of tooth structure from force) of the tooth. Abfraction lesions are small cracks or notches in your teeth caused by chewing. Clenching your teeth, as well as chewing and biting put pressure on your teeth. Over time, this pressure can cause cracks and splits in the enamel, or outer layer, of your teeth.

Abfraction lesions can show up as notches on the chewing points (cusps) of the back teeth. They can also show up as lines or cracks on the outside of a tooth. You can see them if you look in a mirror and shine a flashlight or bright light on your teeth. The lines usually run up and down the length of a tooth. You also can have cracks in the neck of a tooth, which is the part closest to, or just under, your gums.

Wearing a bite splint can reduce the force on your teeth by decreasing the contraction force of your chewing muscles. We can also give you some self-help tips to prevent this common stress release at our office.

If people have extreme sensitivity at the time of their cleaning, we can apply a special polishing paste to protect the teeth which can last a couple of months. We can also apply a topical anesthetic to the gums and teeth that help relieve sensitivity during your cleaning.

Another way to help reduce tooth sensitivity is with a prescription toothpaste, such as Prevident 5000. It contains 5 times the amount of fluoride found in regular toothpaste. It can work like potassium nitrate to reduce sensitivity, while also greatly decreasing your risk of cavities.

If you have any questions about tooth sensitivity, feel free to give us a call, ask us on Facebook, or ask us at your next appointment.

November activities at our office!

November 2, 2011 by Dalseth Family Dentistry

November is a busy month for all of us at Dalseth Family & Cosmetic Dentistry. It’s a month where we typically try to give back to the community and our staff. It is just one way to say thank you for supporting us all these years.

1. First, we are taking an afternnoon to go to Feed My Starving Children. As a team we pack meals to be shipped to people in impoverished nations, those strictened by drought and starvation. These meals contain all the essential vitamins, protein, and carbohydrates to prevent malnutrition and disease. It is a great way to bond as a team and think about those less fortunate.

2. Dr. Stephen Dalseth, Jodi, and Angie are headed to Haiti on Friday for a 10-day mission trip. They will be working at a sister parish of Church of the Risen Savior in Burnsville. Their main goal is to clean all of the school children’s teeth, check for cavities, and place sealants on their permanent molars to protect against cavities. They will also be treating adults, primarily through exodontia, or extracting teeth. Dr. Dalseth is very passionate about this trip and has gone for several years. He serves on the committee that organizes and plans this annnual trip. At the office we always look forward to a presentation and stories of the experiences they have had. You can follow the trip and learn more by visiting the Risen Savior Catholic Community website.

3. We also sponsor a couple of famillies over the holidays through Armful of Love. Members of our staff make a donation, and the office matches the dollar amount. Last year we were able to sponsor two families! We go shopping for the families and then wrap all of the gifts so Armful of Love can deliever them. It is a great way to give back during the holiday season.

4. Lastly, we have a family night at the office. During this family night, the spouses and children of our staff come to the office after hours and we have a tooth cleaning party! After the tooth cleaning, we have a pizza party. The kids love playing together and it is a great way to see the all of the families from our office together. It is amazing how much the kids change every six months. Look for pictures on our website and Facebook page in the near future!

We hope you all have a great November!

Stories of comfort at Dalseth Family and Cosmetic Dentistry

October 27, 2011 by Dalseth Family Dentistry

Drs. Stephen Dalseth, Pascal Dalseth, Todd Weber, and Sara Michel and team strive to make our patients feel comfortable and safe in the office at each appointment. We love being able to give patients a beautiful smile. Here are a few great stories from our office:

We met a new patient who came to Dalseth Family & Cosmetic Dentistry to get a required check up before deployment. He was so anxious that he refused to come in past the doorway. We allowed him to sit in the doctors chair and talk about his concerns until he felt comfortable for us to take a look in his mouth. It turned out that he needed a lot of work done. Every tooth he had required some type of treatment. He knew that his anxiety and deeply rooted fear of the dentist caused him to have very infrequent visits to the dentist and his needs continued to pile up. We started out slow. Scheduling a few things at a time. Always making sure that he was comfortable. His treatment needs resulted in him having a total mouth reconstruction. He was deployed and spent a few years overseas. He told us when all his work was completed that we gave him his smile back. He had been embarrassed about the condition of his mouth for years and always held his hand over his mouth when talking and knew people thought he was crabby all the time because they never saw him smile. Its great to see that he is comfortable and trusting of our care and his renewed self confidence.

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We have a patient that has a terminal medical condition. His doctors haven’t given him very long to live. His disease has ravaged both his body and mouth. Now most people would think that your teeth would be the last thing on your mind if your going through this. When he came in and told us that he wanted us to fix his smile he said his reason for going through the work wasn’t for him but so that in his last days with his family they get to see his nice smile. He always comes in with a warm smile and kind words.

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We had a patient who struggled her whole life with mouth pain and what she thought were “ugly” teeth. She was terrified of the dentist and extremely embarrassed to have anyone see her teeth. She worked in a field that required that she have constant contact with the public and knew that not feeling comfortable to smile hindered that. She was a great candidate for implants and eventually had her mouth restored to great function and an even greater appearance. Not only was she able to smile the way she always wanted but she is one of a very small number of women that was happy to be able to gain weight since she no longer had any mouth pain.

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We see an older gentlemen who has Alzheimers. His wife is determined to make sure that his teeth are given the proper treatment. His memory of recent events is not as sharp as it used to be but he has a million stories to share about the life he’s led. He has taught us how to hunt and prepare a deer. He’s shown us the pictures to support his story. They are a sweet couple who always ask about how the staff and their children are doing despite their own trying circumstances.

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We saw a little girl for a cleaning one day. She was neither shy nor anxious. We giggled our way through the cleaning and she requested a certain toothbrush that we didn’t have on hand in the room. When I stepped out of the room to get it she thought it would be funny to play hide and seek. Fortunately she wasn’t a very good hider and her pigtail gave her away.