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At Amundson Dental Associates we love learning trivia and interesting facts about Thanksgiving! This year, Dr. Roger and Scott Amundson wanted to share some trivia that might help you feel a bit smarter at the holiday dinner table and help create some great conversation with friends and family.

The Turkey

There is no historical evidence that turkey was eaten at the first Thanksgiving dinner. It was a three-day party shared by the Wamponoag Indians and the pilgrims in 1621. Historians say they likely ate venison and seafood.

According to National Geographic, the dinner at the Plymouth colony was in October and included about 50 English colonists and 90 American Indian men. The first Thanksgiving dinner could have included corn, geese, and pumpkin.

Today, turkey is the meat of choice. According to the National Turkey Association, about 690 million pounds of turkey are consumed during Thanksgiving, or about 46 million turkeys.

The Side Dishes

The green bean casserole became popular about 50 years ago. Created by the Campbell Soup Company, it remains a popular side dish. According to Campbell’s, it was developed when the company was creating an annual holiday cookbook. The company now sells about $20 million worth of cream of mushroom soup each year, which is a major part of the recipe.

While there were likely plenty of cranberries for the pilgrims and Indians to enjoy, sugar was a luxury. What we know today as cranberry sauce was not around in those early Thanksgiving days. About 750 million pounds of cranberries are produced each year in the US, with about 30 percent consumed on Thanksgiving.

The Parade

Since Thanksgiving did not become a national holiday until Lincoln declared it in 1863, the annual parades were not yearly events until much later. The biggest parade that continues to draw crowds is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Beginning in 1924 with about 400 employees, they marched from Convent Avenue to 145th Street in New York City. Famous for the huge hot-air balloons today, it was actually live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo that were the stars of the show then.

However you choose to spend your Thanksgiving holiday, we wish you a safe, happy and healthy holiday with those you love.

Brittney Goes to School!

Happy Thursday!

Last weekend, the sensory table was a hit; Kayden loves it!  He’ll wait for me to open it up and he begins to play.  It’s so fun to watch him explore and play on his own.  For a change up, we will put sand and dump trucks for him to experience.  Can you believe what kind of mess this might be?  Good thing it’s in the kitchen for “easy” clean up.

We are finishing our labs this week and will only be on campus for the practice class.  All others will be online.  During our in-clinic practice, we become familiar with our instruments practicing on each other.  It is a valuable experience to use them on each other.  Real life.  I’m staying positive and hoping they do not close our campus completely.  We do have a typodont, a mouth mannequin, that we practice with at home. It has helped a lot with the technique and hand placement.

See you next week.

Brittney

As the field of dentistry advances and the use of technology in the field increases, the concept of minimally invasive dentistry has emerged. Preservation of a healthy set of natural teeth for each patient should be the objective of every dentist. Minimally invasive dentistry is characterized by the following core beliefs:

• Regard original tissue as more valuable than its artificial counterpart.
• Preserve, rather than replace, original tissue.
• Focus on the prevention of disease above its treatment.
• When treatment is necessary, use invasive means as little as possible.

Prevention

• Prevention begins with good oral hygiene.
• Dental caries are considered an infectious disease.
• Early detection of caries and other diseases can prevent the spread of infection and, consequently, further damage to healthy tissue.
• Infection control can reduce the incidence of restoration practices by as much as 50 percent.
• Focus on remineralization of enamel and dentin as a preventive effort in treating caries.

Preservation

Our team at Amundson Dental Associates will tell you the goal of minimally invasive dentistry is to preserve as much original tissue as possible. The preservation of original tissue leaves a tooth stronger in structure than one which has been modified through invasive measures.

When a restoration, such as a filling, must be made to a tooth, a greater amount of healthy tooth tissue than actual decayed tissue is often removed. An estimated 50 to 71 percent of the work a dentist completes involves repair or replacement of previous restorations. The use of durable restoration materials decreases the need for later repair or restoration work.

Treatments

Tooth tissue can be preserved at a greater percentage through the use of innovative adhesive materials. Glass ionomer cements release minerals into the surrounding tooth tissue and help prevent future cavities. Resin-based composite and dentin bonding agents are designed to bond to the enamel and preserve it.

New technology and the invention of small, hand-held tools allow for a less-invasive form of restoration. One such form is air abrasion, a technique that involves using powerful air pressure to direct aluminum oxide particles toward the tooth, which results in a gentler, less-damaging cut to the tooth.

For more information about minimally-invasive surgeries, or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Roger and Scott Amundson, please give us a call at our convenient Grand Forks office!

Hello Everyone!

I want to begin by saying thank you to all the men and women who have served our country.

Another successful week in school has come and gone! We are continuing to learn how to master our scaling techniques. They also introduced us to a new instrument that cleans the root of the tooth. Which, is fascinating to know that the dental hygienist also cleans the surface of the tooth that is unseen by the eye. We are also learning the cranial nerves, how to assess the teeth and the anatomy of the molars. I have been able to take x-rays on close friends and family, which has been a great experience. I am thankful that they have all been such great troopers. It has allowed me to have the ability to take quality x-rays.

This weekend will be low key for my family, similar to all our weekends lately. Kayden just got a new sensory table. We are ready for all the fun activities planned; last night I filled it with water beads and different measuring cups and spoons. I will let you know how it goes next week.

See you next week.