A New Smile for a New Year

It’s 2018! Many of us are taking a deep breath of the crisp, January air and hoping this year is a little less crazy than the last! Canadians from coast to coast to coast will be reflecting on their successes and failures and deciding in which direction they want to go. Resolutions for fitness, health, and better budgeting are common, but here’s one you might not have thought of — the confidence of a new, beautiful smile.

Many of the big goals set in January are really hard. And that is, in part, because they’re vague, poorly defined, and require constant, ongoing change and vigilance. Simply put, they aren’t “SMART,” and that makes it hard to feel like you’ve ever really accomplished something. You can go to the gym every week for three months, but you quit in April. You’re more fit than you were in January, so did you fail your fitness goal or succeed? Clearly defined goals like: “by the end of 2018, I’m going to touch my toes,” or “this month, I will do 25 pushups in a row,” are much better. These two examples are Specific, Measurable, Action-Oriented, Realistic, and Time-Bound; they’re SMART! Here are our recommendations for your 2018 SMART goals.

See Your Dentist Twice!

We’re not talking about running into your dentist at CostCo — though nice try — we mean schedule two dental appointments that are 6 months apart and go to them! Seeing your Calgary dentist twice a year helps to reduce decay, prevent cavities, keep your mouth healthy!

Cut out the Sugary Drinks.

We know that Canadians love their pop. Whether they’re 8 or 80, many of our patients just can’t get enough of the sickly-sweet bubbly beverages. But we also haven’t met any Canadians who actually believe pop is good for them. That’s why what we’re actually talking about cutting out of your life is juice. A 250mL (1 cup) serving of coke has a whopping 27 grams of sugar, but the same serving size of unsweetened orange juice is not far behind: 22 grams of sugar. What that means is a single cup of OJ is giving your child their entire recommended dose of sugar for an entire day. And just for clarity, orange was the least sweet option. Grapefruit juice has just over 23 grams per 250mL, unsweetened apple juice contains 25 grams of sugar for a 250mL serving, and grape juice has more sugar than pop at 38 grams per 1 cup serving.

Create a Confident, Beautiful Smile.

If you’ve always been a little embarrassed by your smile, or you’re finding yourself looking at old photographs with wistful longing, we suggest making your 2018 goal recapturing your confidence! Invisalign is an effective orthodontic treatment that recreates your smile, fixes your bite, and looks discrete during the entire treatment! In particular, Invisalign is a fantastic tool for professional adults who want to improve their smile, but who work publicly as realtors, lawyers, or similar professions and can’t have wires and brackets infantilizing them for the next 3 years. Metro Dental Care also offers treatments to smooth wrinkles, vanquish sagging cheeks, and restore your youthful appearance.

Regardless of which goals you set your sights on for 2018, the friendly Calgary dental team at Metro Dental Care wish you the best of luck and complete success. Don’t forget to schedule your dental appoints for 2018, and we look forward to hearing about how your goals are going then!