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Let's Talk About Child Abuse Prevention with Cedar Rapids Pediatric Dentistry

April 15th, 2019

While April is known for showers and spring flowers, it’s also National Child Abuse
Prevention Month. President Barack Obama issued a Presidential proclamation in 2016
saying, “During National Child Abuse Prevention Month, we recommit to giving every
child a chance to succeed and to ensuring that every child grows up in a safe, stable,
and nurturing environment that is free from abuse and neglect.” 2019’s theme is “Strong
and Thriving Families.” You may have noticed blue pinwheels while you’re out and
about: these are a symbol for child abuse prevention.
I know that this is a difficult topic, but it is a really important one and something we
should be talking about. It is important for us to be advocates for children and families
and to help them find the resources they need. Protecting children is everyone’s job.
The World Health Organization defines child abuse as “all forms of physical and/or
emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial or
other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to a child’s health, survival,
development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power.”
There’s a 2019 Resource Prevention Guide and Tip Sheets that deal with subjects like temper
tantrums, keeping your family strong, stress and finances, building resilience in your
kids and much more!
The following are six protective factors for families:
1.  Nurturing and attachment
2.  Knowledge of parenting and child development
3.  Parental resilience
4.  Social connections
5.  Concrete support for families
6.  Social and emotional competence of children
It would be wonderful if we could all commit to preventing child abuse and neglect and
remember that every child matters. Let’s stand up, not only for our children, but for all
children in our community with whom we come in contact on a daily basis. We can
make a difference by learning more about this difficult topic and loving, noticing, and
supporting those around us.

Tags: child abuse, kids dentist, pediatric dentist

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Let’s Talk Staying Healthy with Cedar Rapids Pediatric Dentistry

January 23rd, 2019

Did you know that saliva is one of your body’s defenses against viruses and bacteria?

Keeping your mouth healthy helps keep your whole body healthy. Brushing, flossing, staying hydrated, and visiting the best kid dentist in Cedar Rapids, IA twice a year helps your saliva do its germ fighting job! In addition to keeping your mouth healthy, here are some little things with big impact to keep the bugs at bay.

Good hygiene habits like washing your hands often can help stop germs from spreading.

If soap and water aren’t available, use an alcohol based hand sanitizer. Washing your hands regularly reduces the chance of spreading respiratory and tummy bugs, so get your kids in the habit when they leave school, after play-dates, and before meals. The amount of time you wash your hands is also very important! 15-20 seconds of hand washing is recommended, so teach your children to sing Happy Birthday to themselves twice before they finish scrubbing.

If you are feeling sick, stay home!
Keep Cedar Rapids healthy by limiting interaction whenever necessary until you feel better. Covering your mouth and nose with a tissue or your elbow when coughing and sneezing is also a great habit to teach little ones (Pssst - use your elbow!). Ask their teacher and day care providers if they have enough tissues and hand sanitizer for their classroom. We know that all of the teachers of Cedar Rapids Community School District, College Community School District, Lin Mar, Marion, Benton Community, and Clear Creek Amana School District will appreciate it! (Phew!  We cover a LOT of school districts with our patients :))

Germs enter our bodies through our eyes, nose, and mouth.

Keep hands from touching faces (including their own) as much as possible. Teach your child never to share a straw, cup, or toothbrush, and be sure to replace toothbrushes whenever someone has been sick. Get everyone at home on board with cleaning their doorknobs and room surfaces. Keeping sanitizing wipes or a spray bottle filled with kid-safe cleaning spray in plain site around the house is a great reminder to keep things clean and healthy.

Exercside!

Harley A. Rotbart, M.D., says that, ‘"Exercise is better than any advertised cure or miracle." His studies show that regular, moderate exercise can reduce the number of cold and flu episodes that occur over the course of a year by 25-50 percent, possibly by boosting the circulation of infection-fighting cells. Make sure everyone is getting physical activity (spend some time playing outside if it isn't too cold or running around the Play Station!), their recommended hours of sleep, is drinking enough water, and eating nutritious food.

Meals with plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables will help boost your child's immune system.

Look for foods rich in vitamin C (broccoli, strawberries, and oranges) and vitamin D (tuna, fortified milk, and cereals). Eating yogurt with active cultures (probiotics) can also help build defenses. All of the healthy kid recipes we’ve shared in the past year are a great place to start! See them all here!
Dr. Swenson, Dr. Geneser and Dr. Diehl and the rest of our care team at Cedar Rapids Pediatric Dentistry wish you a very healthy and happy 2019!

Tags: dentistry, healthy, hygiene

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Holiday Traditions Around the World with Dr. Geneser of CR Pediatric Dentistry

December 17th, 2018

Holiday traditions are everywhere!  And different places around the world celebrate in many unique and cool ways.

Italy

In Italy, gifts are given on the day of the Feast of the Epiphany. A kind witch named La Befana flies around on her broomstick delivering gifts through the chimney and filling stockings. Instead of the milk and cookies we leave for Santa Claus, families leave a plate of broccoli and sausage and a glass of wine for La Befana.

Ecuador
Ecuadorian families make a man made out of straw for New Year’s Eve. They write a will for the straw man that lists each family member’s faults for the previous year, then they burn the straw man and his will in hopes of letting go of those faults for the new year.
Asia
Many Asian countries celebrate Lunar New Year by exchanging red envelopes, or silk pouches with money. The exchange is said to bring luck to the giver and recipient for the new year. Another tradition is to clean your house before the Lunar New Year to sweep away bad luck. Families then wait a few days before sweeping after the celebration so that they don’t sweep away the good luck from the paper wrappings, firecrackers, and wrappers on the floor.
Portugal
In Portugal, instead of a traditional Nativity scene, families build the entire city of Bethlehem beneath their Christmas Tree - sometimes it's the size of an entire room!  The Manger scene is accompanied by shepherds with sheep and animals in fields, village people doing laundry, people dancing... anything you can think of.  People will visit door to door with neighbors, family and friends to see each other's "Pesebre" creation.
India

Hindu families celebrate the Diwali Festival of Light in November. The triumph of light over darkness is celebrated with feasts, community performances, and exchanging of gifts. The celebration honors Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, and gifts given during the five day festival are symbols of luck and future good fortune. The Diwali Festival also bring together politicians and community leaders and has become symbolic of inclusion and peace.

Austria
In Austria, Santa has an evil counterpart named Krampus. He is said to roam the streets to frighten children. He rattles chains and bells and whisks away naughty children. YIKES!
Colombia
In Columbia December 6th is celebrated as the, ‘Day of the Little Candles.’ To honor the Virgin Mary and the Immaculate Conception, candles are placed in paper lanterns in windows and front yards.
Venezuela
In Caracas, Venezuela, church goers wear roller skates to Christmas Eve service! The streets are closed so that the skaters can take over the roads on their way to mass. Do you think the Cedar Rapids Police Department would be okay with us closing the streets on December 24th this year?  Hmmm...

Iceland
In Iceland, 13 mischievous characters called the Ice Lads come out to play. In the 13 days leading up to Christmas, they leave treats in the shoes of good children, and rotten potatoes in the shoes of bad children!

Japan
In Japan it has become a tradition to have a feast from Kentucky Fried Chicken on ChristmasEve.

Wales
In Wales, from Christmas to mid-January, groups of people go out caroling with one person dressed as a dead horse. Excuse me?

Ukraine
To welcome good luck in the new year, Ukrainian families decorate their Christmas trees with spider webs. There is a story of a poor family who had no money to buy decorations. When they woke on Christmas morning, they found that spiders had spun beautiful webs to decorate the
tree.
What are your family traditions? What do you love about the holidays in Iowa?

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Gratitude with Cedar Rapids Pediatric Dentistry

November 25th, 2018

The topic of GRATITUDE seems to be everywhere this month. Why is it important? How do we
incorporate it into our kids’ lives? Why is a Pediatric Dentist office in Cedar Rapids
talking about gratitude?
Robert A. Emmins, Ph.D. is a professor of psychology and gratitude expert at UC Davis who
has spent years researching how gratitude practices impact overall mental and physical health.
He has found that people who are grateful have higher self esteem, are more resilient, less
retaliatory, and happier overall.

Attitude of Gratitude

-Set up a gratitude station at your house for the holiday season. Create the
opportunity for people to share with their family members what makes them feel grateful
about them. For ours, we put a piece of Kraft Paper on the wall and then taped a lunch bag for each
family member onto it. We put some index cards and pencils on the table below and voila! A
place to reflect on gratitude and share those feelings with the ones we love most. It could also
be as simple as putting a notebook in a common area for everyone to share what they’re
grateful for.

Gratitude scavenger hunt

-Explore kid friendly areas of Cedar Rapids in teams of two and make
sure each team has a camera or camera phone. Give everyone a list of photos to hunt for
related to things that make them feel grateful. Examples: Find something that makes you happy.
Find something that makes someone in your family smile. Find something that you love to smell.
Find something that is your favorite color. Find something you are thankful for in nature. Find
something that you can turn into a gift for someone else. After your hunt, have everyone share
the treasures they captured.

Family Research Project

-Take advantage of family get togethers and turn your kids into investigative journalists! Have
them ask family members about what they’re grateful for and record their answers using your phone.

Flip it Around

-Take a recent negative experience (a bad grade, a lost game, a behavior that could
put you on Santa’s Naughty List) and create a positive narrative around it by focusing on
lessons learned.
Example: On our last visit to Cedar Rapids Pediatric Dentistry (Cedar Rapids’ best dentist
for kids - wink wink) we had a cavity that needed to be fixed. We learned that getting a filling
isn’t as scary as we thought, and that we need to spend more time brushing, flossing, and eating
healthy foods so we don't get any more cavities!
As you can tell, we want the kids of Cedar Rapids to be healthy physically and mentally.
Practicing gratitude leads to lots of smiles.

Tags: grateful, gratitude, pediatric dentist, thankful, thanksgiving

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Cedar Rapids
2218 1st Ave NE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402
 (319) 364-2413
marion
960 Barrington Pkwy
Marion, IA 52302
 (319) 377-5155