Your Special Smiles PLLC

At first glance, this doesn't look like a glamorous or exciting or exotic photo. All wheelchair users recognize it right away. It's the button to activate an automatic door opener. Every now and then we find them, usually at hospitals, medical facilities, public/government buildings, and occasionally museums or other sights/attractions in tourist areas. The only city I've ever been to where they were absolutely everywhere was Toronto, and I loved Toronto for it.

That is, until I visited Fargo this past week. It's the largest city in North Dakota, yet only has a population of roughly 129,000 people. The downtown area is very charming, but small, and doesn't have any high-rises or a particularly high-tech or ultra modern feel. Yet, these door opener buttons were absolutely EVERYWHERE. I'm talking hotels, restaurants, stores, small and older establishments. It got to the point where I actually expected them, which is very weird for me. 

I did stay mostly in the central downtown area, but there at least, the sidewalks were very wide, smooth, the curb cuts were fantastic, and it was very easy to roll around. I could get into almost every single store or restaurant very easily, and for the doors that didn't have openers, there was always somebody very willing to open the door for me. Fargo gets an A+ for me in the accessibility department, and it's so cool to have a city and business owners that truly consider us. 

Visit Fargo-Moorhead

We are so thankful to have had the opportunity to utilize HRSA sub-grant funding to develop a program to help people in assisted living with regularly cleaning their teeth utilizing teledentistry. We saw huge improvements in oral health for the residents who participated in our pilot program. It is now bitter sweet. While we have learned how much of a difference we can make, we are at the end of the grant timeline. At the end of this month, our services are no longer funded. This service is not cheap to provide and many residents can not afford to cover the costs. We have partnered with the Idaho Healthcare Association Foundation to enable individuals and businesses to help us keep this going through tax deductible donations. Check out our video and see if this is something you or your business would want to support. Dr. Brooke has donated to keep us going for a couple of months, but after that we have to rely on the generosity of others.

Donations can be made at: https://www.idhca.org/about/ihca-foundation/

Learn more about this program by watching this short video: https://youtu.be/amvo5Stkm1Y

You can also see more about this program on our website: https://www.yourspecialsmiles.com/portable-dentistry

https://youtu.be/amvo5Stkm1Y

Generic Video of Guided Oral Hygiene and Assisted Oral Hygiene Two programs developed in Idaho that improve oral home hygiene programs for people who are unable to perform their daily recommendations.

Did you know April is Autism Awareness Month?

Autism Spectrum Disorder is an intellectual disability often accompanied by physical limitations and can come with oral manifestations. One of the most difficult challenges on the part of the dental provider is helping the patient and caregiver understand the importance of home care.
⁠
Our blog explores why it's most beneficial (and easiest!) to teach in a way that your patients learn best and how teledentistry can be a great resource for doing so!⁠

Read Now: https://hubs.li/Q018PHDV0

Day 3 NMTC

Day 2: National Mobile and Teledentistry Conference:

Our team rocked registration, then attended some fun and exciting courses.

Dr. Brooke gave a course … lots were interested! We were excited to see it was standing room only! Great to see such interest in special care and geriatrics!

Then Carolina Lopez CNA hosted a wonderful fireside chat that had many people from all over the country engaged taking about oral health from a CNA’s perspective.

After that everyone went their separate ways for fun night with family and friends.

Day 1 : National Mobile and Teledental Conference

Dr. Brooke served on a panel discussion and Jingjing Qian and Carolina Lopez worked on photography techniques during Mouthwatch’s excellent teledentistry pre-conference workshop!

After all the learning, they went zip lining to Fremont St.

We were excited for Maria Santana and Ivy Burgess to come tomorrow !

Maria CNA , Carolina CNA , Dr.Brooke, and Jingjing RDH, EA will share our program at the National Mobile and Teledental conference.

We shared last year as well. A person came up to Dr. Brooke and said that she now works with CNAs on her team. This is what it is about. Sharing information 🙂.

Watching teledent videos of wiggly patients inspired Dr. Brooke to make this movie poster …

Check this out:

https://henryschein-dental.zoom.us/webinar/register/4916412213874/WN_EWw-YAbxRNuQQuHZzFcYMw

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: The Dental Provider's Role in the Journey of Cancer Treatment. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Cancer accounts for 23% of deaths in the U.S., and is a devastating disease that has many physical, emotional, and social implications. Cancer treatment can significantly impact oral health and place the patient at risk for several dental diseases. Therefore, Dental providers play an integral role i...

Your Special Smiles PLLC updated their business hours.

Your Special Smiles PLLC updated their website address.

Welcome to the team Vicky! What a great addition ! So fun seeing some of our great patients !

https://ebusiness.ada.org/education/CourseCatalog.aspx =%20%20Caregivers%20and%20Families%20Preventing%20Oral%20Diseases%20for%20Patients%20who%20Have%20Special%20Healthcare%20Needs&sort=relevancy

Thanks ADA. SO happy to be a part of this!

ebusiness.ada.org

https://ebusiness.ada.org/education/viewcourse.aspx?id=621

Check out this great course from the ADA!

- the Dental Office more Inclusive for Patients who have Special Healthcare  

Today Dr. Brooke is sick. She is staying home and away from people. She is not super sick, but she doesn’t want to get others sick. She won’t let the day go to waist- she will use her time in bed to study and become better.

https://catalog.ada.org/catalog/the-ada-practical-guide-to-patients-with-medical-conditions-1857

ADA Catalog professional resources for reference ADA Catalog category with dental reference books and e-books on HIPAA, OSHA, coding, soft tissue oral disease, medical conditions, substance use disorders.

Today is a learning day! Dr. Brooke is completing some great courses to refresh and learn new things. Anyone who wants to join, it is free! Also- you can see a glimpse into in our program if you take our course in the series 🙂

You can watch at a snail pace, A regular pace or a bunny. However you want to learn! (probably my favorite part)

https://cde.dental.upenn.edu/LectureHall/CourseCatalog

Penn Dental Medicine CDE Welcome to the Penn Dental Medicine Continuing Dental Education Portal. Learners at all levels can access a wide range of CDE offerings through live webinars, on demand courses and more. The portal is also a learning management system where learners can manage their own profiles, customize their lea...

Today Jingjing Qian and Carolina Lopez worked hard at Creekside! So proud of these ladies and all they do for the residents. Makes me happy to see so many instruments to sterilize because it means many patients were made healthier today!

So awesome :)

We are Thankful for our donors! Happy Thanksgiving!

Great things happening !

Exciting news! A new and first of its kind curriculum has been developed by nursing faculty at the Golisano Institute for Developmental Disability Nursing at St. John Fisher College to prepare nurses to care for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities. The curriculum is being piloted in the Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Residency program at Highland Family Medicine in Rochester, NY, and will then be distributed to similar residency programs nationwide.
See story: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-curriculum-prepares-nurses-to-care-for-individuals-with-developmental-disabilities-301428462.html

Happy Birthday to a legend !

Today is Dr. Temple Grandin's Birthday, Sunday August 29th. She has done amazing work in the field of autism as well as animal science. Happy 74th Birthday Temple. Here's to many many more ❤️

We have many beautiful patients !

How many years of beauty do I have left?
she asks me.
How many more do you want?
Here. Here is 34. Here is 50.

When you are 80 years old
and your beauty rises in ways
your cells cannot even imagine now
and your wild bones grow luminous and
ripe, having carried the weight
of a passionate life.

When your hair is aflame
with winter
and you have decades of
learning and leaving and loving
sewn into
the corners of your eyes
and your children come home
to find their own history
in your face.

When you know what it feels like to fail
ferociously
and have gained the
capacity
to rise and rise and rise again.

When you can make your tea
on a quiet and ridiculously lonely afternoon
and still have a song in your heart
Queen owl wings beating
beneath the cotton of your sweater.

Because your beauty began there
beneath the sweater and the skin,
remember?

This is when I will take you
into my arms and coo
YOU BRAVE AND GLORIOUS THING
you've come so far.

I see you.
Your beauty is breathtaking.

Author Jeannette Encinias

Image of Mimi Weddell
https://www.theguardian.com/global/2009/oct/15/mimi-weddell-obituary

https://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2021-archive/august/september-webinar-series-shines-spotlight-on-patients-with-special-needs

September four-part webinar series shines spotlight on patients with special needs The series, Achieving Optimal Oral Health, will stream live from 7-8 p.m. Central time each night of the series and will be recorded.

We just love Dr. Grandin!

Learn now more practical strategies on autism Focus on learning new tools, insights and resources to support autistic individuals

Dr. Brooke is very excited to be a part of this amazing program! Thank you UPENN!!!

https://www.dental.upenn.edu/news-events/events/cde-center-for-persons-with-disabilities-presentation-series-ft-brooke-fukuoka-dmd/

CDE: [Center for Persons with Disabilities Presentation Series] ft. Brooke Fukuoka, DMD - Penn Dental Medicine Time: 5:30-7:00 pm EST; This virtual lecture will begin promptly at 5:30 pm via Zoom Webinar. Registration: FREE; Registration is still required. CE Credits: 1.5 lecture credits **NOTE: For the best viewing experience, use the Google Chrome browser or download the Zoom app. Guided Oral Hygiene and A...