This Micro-Habit That Can Change Your Life

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” - Will Durant

Every January 1st, millions of people around the world make resolutions to get healthier,
to get fitter, to make more money, etc. But 80% of resolutions fail by February.
Why? Because the foundational habits required to drive them towards their goals after the
first week of January aren’t there. In other words, without good habits, your odds of success
are stacked against you.

But can habits really change your life? Yes. And you can see the power of
consistency all around you. From Kobe Bryant who showed up to practice at 5 AM every day
to Warren Buffett who reads 500 pages a day, good habits can lead to massive success.

There’s a catch, though. Nobody, not even Warren Buffett, is born reading 500 pages a day.
Your key to success is micro-habits. Micro-habits are goal-related habits so small and quick
that you’d be embarrassed to tell your friends you couldn’t check it off your to-do list every day.
The significance of these micro-habits is negligible, but their psychological effects are powerful.
Consider it a mental hack. It’s telling yourself this:
This thing is important to me, I told myself I’d do it, and I did it.
If your goal is to get healthier, consider this micro-habit: tongue scraping.

Here’s a 6-step process that will take less than 60 seconds of your morning:

1) Wake Up
2) Check yourself in the mirror
3) Grab a scraper
4) Scrape up and down a few times to get all the yuck off
5) Rinse the scraper
6) Smile and enjoy your day

Follow these super easy steps and you’ll suddenly become someone who gets things done.
This feeling of accomplishment will help build momentum for you to accomplish bigger goals.

If you want to start tongue scraping but don’t want the extra responsibility of replacing yours
regularly, no problem. We do the work for you. Sign up for a monthly subscription
for just $1/month, and you can focus on building your micro-habits.

Decrease Your Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

Thinking about doing crossword puzzles to keep your mind sharp?

Forget it. Scientists are now saying that keeping your mouth clean could help stave off Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

According to Science Advances, researchers from University of Louisville found strong evidence that Porphyromonas gingivalis — a species of oral bacteria that causes chronic gum disease — may also be involved in driving the development of AD.

The possibility of an infectious cause for AD isn’t new. Because the brains of patients with AD exhibit symptoms of inflammation that is often seen in infections, scientists have suspected for some time that infectious agents could be involved somehow.

However, it wasn’t until now that researchers were able to find evidence that something like bacteria could cause AD.

In the study, the scientists compared the brains and spinal fluids of deceased people who had characteristic pathology of AD but no diagnosis (control group) to those who had a clinical diagnosis.

In the AD brains and spinal fluids, the researchers found P. gingivalis DNA as well as higher levels of toxic enzymes called gingipains compared to the control group. Gingipains are produced by P. gingivalis and work to suppress the host’s defense system, thereby helping the infection to spread and damage surrounding cells.

The team also found strong relationships between levels of gingipains and two other molecules: tau, a protein important for normal brain function, and ubiquitin, a small protein that tags damaged proteins for degradation. Both have been linked to AD.

Previous studies had found links between P. gingivalis and AD, but scientists weren’t sure if the gum disease was just a consequence of the disease. However, with this finding, they realized that the infection is an early-stage event, and believe that if the people in the control group had lived longer to allow for the gingipains to accumulate, they also would have developed AD.

The researchers then infected the mouths of otherwise healthy mice with P. gingivalis every other day for 6 weeks. They found that the bacteria not only invaded the brains of all the mice, but also caused a significant increase in the levels of amyloid beta, a component of the amyloid plaques found in brains of patients with AD and killed certain nerve cells.

Since P. gingivalis is resistant to most antibiotics, the team wanted to test the effects of compounds that target gingipains instead. In the mice that received the treatments, they noticed that the compounds killed off much of the bacteria and had protective effects on neurons in the memory region of the brain, which is primarily affected by AD.

It is important to remember that while the research results are certainly exciting, they do not show that a P. gingivalis infection causes AD. Diseases like AD are extremely complex and can have many different causes. This research shows that P. gingivalis may just increase the risk of AD.

The researchers also didn’t determine the strains of P. gingivalis they found in the brain and spinal fluid. More research would be needed to determine if certain strains are more likely to cause AD.

What Can You Do?

P. gingivalis can also be found in low levels in healthy people, who can get it from common activities such as brushing, flossing, and getting dental procedures.

However, we believe there is one important thing you can do to reduce your risk of an infection, and that is to clean your tongue.

Your tongue is the habitat of a large variety of plaque-forming and disease-causing microorganisms, including P. gingivalis.

Research has shown that the most effective way to clean your tongue is to use a tongue scraper. When used over time, tongue scraping can reduce the number of bacteria on your tongue, leading not only to better breath, but also possibly reducing your risk of AD.

So what are you waiting for? Grab your tongue scraper today from ScrapeYourTongue.com. Your future self will thank you.

Dentists Need to get Creative to Retain Patients in a World of Marketplaces and Little Loyalty

My friend tells me she went to the Dentist the other day in New York City. She grew up in Michigan and typically goes to her family dentist when she's home visiting her family, but she was feeling like she needed a cleaning so she went on ZocDoc.com and within a few clicks she was booked for a cleaning at a dental practice just a few blocks from her apartment.

Owning a dental practice is not easy.

As a dentist, you’re a dedicated professional committed to your patients’ oral health. But patient retention is also important for the growth of your business.

So what can you do in a world of marketplaces and little loyalty? Here are 4 creative ways you can leave lasting impressions and improve your retention rates.

1) Ditch the White Coat

The white coat is a symbol of authority -- one attained only by countless sleepless nights and grueling board exams. Many dental school students dream of walking into an exam room in their white coats to heal the sick.

But the white coat (and gloves) also creates a sense of hierarchy, making some patients feel intimidated in the presence of a doctor.

White coats can also spread bacteria. One study found that doctors’ white coats were contaminated with all kinds of bacteria, including Staphylococci resistant to Penicillin, Erythromycin, and Clindamycin.

Here’s a solution -- You can simply ditch the white coat. Make your practice more welcoming and “cool” by getting rid of the barrier between you and your patients. If you need pockets, an alternative, such as a sleeveless neoprene vest, serves all the functions of a white coat without causing your patients additional stress.

2) Engage Your Patients with Unique Giveaways

When it comes to growing your practice, you don’t need to hire expensive marketing firms. That’s because nothing beats word-of-mouth referrals, even in this digital world.

But you need to be proactive in asking for referrals.

Set your practice apart with promotional giveaways for your patients, and they’ll do all the marketing for you.

The key to giveaways is choosing promotional items that are both functional and convenient.

Here’s a unique giveaway idea: tongue scrapers. Educate your patients on the use and benefits of tongue scrapers, and be sure to include some as a part of a gift for their loyalty. These functional gifts will strike up conversations wherever your patients go, which could lead to referrals to your practice.

ScrapeYourTongue.com offers wholesale Tongue Scrapers to dental / medical offices at a rate of $25 for a 100-pack: ScrapeYourTongue.com/100Pack

3) Redesign Your Office For Instagram

Does your office lobby make patients say “Wow”?

We live in a world where a picture of a salad can get thousands of “likes.” This means that in order to survive, businesses, including medical offices, need to rethink their office design to attract customers. And with more than 500 million daily active users, Instagram is the place to show off your artistic side.

So how can your office become one of the “Most Instagrammable Places” in your city?

Instead of displaying your diplomas throughout your office, take a page out of retail stores’ playbooks and go for a more photo-friendly setup, like unique art or furniture. Unique live plants are also sure to be a hit on Instagram.

While adding unique elements to your office, don’t forget that lighting is important to take great photography. Not only does soft, natural light relieve stress for patients, it can also result in some breathtaking photos.

4) Prioritize Patient Comfort and Stress Relief

The bone-chilling whir of a dentist’s drill can make anyone squirm uncomfortably. It’s little wonder why dentists are one of the most hated professions.

Some discomfort may be unavoidable, but there are things you can do to maximize your patients’ comfort.

For example, you can provide headphones with soothing music to drown out the sound of drills. Some dentists also have TVs with Netflix in each exam room so that patients could watch their favorite shows or movies during their procedures.

If TVs in exam rooms aren’t your thing, unique plants or interesting artwork/photographs may also work to take the patient’s focus away from the procedure.

Small things like artwork and goodie bags may seem trivial, but they can go a long way in getting people to talk about your dental practice. A dental visit strikes stress and anxiety in millions of people, but by engaging your patients and staying on top of social trends, you may soon have a long list of loyal patients.