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It might seem like you’ve gotten a great night’s sleep—but why aren’t you well rested? Worse, why are you waking up with:

• A headache
• Ringing in your ears or an earache
• Pain in your jaw
• Worn or sensitive teeth
• Dry mouth or mouth and cheek injuries
• An unhappy partner who’s been kept awake all night?

If you suffer from any or all of these symptoms, you might be one of the millions of people who have a sleep-related disorder called bruxism, better known as teeth grinding.

There are any number of causes that have been linked to bruxism. Stress and other negative emotions seem to trigger episodes, as can lifestyle habits such as smoking and drinking alcohol or caffeine. Sleep apnea can lead to grinding your teeth, or you could have bite or tooth alignment problems. Certain medications might set off this disorder, and some studies have shown a hereditary tendency in families. Whatever the reason you grind your teeth, there are many important reasons to stop as soon as you can.

As bad as the nagging headaches and earaches that can accompany bruxism can be, long-term damage to your teeth can develop over time. With continuing grinding pressure on the teeth, enamel is worn away prematurely. Teeth can crack or chip. They may loosen or develop sensitivity to heat, cold, and pressure. Gum tissue can recede or become inflamed. Dental restorations can be cracked or broken.

If you—or someone in your house—suspects that you are grinding your teeth at night, give our Appleton, WI office a call! We can recommend relaxation techniques, diet changes, or tips to help you relax your jaw. Dr. Dale Scharine and Dr. Mark Pflum might suggest a nightguard, a custom-fitted appliance worn while you sleep, to reduce the impact of grinding. There are options available. Let’s work together to make every night’s sleep a restful, healthy one.

2026 is right around the corner and now is the time to familiarize yourself with any changes to your dental insurance benefits to prepare for next year. Take time to read and understand your insurance benefits. Insurance plans can be sneaky and word things in ways that lead the patient to believe their coverage is better than it truly is. We have team members who specialize in helping patients understand their insurance plans so they can maximize their plan for their specific needs.

To ensure you receive the full value of your plan, it's important to stay on track with the recommended care. At Elite Smiles Dental, we suggest visiting every 6 months for your routine cleaning and exam. This will help us to find issues early and fix them when they are minor and less expensive. Remember, dental issues never get better with time; they only get worse.

Planning ahead is also key. Taking care of necessary treatment early in the year allows you to better plan for the rest of the year, or even next year. It also gives you the opportunity to save patient portions on future treatment. We like to give patients treatment plans that have phases when there is more than one appointment needed. We phase the treatment to address the most urgent items first, and the less important or slower progressing issues later. This allows the patient to take the treatment as they can afford without sacrificing the urgency of some issues. This also allows us to show the patient how their dental insurance will help, and to plan for their out-of-pocket costs.

For any costs, we always provide our patients with a step-by-step breakdown of total cost of treatment, what we expect the insurance to help with, and what their portion will be. We also discuss the different options for payment such as cash, check, credit card, or Care Credit if they need to spread their payments out.

Keep in mind that you will likely have out-of-pocket expenses. We’ve noticed insurance companies have gotten sneaky in how they word their policies. Their goal is to cover as little as possible. So, they might tell you that you get two cleanings and exams per year, but they often require that this stays within your yearly maximum as well. An example would be if you get $1,000 coverage per year and you use the full $1,000 toward fillings in January, the insurance will NOT cover anything further in most policies. We will always try to help that patient maximize how their insurance will help them pay for this treatment.

And if you’re not sure what you may need, don’t worry! We always send reminders when patients have outstanding treatment, regardless of insurance status. We do not allow insurance to dictate what we diagnose, as we have the patient's best interest in the forefront.

Make it a goal in 2026 to get the care you need! See your dentist, have them give you an idea of what is on the horizon for the year, and make a plan on how you will tackle this plan using your benefits.

We hope you have a wonderful start to the year and we’ll see you in 2026!

It's a habit many people have and not only can it be annoying to the people around you, it can be detrimental to your dental health. Chewing ice is so common that it even has its own name, pagophagia. We're not talking about a slushy or shaved ice (although those artificially sugary treats should be avoided too!) but more like the hunks of ice rattling around in the bottom of your glass.

Ice chewing can be a sign of emotional problems like stress or obsessive-compulsive disorder, but it can also be a marker for iron deficiency anemia and other physical problems. Then again, some people just like to have something to chew on. For whatever reason you find yourself chewing on it, it's a habit you need to break.

Chewing on ice can cause:

• Chipped and cracked teeth
• Damaged enamel
• Sore jaw muscles
• Damage to dental work such as crowns, fillings, or other appliances

If chewing on ice is becoming a problem in your life, don’t hesitate to speak with Dr. Dale Scharine and Dr. Mark Pflum about it. But if you find yourself still wanting to chew on something, here are a few alternatives to ice:

• Baby carrots
• Celery sticks
• Sugar-free (xylitol) gum

We know you need to chill sometimes, but chomping down your entire glass of ice is not the way to do it. If you have any other questions on the topic, feel free to talk with a member of our Appleton, WI team. It may be beneficial in solving the issue and helping to remediate any damage to your teeth.

It’s the holiday season! With so much to do and so much going on, you want to be at your best. We have some ideas to help make your season bright with a few easy tips for a healthy smile.

• Keep Your Smile Merry and Bright

There’s a lot going on during the holidays. Visiting friends. Traveling to see family. Parties and get togethers. With all the enjoyable festivities on your holiday schedule, you might be tempted to overlook brushing or flossing. But, please don’t!

Many of our favorite holiday traditions and activities are centered around sharing good company, good cheer—and good food.

Indulging in more treats throughout the day, especially sugars and simple carbs, provides more fuel for the bacteria in plaque. These bacteria produce acids that weaken tooth enamel—the first stage of tooth decay. Plaque buildup also irritates the gums, causing swelling, redness, pain, bleeding, and chronic bad breath.

How to avoid these not-so-jolly consequences? Make time in your holiday schedule for dental care! Brushing twice a day for two minutes and flossing once each day removes plaque buildup and helps prevent cavities and gum disease.

• Holiday Snacks—Naughty or Nice?

We’re no Scrooges—enjoying holiday treats is one of the ways we celebrate. But since we’re trying to prevent a plaque buffet of sugar and simple carbs, it’s a good idea to add some healthier foods to the mix.

Whether it’s platters of snacks around the game table or a stylish hors d’oeuvre array, don’t forget to add nutritional, dental-friendly items to your plate. Options such as fresh fruits and vegetables, cheeses, nuts, and whole grain breads and crackers are great partners for more indulgent selections because they’re lower in added sugars and provide vitamins and minerals to strengthen teeth and gums.

And from the candy bar? Hard candies and candy canes make our naughty list because they take a long time to dissolve while bathing your teeth in sugar. So do caramels, toffees, and gumdrops, which stick between teeth and gums. Soft chocolates? A much nicer choice, because they are more easily rinsed away by saliva or a drink of water. Which leads us to . . .

• A Toast to Your (Dental) Health!

The holidays offer some of our favorite seasonal beverages. But spiced lattes, mochas, and hot chocolate can be full of sugar.

The answer? Enjoy in moderation, and enjoy with a glass of water. Water washes away sugars, neutralizes acids, helps increase saliva flow for tooth and gum health, hydrates, and, when it’s fluoridated, protects and repairs your enamel. That’s a lot of gifts in one convenient package!

• Dashing through the Snow?

If you’re taking to the slopes, or the hills, or the rink for a little holiday exercise, don’t forget to protect your teeth and mouth. It’s not just sports like football and hockey that cause dental injuries—it’s any sport where you can fall or make contact with someone or something.

If you don’t have a mouthguard, they’re available at sporting goods stores in stock sizes or models that can be molded to your teeth. A custom mouthguard from our Appleton, WI office is more comfortable, fits better, and protects you better. This is a perfect gift to give yourself so you can take advantage of all those cold weather sports with confidence.

We all look forward to holiday surprises—but not when they take the form of cavities, gum disease, or dental injuries! In the flurry of holiday activities, keep up with your regular dental care, and you’ll be looking forward to a new year filled with happy and healthy smiles.