Retirement Announcement: Letter to Patients

I am announcing my retirement for this fall. The office will officially close on 9/30/21. 

It has been my sincere pleasure to serve your oral and maxillofacial surgery needs and I thank you for your patronage. 

If you have been seen for a consultation recently and would like to have treatment soon, please call the office so we can see if we can accommodate you timely. 

If you have oral surgery treatment or follow up needs after September you will need to begin looking for another Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon. With your permission, copies of pertinent information from your record can be made available to an oral surgeon of your choosing. Please email your request for records to largeyteam@aol.com or call the office at 207 942 6620. We ask that you make these requests by 9/15/21.

Please do not hesitate to call us during normal business hours before the last scheduled day, if you have any questions. The office can be reached at 207 942 6620 up until 9/30/21.

Our email address largeyteam@aol.com will be available for inquiries after 9/30/21.

Again, thank you for having been a part of this practice. 

Sincerely, John Largey

May is Melanoma & Skin Cancer detection month

Dr. Largey says “Wear a hat!”

Timed appropriately!

We love the sun and we are so happy to see it after a cold winter! That being said, we also have to remember that the sun doesn’t come with a warning label, but we do need to take some precautions.  Protect yourself, inspect yourself often  and get any unusual moles checked out by a health professional! Don’t forget the sunscreen! Oh, and a hat!

Here are a couple of good websites to check out for more details:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/melanoma.html

http://www.cancer.org/healthy/toolsandcalculators/quizzes/app/sun-safety-quiz

 

It’s National Women’s Health Week!

Spring is a good time of year for new beginnings and renewed goals! In that spirit we wanted to share with you some healthy guidelines to start out the season right. In our office we see lots of Mom’s taking care of their families. This is a good week to focus on yourself and make sure you are in good shape too!

National Women’s Health Week is an observance led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health. The goal is to empower women to make their health a priority. National Women’s Health Week also serves as a time to help women understand what it means to be well.

What does it mean to be a well woman?

It’s a state of mind. It’s being as healthy as you can be. And, most importantly, it’s about taking steps to improve your physical and mental health:

•Visit a health care professional to receive regular checkups and preventive screenings.

•Get active.

•Eat healthy.

•Pay attention to mental health, including getting enough sleep and managing stress.

•Avoid unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking, texting while driving, and not wearing a seatbelt or bicycle helmet.

Click on this link and check out a good article by Nancy C. Lee  the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health-Women’s Health, Director of the Office on Women’s Health; Office of the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services. More Sleep, less chocolate

 

Dr. Largey attends AAOMS Dental Implant Conference

Nobel Biocare booth

For over 20 years this conference has been internationally recognized for its comprehensive educational programs that consistently showcases innovative surgical techniques for placing, restoring and augmenting the dental implant site. This year the international faculty of experts examined advanced esthetic techniques and current thoughts on selecting abutment materials, treating the diabetic patient and transitioning patients with dental implants to full arch restorations.

In addition the exhibits at the conference offer us an opportunity to connect with the folks that provide a lot of support services for our practice. We enjoyed meeting with vendors in person and look forward to implementing new technology and systems in order to improve our patient experience.

And, we enjoyed being in the great city of Chicago! It is the perfect time of year to visit, they have the city all decorated for the holidays. It was just as cold in Chicago as it is in Maine, but it didn’t keep us from enjoying the sights. 

April is National Facial Protection Month

April is National Facial Protection Month, and Dr. Largey wants to remind parents, coaches and athletes to play it safe as they prepare to suit up for recreational and organized sports. 

A child’s mouth and face can be easily injured if the proper precautions are not used while playing sports. In fact, according to the Center for Disease Control, more than half of the 7 million sports- and recreation-related injuries that occur each year are sustained by youth as young as 5 years old. Last year, the National Youth Sports Safety Foundation forecasted that more than 3 million teeth would be knocked out in youth sporting events – yet, in a survey commissioned by the American Association of Orthodontists, 67% of parents admit that their child does not wear a mouth guard during organized sports. This raises a question: if mouth guards offer a simple and relatively inexpensive solution to help dramatically decrease the risk of oral and facial injuries, why aren’t more kids wearing them? Parents are encouraged to talk with their dental professionals about the right mouth guards for their young athletes, and to urge coaches to require that young athletes wear their mouth guards at every practice and every game.

For more details follow this link: info on facial injury

Post-operative Nutrition

Helping our patient’s know what to eat after surgery has always been important to us. We have always provided some basic guidelines in our after care instructions and recent years we have provided a print out of smoothie recipes. But, still we get a lot of questions about what are the best things to eat after surgery. Good nutrition and hydration are really key to recovery–we felt it would be helpful (and fun) to devote a website just to post-operative nutritional recipes.  So, our new website was born!

www.blendermeals.com

We are adding information on a regular basis, so make sure to check back often. This new site will provide patient’s with a place to find fun, easy and nutritional post-op meals. We will have a Meal of the Month, maybe even two! Sections will be available for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We will also present some special recipes developed specifically for the holidays. In addition to the recipes we will include some of the health benefits of the ingredients listed in the meal. And, because this is really geared to our post-operative patient, we will do some tips on things to remember for healthy healing and we will have some links back to information you will find helpful–post-op instructions, things like that.

Nutrition and hydration are keys to quick healing after oral surgery. We want patient’s to heal as quick as possible, and we them to have access to healthy nutritional information. Send us a comment, ask a question, visit our new site! Even though the recipes are geared to post-operative eating, they are still great options for every day eating.

Tis’ the Season for Giving

In the spirit of the season, we will kick off our efforts today–appropriately timed with the national campaign of Giving Tuesday. Check out their website and learn more about Giving Tuesday.  Giving Tuesday Website

This year, as in years past we will do a food drive for Manna Ministries. We have a donation box in our reception area for non-perishable food items. So, we hope you will help us by bringing in canned and packaged foods to add to our donation. We will take all our food donations over to Manna Ministries the week before Christmas. Our team will start off by stocking the box this week! For more information on their food pantry check out their website:  Manna Ministries Website

Every year our team participates in the Angel Tree program sponsored by the Salvation Army. We each take an angel tag and then as a group we head out and go shopping for our angel and then bring the gifts back to the mall for wrapping. They never seem to run out of tags, we hope your office or family will consider joining us by choosing an angel to get a gift for. We feel certain it makes a difference in a young person’s holiday.

The Angel Tree table is located at the Bangor Mall in front of Macy’s. To find out more about the Angel Tree Program, read about them in the Bangor Daily News here:  Angel Tree Article

Giving back seems to us a great way to kick off the holiday season.

Are you on Pinterest? So are we!

Pinterest recently provided an option for businesses to create their own accounts. We think that is great!

If you are on Pinterest, please follow us. Pinterest offers a unique platform for sharing information. Some of the “boards” we have created are:

• Community Service: local and national, what we are up to and ideas for you too
• Nutrition: great resource for healthy recipes including smoothies for post-op nutrition
• Public Service Announcements: local and national
• Products for Patients: we want you to know about
• Healthy Stuff: educational, sports and family oriented
• Fun Stuff: this can be anything that we think you might enjoy!
• Our Services: this section tells you about some of the services we offer, you might find a video and of course a link to more information here

And, we are always adding more boards to share. We really like this format, it’s fun, quick and organized. We hope that you will follow us and that you find our “pins” interesting and fun! Happy pinning!

Here is our link to Pinterest

Great American Smokeout! November 15, 2012

Everyday is a great day to Quit Smoking, but today is a great day to start with! Join folks across the country today and make a plan to quit smoking today! Check out the American Cancer Society website for some great resources to help you quit. We included some tobacco related cancer facts too. By quitting smoking you are taking a huge step at becoming a healthier you!

More Information About Quitting

More Information on Oral Cancers

The American Cancer Society is marking the 37th Great American Smokeout on November 15 by encouraging smokers to use the date to make a plan to quit, or to plan in advance and quit smoking that day. By quitting — even for one day — smokers will be taking an important step towards a healthier life – one that can lead to reducing cancer risk.

Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the US, yet about 43.8 million Americans still smoke cigarettes — Nearly 1 in every 5 adults. As of 2010, there were also 13.2 million cigar smokers in the US, and 2.2 million who smoke tobacco in pipes — other dangerous and addictive forms of tobacco.

Tobacco-Related Cancers Fact Sheet

• Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States for both men and women. (Source: Cancer Facts & Figures 2012)
• Lung cancer is the most preventable form of cancer death in our society. (Source: Cancer Facts & Figures 2012)
• Besides lung cancer, tobacco use also increases the risk for cancers of the mouth, lips, nasal cavity (nose) and sinuses, larynx (voice box), pharynx (throat), esophagus (swallowing tube), stomach, pancreas, kidney, bladder, uterus, cervix, colon/rectum, ovary (mucinous), and acute myeloid leukemia. (Source: Cancer Facts & Figures 2012)
• Cigars contain many of the same carcinogens (cancer-causing substances) found in cigarettes. Between 1997 and 2007, sales of little cigars had increased by 240%, while large cigar sales decreased by 6%. Cigar smoking causes cancers of the lung, mouth, throat, larynx (voice box), esophagus (swallowing tube), and probably the pancreas. (Source: Cancer Facts & Figures 2012)
• Each year, about 3,400 non-smoking adults die of lung cancer as a result of breathing secondhand smoke. Each year secondhand smoke also causes about 46,000 deaths from heart disease in people who are not current smokers. (Source: Cancer Facts & Figures 2012)
• Smokeless tobacco products are a major source of cancer-causing nitrosamines and a known cause of human cancer. They increase the risk of developing cancer of the mouth and throat, esophagus (swallowing tube), and pancreas. (Source: Cancer Prevention & Early Detection Facts and Figures 2010)
• Between 2000 and 2004, smoking caused more than $193 billion in annual health-related costs in the United States, including smoking-attributable medical costs and productivity losses. (Source: Cancer Facts & Figures 2012)

Redefining “treat” on Halloween!

Along with the ADA and local dentist offices we will be raising awareness for oral health while offering a fun alternative to sugary treats this Halloween.

The ADA has teamed up with PopCap Games—makers of the family-friendly hit video game Plants vs. Zombies to launch “Stop Zombie Mouth”. This campaign is aimed at encouraging good oral heath among children and their parents. We will be giving away free game inspired trading cards with redemption codes for a free game download (full PC/Mac edition of Plants vs. Zombies).

Dr. Jonathan Shenkin, pediatric dentist (practicing right here in Maine!) and ADA spokesperson says “Tooth decay in children is almost entirely preventable. Brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and eating a balanced diet can lead to improved oral and overall health” We wholeheartedly agree with him and hope that this fun campaign will help educated whole families on the importance of good oral health behaviors.

These games can be played on computers, smartphones, tablets and portable game players. Patients who receive trading cards redeemable for a free copyof the game will have until November 10^th to download Plants vs. Zombies. We will have limited quantities, so come see us for your “treat”!

Starting on Halloween we will be giving out the trading cards—we will hand them out through November 6^th.

For more information and fun FREE stuff check out: Stop Zombie Mouth