I was in our Fairfax Shopping Center parking lot after work the other night when I saw an old Volkswagen van in beautiful condition. I had to park my car and take a picture of it because it brought back a lot of memories of my childhood in the 1960s and 70s. I spoke to the proud owner of the van who asked me if I collect old cars. I said no — I like old cars, but what really appealed to me about his is that just looking at such a car could suddenly bring back a flood of memories from so long ago, which do not necessarily have anything to do with cars! I remember little league baseball, elementary school, searching for the end of the creek, riding bicycles, playing in our treehouse, and trying to understand girls.

Brianna and Dr. Mike were admiring Vicky’s new hat, a gift from Dr. Mike’s wife Tina. Unfortunately, Vicky stayed in the sun too long so Tina thought it would be nice for Vicky to have this hat.

Dr Pat explains how he can complete root canal treatment so efficiently

There was an awkward moment at my house this morning. My wife, Dr. Jean, and son, Julian, discovered that there were no more Uncrustables as they packed for his fishing camp — they had to get out a jar of peanut butter, a jar of jelly, a loaf of bread, and Lord knows how many utensils! It was just like when I was a kid!

If you are not a parent with young children, Uncrustables are pre-wrapped and frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. You pack them for lunch, and they thaw by that time without needing to have been refrigerated. Can you think of anything more American?

It may be hard to understand why anyone would want a pre-made, pre-wrapped peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but with two dogs to walk and three kids to get out of the house every morning, they really have made a difference in our lives!

It occurred to me that I do lots of things that save only a minute or two when I do root canals. Individually, these time-savers don’t amount to much, and might even seem silly to some. But together, they mean that your root canal will take just one visit instead of two. And at our office, we have a philosophy of time, which is that we respect yours. We like to think that we do dentistry on your schedule! Uncrustables may be fodder for late-night comedians, but they save us time for more important things, and Julian finds them very tasty.

Many dentists advise their patients not to suck through a straw after a tooth extraction so as to prevent dislodging the blood clot. Such dislodgment could cause a painful condition known as dry socket, which occurs mostly with lower molar extractions. Now there is some evidence that sucking through a straw doesn’t affect the incidence of dry socket after oral surgery here. So if you have a tooth or teeth removed — go ahead and drink through a straw afterward. It probably doesn’t matter if you do.

To prevent a dry socket after a dental extraction, it is important to keep pressure on the extraction site (biting on gauze) to stimulate clot formation and avoid vigorous rinsing, which could dislodge the clot.

There was an interesting question and answer “Ask an Expert” podcast with two dental professors here.