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LOL of the Month
"A woman came into our office after putting off getting hearing aids for three years; she thought they were too expensive. I fit her with her aids and she was very happy. She came back after a week to let me know how things were going now that her hearing was so much better. She told me she had a parrot whom she taught to speak and for the last few years she was getting frustrated; she felt the parrot was getting old and lazy because his speech was not clear. She said she didn't have the patience to work with him anymore but when she got her aids, the parrot came out onto her arm and said, 'Good morning, how are you?' clear as a bell. She had to eat crow and admit that it was her hearing that was the problem, not the lazy parrot!" Nola Aronson, owner of Nola Aronson's Advanced Audiology 425-9330

Invisalign a Clear Alternative to Braces
Over 2 million patients are smiling with confidence thanks to Invisalign. Without brackets or wires, Invisalign takes a modern approach to teeth straightening and is virtually invisible. Developed with orthodontists, Invisalign is a virtually-invisible solution, so you can smile confidently both during treatment and after. Using a series of clear, removable aligners, Invisalign gradually moves your teeth toward a smile you've always wanted. And, almost no one will know you're wearing them - unless you tell them.

Invisalign treatment is comfortable to wear and easy to live with. You visit your orthodontist every month or two to check your progression and get new aligners. The average treatment time is short - about 18 months. Because the aligners are removable, you can continue to eat your favorite foods and you can brush and floss normally to keep your teeth and gums healthy. Many people incorrectly believe that Invisalign is only effective in treating minor teeth-straightening issues. But the fact is, Invisalign successfully treats patients with moderate and severe conditions, including crowding, spacing, overbite, under bite, deep bite, open bite and more. Locally, Dr. Gilbert Snow and Dr. Daniel Azani are Diamond Plus Invisalign Providers, which means that they're in the top 1 percent in the world who are providing Invisalign treatment. Consultations are free.
799-0775

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Raising Healthy Families "Boys don't Cry"
by Mary Tan
There he goes again, crying over something miniscule. How will he ever succeed in this unforgiving world? People are going to think he's a sissy and then he's really going to suffer. "Stop it! Boys don't cry. You need to be strong. Suck it up. Do you want to be a wimp?"

He starts to quiet down, not because he was inspired to greatness, but because he stuffed his cries down to a place no one can hear. Yet that pain remains in his depths, collecting layers of unprocessed emotions until it bursts in the most inopportune times. This is not unique to boys. I hear this pressure imposed on girls, too, although it's usually more accepted for girls to cry.

Often, parents subconsciously stifle a child's cry because they weren't given the opportunity to fully feel their own sadness when they were a kid. The unresolved hurt that has been brewing for 35-plus years becomes a trigger point set off by their own child's intense emotions. The blueprint of how to handle emotions - or not - is passed down from generation to generation, creating the norm of how things are done.

So, then what? Just let him cry? What will other people think?
Yes, please let him cry. Listen as if you could decipher the hidden messages of pain. Squashing the only way he knows how to release his discomfort will exacerbate the situation. For now, be there for him while leaving out judgement, shame and blame. Bring in your presence of unconditional love and curiosity, as if listening to a good friend's sadness. Actively listening offers deep healing. Later, when the pain has passed, you can teach him more stress-management and processing techniques.

Without tools, young people remain overwhelmed by big, anxious feelings of inadequacy and fear. While their bodies may mature, without self-empowerment skills, the inner child remains wounded and in need of loving guidance. As conscious parents, we can begin the shift by expanding our awareness of the messages we send through our words, rules and expectations. When we raise children who can fully experience their emotions, they become emotionally intelligent beings capable of leading the world in an empowered way.
Mary Tan is a speaker, coach and author of "The Empowered Child," published by Morgan James, now available on Amazon. She lives with her two little girls, husband and dwarf bunnies in Valencia.

Booking with Becky
A Dental Office Manager
Tells You How to get the most from your Insurance
Becky Short, an office manager with Dr. Marvin Tong, DDS, has been leading professional dental practices for over a decade. Here are her tips to getting the most out of your insurance coverage.

Divide & Conquer
"Once the calendar flips to 2019, in most cases, so does your coverage. You'll forfeit anything left over in 2018, so use it before you lose it. And absolutely ask, if it's not offered, to divide treatments up at the end of the year. If you have $1,500 in annual coverage and you need a $3,000 treatment, see if it can be broken into two appointments - one in December 2018 and the other in January 2019! That way, you don't spend a penny out of pocket and your treatment is done in a timely manner," explains Short.

Get a Free Second Opinion
"If you get a quote for treatment that seems outrageous, call another office. Some, like ours, will give you a free second opinion. That way you can proceed with confidence and try to stay within your annual coverage amount," says Short.

Don't Skip the Free Stuff
The most important tip? "Use it! You're paying for it - so get every cleaning, check up and treatment your insurance covers. Those preventative appointments that usually have zero co-pays will save you so much money down the line in costs for pricier procedures you never would have needed with regular checkups. Plus, you'll spend a lot less time in the chair," explains the pro.
Dr. Marvin Tong, DDS 268-6284

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Getting to Know So Cal's surgical Duo
Drs. Antebi & Sherfey put Bodies & Lives Back Together
What kind of doctor do you become when, as a small child, you liked to both tinker and take care of others? According to doctors Alon Antebi and Justin Sherfey, the answer is simple: You work hard to become a star orthopedic surgeon.

"From an early age, I loved fixing things," reflects Antebi. "As I got older, I knew I wanted to help people. Orthopedic surgery is the perfect combination. I always say, if not for orthopedics, I probably would not be a doctor today." Sherfey shares a similar path. "I've always enjoyed building things and working with my hands... cars, construction jobs... you name it. My first introduction to orthopedic surgery was as a patient, dealing with athletic injuries. I enjoy the mixture of working with my hands during surgery and helping people recover from injury. It gives me an opportunity to combine the things I've always loved into a career."

The path has been fulfilling for both. "The best part of practicing orthopedics is the overwhelming gratitude I receive from my patients as I help them get back to life. I get to see how the surgery I perform impacts them on a very personal level. I see the joy they have when they can walk again or resume an activity they love. Orthopedic surgery is an incredibly rewarding field of medicine," explains Sherfey. "Seeing patients progress," agrees Antebi, "is the best thing about this career. I have patients come into the office who are barely able to walk or are in so much pain that their quality of life is horribly affected. Then, when I see them in follow up appointments, they are in tears because they are pain free or finally can go on that trip they've been dreaming of for years that their pain and mobility issues had prevented. There's no feeling like it; this is my passion and I find great joy in what I do."
Dr. Alon Antebi and Dr. Justin Sherfey of
AVORS 705-5100

How Colon Hydrotherapy is Kind of Like Cleaning a Messy Lasagna Pan
Before you start thinking too hard about that headline, let's first get a reminder about what colon hydrotherapy is - a safe, effective method of removing waste from the large intestine without the use of drugs. By introducing pure, filtered, temperature-regulated water into the colon, the waste is softened and loosened, resulting in evacuation through natural muscle movement. This flushing process is repeated a several times during a therapeutic session. Colon hydrotherapy is best used in combination with adequate nutrient and fluid intake as well as with exercise. The modern, sophisticated technology applied today, manufactured through compliance with strict FDA guidelines, promotes both safety and sanitation of the procedure.

According to Pamela Whitney, ND, cleaning a baked lasagna pan may be used as a metaphor for colon cleansing. Dr. Whitney, educational director for the New England Health Institute, is a naturopathic physician. She says, "If you've baked a lasagna and then attempted to wash the messy, left-over pan, you know the difficulty of getting it clean. It's usual for cooks to soak the pan overnight in water to soften the stubborn, baked-on hardened food particles. Then they find that washing away the hardened food particles on it the next day is easy. Colon hydrotherapy accomplishes the same ease of cleansing on the inside of one's bowel. Using hydrotherapy, the colon's walls constantly get soaked and flushed with clear water, which serves to remove mucous plus longstanding, caked-on matter that can contain hidden bacteria, parasites, candida-filled pockets and other pathological materials."
If you'd like to feel cleaner and healthier from the inside out, colon hydrotherapy may be for you!
Optimum Health 253-2900