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How better to spend the fall months than inside by the fireplace with a warm cup of cider and a book in hand? Drs. James and Mary Rose Twohig and our team at Twohig Dentistry encourage you to warm up your mind this fall season with a few great books. Sure it may be easy to put off reading when balancing a hectic schedule, but reading is vital to brain development. Besides, reading is always a blast!

This week, we thought we’d ask what you or your child are reading this fall. Do you have any suggestions for must-read books this year? Out of ideas for great fall reads? Ask us for suggestions, and we would be happy to provide a few. You may also ask a local librarian here in Albuquerque for some ideas.

Happy reading! Be sure to share with us your fall picks or your all-time favorites below or on our Facebook page!

It’s estimated that about one in every five people is affected by tinnitus, which is a ringing or noise in the ears. But tinnitus isn’t a condition in itself; it’s actually the symptom of an underlying condition. Some of these underlying conditions could be hearing loss, injury to the ear, or some sort of circulatory disorder.

Another common cause if tinnitus is a dental injury or dental issue, whether it involves the jaw or the temporomandibular joint, better known as the TMJ. “Somatic tinnitus” is the term given to the version that is attributable to injuries to the head or neck area. Symptoms of somatic tinnitus may include noticeable fluctuations in sound volume, intermittency, headaches, memory loss or increased forgetfulness, and an increased likelihood of being depressed or sad.

Drs. James and Mary Rose Twohig will tell you tinnitus usually isn’t serious and is more common in older populations. For that reason, many people won’t even seek an answer to what’s causing it. But people can also experience more severe cases of tinnitus that can affect a person’s ability to complete everyday activities, which has a larger impact on their lives. For people facing these more severe cases of tinnitus, treatment may be necessary to increase their quality of life. It’s also worth noting that tinnitus seems to worsen with age, so while symptoms might not be a problem one year, they may be more significant and distracting the next.

If you have tinnitus that is caused by the misalignment of the TMJ or an injury to the mouth, that’s a condition that can be corrected by Drs. James and Mary Rose Twohig and our team at Twohig Dentistry. We will work to relieve your symptoms by realigning the jaw or adjusting your bite with routine dental care. Sometimes we won’t even have to go this far, because an oral infection or gum infection may be causing your problem. We might also recommend other life changes, such as dietary adjustments and medication.

If you're experiencing tinnitus-like symptoms and have ruled out various other reasons for it, contact our Albuquerque office today. Drs. James and Mary Rose Twohig and our team will carefully analyze your situation and put you on a treatment course so that you can kick the symptoms for good.

Fall is without a doubt one of the best times of the year in New Mexico. Mornings are crisp and afternoons are comfortable. The state fair comes around, there’s green chile roasting, and there’s the Albuquerque International balloon fiesta. It’s also the perfect time to enjoy hiking in the mountains and see how the aspen trees change colors.

As you may have noticed, our scrubs have changed colors, too! Our team is now proud owners of burgundy scrubs which happen to go perfectly with the fall season. We hope you like them! Don’t forget that you can also get a little sweet treat the next time you come in if you like us on Facebook.

We love to travel in our office. This month Lucie had a family reunion in Canada and Stephanie had one of the most relaxing vacations one can have in our opinion: a staycation! If you haven’t tried having a staycation yet, give it a go. You may enjoy it a little more than you think. We also love to get lost in a good book. Two books that we plan on reading this month (recommended by our lovely patients) are The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate.

Dr. Twohigs’ tomato plants and basil produced abundantly this year. In order to make the most of the fruits from the garden, she recently made this tomato and mozzarella tart with a recipe from Cooks Illustrated, which is perfect for fall (or any time of year, really!). You can find the recipe below. If you give it a try, be sure to tag us in your photos!

We hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather and making the most of this beautiful season.

Tomato and Mozzarella Tart- Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients:

Flour, unbleached all-purpose, for work surface

1 box frozen puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm, 1.1 pound), thawed in box in refrigerator overnight

1 large egg, beaten

2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)

1 pound plum tomatoes (about 3 to 4 medium), cored and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices

Salt

2 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Ground black pepper

8 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (2 cups)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Instructions
Thawing the frozen puff pastry in the refrigerator overnight will help prevent cracking while unfolding it. Be sure to use a low-moisture supermarket mozzarella sold in block form, not fresh water-packed mozzarella. If you prefer to do some advanced preparation, the tart shell can be prebaked through step 1, cooled to room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap, and kept at room temperature for up to two days before being topped and baked with the mozzarella and tomatoes.

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Dust work surface with flour and unfold both pieces puff pastry onto work surface. Following illustrations below, form 1 large sheet with border, using beaten egg as directed. Sprinkle Parmesan evenly over shell; using fork, uniformly and thoroughly poke holes in shell. Bake 13 to 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees; continue to bake until golden brown and crisp, 13 to 15 minutes longer. Transfer to wire rack; increase oven temperature to 425 degrees.

2. While shell bakes, place tomato slices in single layer on double layer paper towels and sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt; let stand 30 minutes. Place second double layer paper towels on top of tomatoes and press firmly to dry tomatoes. Combine garlic, olive oil, and pinch each salt and pepper in small bowl; set aside.

3. Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over warm (or cool, if made ahead) baked shell. Shingle tomato slices widthwise on top of cheese (about 4 slices per row); brush tomatoes with garlic oil. Bake until shell is deep golden brown and cheese is melted, 15 to 17 minutes. Cool on wire rack 5 minutes, sprinkle with basil, slide onto cutting board or serving platter, cut into pieces, and serve.

If you want to fix staining, large gaps, fillings, chipped teeth, or the overall shape of your teeth, this may be the perfect option for you. Many of our patients opted for veneers and have never been more confident in their smile!

Dental veneers are made from long-lasting porcelain materials which cover the front and biting ends of each tooth. At your appointment, you can choose the shade of veneers to brighten up your smile. They are usually placed on the anterior, or front teeth, where the chewing forces are not as hard as in the back. Placing the veneers is easy, and the best part is: It requires only two appointments!

During the first appointment, we’ll take an impressions of your teeth. Then we send them to the lab to make your veneers. Veneers are fairly conservative in preparation because they require a small amount of space to be created on the front, bottom, and sides of each tooth for a natural appearance. You will leave the office with temporary veneers in place for a week or two while the permanent veneers are being made.

Your veneers will be placed during the second appointment, and you won’t believe the difference in your smile! If you’re interested in learning more, give Drs. James and Mary Rose Twohig a call at our Albuquerque office today!