Wishing you a relaxing and pleasant Memorial Day weekend, from Gilleran and Van Fossen DDS

Memorial Day Weekend, only two days away, is a time when Americans everywhere stop and remember all those men and women who bravely gave their lives for our country.

Memorial Day also marks the unofficial start of summer 2010, and for many folks in Chicago, getting out of town for three days after being cooped up in the office or in the classroom is sweet relief. At the office of Drs. Gilleran and Van Fossen, we also know Memorial Day weekend is ripe for travel. After all, it’s a season of vacations, adventures and great memories. Whether you are headed to a barbecue, a camping trip, hitting America's great open roads or hanging out in your backyard this weekend, we want to know all about it!

Our entire team at Gilleran and Van Fossen Cosmetic Dentistry wish you a nice and relaxing Memorial Day weekend!

The importance of oral cancer screenings, from Drs. Gilleran and Van Fossen

In our continuing efforts to provide the most advanced technology and highest quality care available to our patients, Gilleran and Van Fossen Cosmetic Dentistry screens our patients for oral cancer. The fact is, every hour of every day in the U.S., someone dies of oral cancer, which is the sixth-most common diagnosed form of the disease. The five-year survival rate is only 50 percent, and oral cancer is one of the few cancers whose survival rate has not improved.

Early detection of pre-cancerous tissue can minimize or eliminate the potentially disfiguring effects of oral cancer and possibly save your life. Ask Drs. Gilleran or Van Fossen about a screening at your next appointment! In addition to oral cancer screenings, we offer complimentary blood pressure screenings, take-home test kits for testing your cholesterol level and snoring/sleep apnea appliances (we'll be discussing these individually in the near future).

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Let Drs. Gilleran and Van Fossen know how they're doing!

Whether you've visited the office of Drs. Gilleran and Van Fossen for a week, months or even years, we'd love to hear about your experience with us! There are lots of ways you can share your thoughts about our practice with the rest of the world, but we encourage you to head to our Google Local page and write a review there.

After all, your positive reviews and referrals help Drs. Gilleran and Van Fossen create more and more beautiful smiles here in Chicago!

Or, you may write a review on our Yelp page.

Thank you and enjoy your week!

- The team at Gilleran and Van Fossen Cosmetic and General Dentistry

Drs. Gilleran and Van Fossen, supporting National Physical Fitness and Sports Month

Did you know the month of May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month? In 1983, President Ronald Reagan encouraged Americans to include more physical activity into our lives, and the reminder is even more significant today as people are more distracted by television, social networking, video games and working more hours. Living an active lifestyle can and does improve physical and mental health, productivity and overall well-being. The best part? It doesn’t have to take a lot of time or effort.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has provided these public health guidelines for your reference. The guidelines call for people to exercise one hour every day of moderate intensity physical activity (such as playing sports or brisk walking) or one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous activity (jogging, jumping rope or dancing).

At Gilleran and Van Fossen Cosmetic and General Dentistry, we always encourage our patients to exercise or participate in sports. However, we want to remind you to always wear a mouth guard or other forms of mouth or facial protection when doing so. To learn more about how often you should exercise, we recommend you check out these helpful tips, courtesy of our friends at the American Heart Association.