DR.KATETALKS

When my daughter lets me back in the kitchen (she’s been baking decadent desserts every single day while stuck at home), I make something that’s a little bit less sinful. This recipe is for fruit crisp from The Brain Warrior’s Way cookbook. It uses much less sugar and you can use any fruit you have on hand. The best part is the crisp topping. If you want to kick it up a notch put it over vanilla ice cream. Or have it for break...

It’s been nearly two weeks since the Kansas Stay-At-Home order was lifted (at least Phase 1 of it). While I’m happy to get back to business, there’s also a part of me that misses the quarantine life and feels somewhat GUILTY about it – and I know I can’t be the only one. I’m a bag of mixed feelings right now, and it’s so confusing…

I entered into quarantine filled with trepidation and disbelief that something like this could tr...

Happy Easter from my family to yours! Most of us have celebrated much differently this year, but it is our responsibility – for our families, our children's memories, and our communities – to make them as meaningful as possible.

For good or bad, the coronavirus is preventing us from living our lives on autopilot. By disrupting our normal rhythms, it is forcing us all to take a closer look at our lives. Some things that seemed...

As the Thanksgiving season is almost upon us, I (and every podcast, blog, and IG post) have found myself pondering what i'm most grateful for.  I try to be mindful each and every day about what I'm appreciative of. Whether it is just the way a dental procedure went and how a patient reacted to the stress of it, or the way that my child hugged me before I left for work, I'm actively looking for things to be grateful for.  When...

For many adults, high school is a time they are glad is over, done, finito. Some remember their adolescent years as traumatic and cringe at the prospect of seeing their peers from their old stompin’ grounds ever again. Others feel awkward to remember the way that they used to be. So when a high school reunion rolls around, people come up with all kinds of excuses for not attending.

Right, wrong, or indifferent, I decided to mak...

Whew, summer has been a wild ride! Between three epic summer family vacations, baseball games/tourneys/trips for two boys, dance competitions, triathlon events and training, continuing education meetings, and busy work schedules that seemed to vary from week to week, it was difficult to keep up.  Our next door neighbor doesn't even really believe that we inhabit our home anymore! I know that summer is supposed to be relaxing b...

I wrote my thoughts down first when my grandmother graciously bequeathed her piano to me as she knew how much I loved it, and her, by extension. Now that she is gone, I’ve realized that her gift serves as a physical reminder of her presence and impact on my life. I’m so glad that I had 43 years to learn from her example, grow from her wisdom, and poke fun at her ditziness. 

Kay, or Gram as we all call her, gave me her beau...

Each day I look at a lot of different teeth, as we all do as general dentists.   In hygiene checks, not only do I check the health of the teeth, gingiva, and associated structures, but I also do an oral cancer screening and evaluate for airway problems.  My interest with airway issues came not from CE classes, but from my own child.

My daughter had Class IV tonsils--I honestly do not know how the child ate, breathed...

As a mom and a dentist, I am constantly running through my daily to-do list, figuring what patient or exam I need to run to next, and deciding what fire to put out. I’m juggling hats, jobs, and a stack of responsibilities.  Some days I visualize myself as a Chinese acrobat perched on top of a rickety stack of chairs, balancing 10 plates on my head.  Sometimes life gets so hectic that even having simple one-on-one conversations...

Ah, the sweetness of summer… As it comes to a close and the unhurried days of August turn into the bustle of back-to-school mania, I, like many families have been traveling and eking out the last bits of goodness from the dog days of summer. My family traveled to Colorado to get in some quality outdoor adventures, family memory making, and shared time together. 

In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller: “Life moves pretty f...