Your Health

Smile shopping

Looking for a good dentist?

Mitchell Dental Spa in Chicago offers a few tips:

Rely on recommendations of family and friends, and, to a lesser extent, Internet ratings, where a few extreme cases can skew impressions.

Interview the office before you make an appointment. Is the receptionist knowledgeable and caring or rushed and irritated? Ask the staff member to describe the dentist and his or her approach - aggressive or conservative? Newer practices or established techniques? Try to get a feel for the dentist's personality.

Ask whether or how much the dentist attends continuing education. Good dentists continually update their skills.

Ask whether the dentist uses magnification or loupes during procedures. Brain surgeons use magnifying lenses - Mitchell Dental believes good dentists do, too.

Check the office for cleanliness. If the staff is not attending to what you can see, imagine how they handle what you can't see.

Check out quality, then price, not price alone.

Computercise your mind

Computers aren't just for young whippersnappers.

A new study suggests computerized brain exercises can help older folks memory and thinking.

The study, in this month's Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, tested those over 65 who spent an hour a day doing brain teasers and other mental exercises on a computer.

Those who worked out with their brains performed like they were 10 years younger on memory and attention tests.

Many also said they did better in everyday activities like remembering names and understanding conversations in noisy restaurants.

Doctors say the Internet and computer games can challenge the mind, distract from aches and pains, increase coordination and reduce stress at any age.

Free pedometers

Psychoanalysis is also called "the talking cure," so getting around by foot must be "the walking cure."

Anyone looking to get some exercise and fresh air can get a free pedometer this month from the Illinois Podiatric Medical Association.

Call (888) 869-3338, visit ipma.net, or let your "tweet" do the walking through Twitter. Text Tweet@ipma to get a list of participating podiatrists in your area.

Then, call your local podiatrist to arrange to pick up your pedometer.

The pedometer tells you how many steps you've walked. Some authorities recommend walking 10,000 steps a day to maintain an active fitness level.

Walking is a low-impact form of exercise that most people can do, and has been associated with lower blood pressure, cholesterol and body mass.