Words and actions form the foundation for a strong, supportive relationship. The demands of children, aging parents, work and other responsibilities can, at times, lead partners to take one another for granted.

A few small things can improve a relationship:

How good are you at coping with adversity or the unexpected? Challenges that we didn’t anticipate can throw us for a loop. Take for example, COVID-19. The good news is that you can improve your resiliency skills, thereby enabling you to bounce back more easily when confronted with a crisis or overwhelming challenge.

Here are a few tips:

Differentiate the problems from your response to them. You can react with panic, anxiety and distress, or choose to stay calm.

View your strengths positively. Remind yourself that you’ve gotten through tough times before and you can apply the strategies you successfully used in the past to manage the current challenge.

Expect change. Nothing in life is constant, and sometimes it seems that more gets thrown at us than we anticipated. The upside is that change can help us grow.

Keep your perspective. Remind yourself that “this too shall pass,” and think about it in the bigger scheme of life.

Lean on supportive family, friends and peers. Use your support system to help brainstorm solutions.

Stay flexible. Considerable multiple options, use different approaches to problem-solving and have a flexible mindset.

Pay attention to your own needs. During times of crisis, staying physically and mentally fit can help you fight stressors of all kinds. Practice healthy habits.

Laugh as much as you can. When you see humor in something, laugh at life’s wackiness. Look for the light at the end of the tunnel. Remember that even the darkest of days don’t last forever.

Build your resilience skills. Learn how to stay balanced. Use adaptive coping skills. Express gratitude.

It is important that children, teens and adults see the dentist on a regular basis, the most common interval being every six months.

A regular visit to the dentist will not only help keep your teeth and mouth healthy, but will keep the rest of your body healthy.

Dental care is important because it helps prevent tooth decay, and protects against periodontal (gum) disease, which can lead to tooth and bone loss.

In addition, during regular dental visits the dentist will check for mouth cancer, and identify potential problems of which you might not yet be aware (i.e., a crack in a tooth).