Five Things You Can Do To Spread Holiday Cheer

After reflecting on the goodness of Thanksgiving, I wanted to offer some thoughts on simple ways you can spread holiday cheer as we are about to embark on the cheeriest month of the year. Don't let the stresses and overwhelming nature of shopping, decorating and the tedious things that need to get done weigh you down. Take these ten things on to keep that smile on your face all month long. 

1. Hold the door open for someone any chance you get. Show that chivalry, regardless of who you are. People will be in a hurry during the holidays. This is a good way to help them on their way. 

2. Bake some goodies for your neighbors, officemates or old friends who may not be expecting it. Who doesn't like some delicious holiday treats? (Just don't use too much sugar - take care of those teeth!)

3. Celebrate the season. Tell your cashiers, customers or strangers you pass on the street, "Merry Christmas," "Happy Hannukah," and "Happy Holidays!" It will take the Scrooge out of people.

4. Buy coffee or a meal for the person behind you when you're out to grab your morning Joe or a quick bite to eat. The chain of paying it forward is an incredible one. Get it started.

5. Smile! Our goal every day is to make you smile, so take that smile out to the world and share it with others. You never know how much your beautiful smile could positively impact someone who needs a kick of holiday cheer this season. 

Happy December to all!

Give Thanks

With the holiday weekend about halfway through, I've reflected on the goodness that Thanksgiving brings. We have so many things to be thankful for in our lives. I'm thankful for my family, friends, our practice, patients and supporters. I'm thankful to be blessed with a wonderful staff and an environment that makes me happy every single day. I'm very thankful for smiles.

I'm also thankful for things like the Texas Hill Country, a great dinner, good hugs and memorable vacations. Even the little things like an extra kick of customer service or a simple thank you. There are so many things that we can be thankful for on a daily basis. The reason that Thanksgiving is so great is because it reminds us that we are to give and celebrate thanks for blessings of any shape or size. 

So, give thanks - not just yesterday or once a year, but rather, give it every day. Be thankful for what you have. When you feel gratitude for something that someone has done for you, show them that gratitude with a thank you, regardless of the form.

As W.J. Cameron once said, "Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action." 

Reasons To See An Orthodontist

The American Association for Orthodontists provides a great explanation for all of the reasons to see an orthodontist. If you recognize any of these signs in your child or yourself, it might be time to schedule a consultation with an orthodontist.

• Early or late loss of baby teeth 
• Difficulty chewing or biting 
• Mouth breathing 
• Sucking the thumb or fingers, or other oral habits 
• Crowded, misplaced or blocked-out teeth 
• Jaws that shift, make sounds, protrude or are recessed 
• Speech difficulty 
• Biting the cheek or biting into the roof of the mouth 
• Protruding teeth Teeth that meet in an abnormal way or don’t meet at all 
• Facial imbalance or asymmetry (features out of proportion to the rest of the face) 
• Grinding or clenching of teeth Inability to comfortably close lips

There are many reasons, so if one of these fits your mold, don't delay in contacting your friendly, neighborhood orthodontist.

 

Reasons to Smile

The act of smiling is more complex than most people give it credit for, and smiling can literally change your life and the lives of people around you. Here are three reasons why you should start to show off your pearly whites to start benefitting your mind, body and soul.

First, smiling helps your mind because it can change your mood. Psychologists have found that if you smile for a minimum of 60 seconds, whether the smile is forced or fake, that the body will begin to emit serotonin which is a hormone that can trick the body into making a person feel happy.

Second, smiling can help your body, because it boosts your immune system. Smiling has been proven to steady one’s breathing, lower the heart rate and relax the entire body, which contributes to a stronger immune system, and ultimately, better health.

Third, smiling can better your soul because it can help you live longer. Positivity is a direct result of smiling which means that smiling keeps everyone happier. A research team at Columbia University concluded that people who were happier were less likely to develop heart problems. So for the sake of your mind, body, and soul make sure that you smile and remember that, in the words of Dale Carnegie, “A smile costs nothing, but creates much. It enriches those who receive, without impoverishing those who give. It happens in a flash and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.”

When in Rome: The Ancient Times of Orthodontics and Braces

Although orthodontic braces weren’t invented until the 1800s, cultures all over the world have been preoccupied with the idea of straight teeth and proper jaw alignment since the times of the Ancient Egyptians. Each culture adopted a unique way of manipulating people’s teeth and thus the world was left with a range of methods all solving the same problem of crooked teeth.

Archaeologists found a cord made from animal intestines wrapped along the teeth in many mummified remains which shows the Egyptian’s effort to close gaps in between the teeth. According to the American Association of Orthodontics, archaeologists have also discovered Greek dental equipment that indicates humans began practicing orthodontics as early as 1000 B.C. The Greeks would use something resembling a mouth guard and place it in the mouth of the deceased in order to preserve the appearance of the teeth so that they would appear the same in the afterlife.

The earliest ancient Roman record of dental care came from a man named Aulus Cornelius Celsus. Celsus kept a detailed record of all his work and holds the first recorded attempt to straighten or move teeth by use of finger pressure. His hypothesis was that the teeth were slowly moving and realigning themselves due to the outside pressure of the finger.  

Similar to the Egyptians, the Ancient Romans remains were found with a small gold wire that was used to create a bracket like fixture inside of the mouth. Without these small steps in history, there would be no foundation for the invention of braces and the history of braces may have been completely different. If you or someone you know has braces, take a moment to be thankful about these unusual methods and how they set the foundation for future discoveries. 

Save the Teeth. Sip a Straw.

According to Medical News Today, the average American consumes almost 45 gallons of soft drinks per year. Along with causing health problems, this sugary addiction may also cause problems for the mouth and specifically the teeth.

Allowing sugary and acidic beverages to dwell in the mouth is one of the top sources for cavities among Americans. In a perfect world, we would not have the temptation of acidic sugary drinks and we could contently consume water all day, but as we all know, we do not live in a perfect world. However, we do in a world with straws.

Yes, straws! These small tiny liquid transporters will be a starting point in trying to reduce the amount of tooth decay due to sugary drinks. There  is a proper placement of the straw that will allow minimum amounts of sugar and acid to travel through the mouth (remember that your throat is thirsty not your teeth). If you place the straw directly in front of your teeth behind your upper lip then you are exposing too much of the front of your mouth, and you will find the decay there.

If you drink directly from a can then more than likely you will see eroding in back of the mouth area near the molars. Of course, it's always best to substitute water for one of those sugary beverages. Always remember that a clean mouth is a happy mouth! 

Healthy Teeth, Healthy Life

With all of the resources we have in this day and age, it isn’t hard to know what type of things are good and bad for your teeth. Everyone knows the healthy teeth routine: Brush twice a day, floss daily, and take regular visits to your healthcare professional. Yet even though this information has been reiterated to us since we were children, we still insist on consuming those delicious, yet harmful, drinks exposing our teeth to some nasty bacteria. Here is a brief list of beverages that you should consider cutting back on or even giving up completely to make your teeth healthier and even benefit your overall health.

·         Sugary drinks: These drinks contain so much acid that they bathe the teeth every time that you take a sip. Pick up some water instead!

·         Alcohol: Consuming alcohol causes the body to produce significantly lower amounts of saliva. The saliva made by the body acts as a natural cleanser, because it cleans out left behind food particles and acts as a shield against acids.

·         Coffee: You may not know it, but coffee can make your teeth sticky, and this stickiness allows for an increased amount of food to stick on and around the teeth, which unless you’re saving some for later, is never a good thing.

Cutting back on these three things may be more difficult than you think, but with a little determination and a lot of self-control, you’ll be on your way to healthier teeth and a healthier life. 

To Chew or Not to Chew

Choosing a brand of chewing gum may seem like a simple task, but you may be surprised to find out that it’s more than just the difference in price and flavor that distinguishes regular gum from gum you should be choosing. People tend to buy the brands that have the funniest commercials, the most appealing wrappers or the cheapest price tags, but there is chewing gum that is better and will benefit you and your teeth.

 According to Mouth Healthy’s website, chewing sugarless gum for at least 20 minutes has been clinically proven to prevent tooth decay. Mouth Healthy also recommends looking for a chewing gum that has the ADA Seal of Acceptance which means that it has been tested for safety and effectiveness.

So which brand follows the criteria above the best? Trident! Trident is a 5-calorie, sugarless, ADA-approved chewing gum and is highly recommended across the nation. Trident sugarless gum contains xylitol which is a natural sugar-free sweetener that not only tastes delightful, but helps to prevent tooth decay.

Trick or Treat

Was your kiddo on a sugar high last night? Do you have pounds of candy left to dig into? Well, if you have braces or if your child does, here are sweets to avoid to help stay on their proper orthodontic path:

Bubble gum: As much fun as it is to blow bubbles, this sticky candy can get caught on braces and pull them off. Additionally, the sugar in the gum can get behind braces and cause cavities or tooth decay.

Suckers: These candies don’t seem as bad as many others, but the temptation to bite and chew on these rock-hard treats can be too much for some children. Chewing on hard candies can dislodge braces.

Caramels, taffy or other chewy candies: Just like bubble gum, these kinds of candies can get stuck and pull braces out of their brackets.

Here are some candies that they can enjoy (in moderation) after trick-or-treating:

Chocolate bars without nuts: Hershey bars, Kit Kat Bars and Three Musketeers are all on the safe list for kids with braces. The chocolate is soft and the “melt in your mouth” quality won’t have any effect on your child’s braces.

Small, soft chocolate candies: Plain M&Ms or Malt Balls pass the test because they are small enough that kids can pop them in their mouths without biting down and disrupting appliances.

Read my full article in the Express-News at: http://bit.ly/1aradgd.