A few Halloween safety tips

Trick-or-treat! In the spirit of October’s sweet and spooky holiday, Halloween, Dr. Phillips would like to remind all of our patients to be safe while celebrating with friends and family. The American Association of Orthodontists, or AAO, has provided trick-or-treaters with some tips for a ghoulishly good time.

A few Halloween safety guidelines:
• Young children should always be accompanied by an adult
• Carry a flashlight
• Wear a light-colored or reflective costume
• Choose face paint over masks for young ghosts and goblins
• Have an adult inspect all treats before the children dig in

Many treats can cause havoc for trick-or-treaters who are going through orthodontic treatment. If you happen to damage your braces, please give our staff a call immediately. Typically, small problems can be solved over the phone.

We wish you all a happy, safe, and spooky Halloween!

A Great Braces Friendly Halloween Recipe

Our team knows how tempting this time of the year can be on our sweet tooth. With all of the caramel, candy corn, and lollipops that are often passed around to trick-or-treaters, we realize that it can sometimes be hard to find hard, chewy, sticky, and crunchy candy alternatives.

However, there is good news! Today, we would like to share a great braces-friendly Halloween recipe with all of our patients, courtesy of the American Association of Orthodontics, or AAO, and “The Braces Cookbook” by Pamela Waterman. This Spider Bites recipe is delicious, and provided that you remember to brush and floss after indulging, this is a cookie that won’t bite back!

Spider Bites

Ingredients:

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1 Tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup cocoa
• 1 Tsp. salt
• ½ Tsp. baking powder
• 1 package black rope licorice, cut into 1-inch pieces**
• 1 small tube of white (or color of choice) frosting
• Toothpicks

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine shortening, sugar, water, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add eggs into the mixture and blend. Slowly mix in flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder using low-medium speed. Drop tablespoon helpings of mixture onto ungreased cookie sheets and roll each helping into a ball.

Bake 9 minutes at 375 degrees. The batch should produce around three dozen cookies.

Let cookies cool for about 10 minutes. Then using a toothpick, create four small holes in either side of the cookie. Still using the toothpick, push one end of a piece of the cut licorice into each hole, creating the “legs” of the spider. Once all eight pieces are in place, create eyes or decorate at will using the white frosting. Then eat and enjoy!

**Licorice can sometimes stick to braces; parents should monitor

October is National Orthodontic Health Month

Can you believe October is already upon us? October happens to be National Orthodontic Health Month, and this month-long event is organized by our friends at the American Association of Orthodontists, or AAO.

Many treats can cause havoc for trick-or-treaters who are going through orthodontic treatment, and these treats may cause damage that could prolong your treatment time. The AAO recommends patients avoid the following Halloween treats, or recipes with these ingredients:

• Caramel
• Nuts
• Popcorn (including un-popped kernels)
• Taffy
• Jelly beans
• Hard pretzels
• Licorice
• Bubblegum
• Taco chips
• Ice

If you happen to damage your braces, please give Dr. Phillips and our staff a call immediately. Typically, small problems can be solved over the phone. Loose brackets or wires can usually be made more comfortable by applying some wax until the you can come into our office.

The First Adjustment

Part III on Mallory's story with braces is below. Hope you enjoy!

My first time back in the dental chair after braces was a little intimidating. I was nervous about what it would feel like to have my wires changed and I definitely was nervous about being sore again. Whenever I sat down, we looked at my pictures from before I got my braces on then took a look in the mirror to see how my teeth look now. What a big change from where I started!! Julie took my wires out and then let me go brush and floss. It felt really good to be able to floss and brush without the wires in. I sat down again and Julie clipped the wires to make sure they would not poke me. She then inserted them and clipped them again to make sure I was as comfortable as possible. After she got the new wires in, she recommended that I take ibuprofen again to keep the soreness to a minimum. I also got a power chain put on my braces. This is used to close the small spaces in between my teeth. When I got home that evening, I was a little sore from the adjustment but made sure to eat soft foods and keep taking the ibuprofen. The next day was not bad at all! I was back to eating normal foods and felt just fine!

The First Week With Braces

Check out Part II of Mallory's story with braces below:

I was not sore whenever they first put the braces on. I started taking ibuprofen like Dr. Phillips recommended when I left the office so I was not too sore later on. It was a little hard to eat because my teeth were a little tender. I kept taking the ibuprofen as the directions said on the bottle, every 6 hours with a meal. I ate pasta for dinner and some ice cream for dessert! The cold ice cream made my mouth feel really good. The next day, I was still adjusting to the braces and they still felt a little funny. I ate softer foods for the next 3 days. It was easy to eat things like soup, pasta, potatoes, french fries, jello, and my favorite, ice cream! I was extra careful not to chew anything in a way that might knock one of my braces off. I made sure to brush 3 times a day to keep my teeth really clean. When I brush, I get really close to the mirror and inspect my teeth to make sure that they look clean and that there is no food or anything stuck under the wire or in between the brackets. After the 4th day with braces, I hardly even noticed they were there anymore. I am still very careful with what I eat and it paid off! I haven’t lost one bracket!