Dental Mouthguards Protect Teeth and Braces

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Tis the season for outdoor school and community sports, and that means athletes of all sorts should work hard to avoid damage to their teeth. Plastic mouthguards go a long way toward preventing injuries, and braces-wearers must be extra careful. Fortunately, these guards are readily available from dentists, orthodontists, and sporting goods stores, and can be shaped to the individual wearer.

Here's an article on the topic from orthodontist John Fishell of McMurray, PA:

http://dentalcorp.com/dental/index.php/tag/football-mouth-guard/

Not only does this protect your investment in braces, but it helps avoid major dental rework.

Tender Cooking Tips for Braces-Friendly Recipes

A simple choice of ingredients can go a long way in cooking meals that are melt-in-your-mouth friendly for braces-wearers.  Here are a number of my favorites:

Lemon, lime and orange juice
Any form of tomato product - tomato juice, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, ketchup, BBQ sauce
Vinegar and vinegrette dressings
Wines

These foods are all naturally acidic, and therefore break down the structure of whatever you're cooking, from chicken and beef to seafood and pork. Look for them in prospective recipes.

A Halloween "Candy" Snack Recipe

Halloween is just around the corner, and you or your children are thinking candy. Well, here's a braces-friendly alternative to rubbery packaged fruit snacks:

Black-Cherry Fruit-Bats and Citrus Orange Pumpkins

Fruit snacks, fruit "leather," gummy bears - whatever your favorite, these smooth and soft fruit shape substitutions will satisfy your craving while keeping braces-hardware safe. Here are two ways to enjoy them with a Halloween flair.

For Black-Cherry Bats:

2 (3-oz.) packages black-cherry gelatin (dry)
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup grape juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Empty both packages of dry gelatin powder into a large bowl. In a medium saucepan, stir together the water and juice; bring to a full boil then remove pan from heat. Pour hot juice mixture slowly into bowl, stirring constantly with a large spoon. Keep stirring for two minutes or until all granules have dissolved. Add lemon juice and stir to mix.

Pour mixture into a 9" round or square pan and place pan in refrigerator. Chill for at least 3 hours or until firm. Cut into squares with a knife, or into small bat-shapes with cookie cutters (available at craft stores or discount department stores) dipped in hot water. If pieces are hard to get out, set the entire pan for a minute onto a cookie sheet filled with a quarter-inch of hot water. Makes two dozen squares. Keep chilled.

For the Citrus Orange Pumpkins, repeat the directions with:

2 (3-oz.) packages orange gelatin (dry)
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice (no pulp) or lemonade
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Use tiny pumpkin-shaped cookies cutters as desired.

Dental facts and myths - a good list that goes beyond braces

Between "old wives' tales" and "conventional  wisdom" there can be quite a few bits of misinformation floating around. The topic of teeth and what can affect their health is no exception. Check out these bits from http://www.dentalassistingschool.org/:

Are Baby Teeth Important?
Wrong Answer: Since they are just going to fall out anyway, why bother?
Right Answer: Because tooth neglect at any age can lead to serious health problems, baby teeth should be treated with the same care as adult teeth. In addition, baby teeth that have been neglected can fall out sooner, resulting in crooked or malformed adult teeth.

When Should You be Concerned about Wisdom Teeth?
Wrong Answer: Leave wisdom teeth in until they bother you.
Right Answer: Once a wisdom tooth has become impacted, or misaligned, it can lead to serious problems such as infection or periodontitis. A good rule to remember is to get them removed earlier, as the procedure is easier and comes with less complications. If unsure about how to proceed, have your dentist take X-rays.

Check out even more dental food for thought at
http://dentalassistingschool.org/top-10-teeth-myths-that-everyone-still-believes/

How can you learn how much braces cost?

I found a website/blog that has a lot of good general information about what affects the cost of braces: check out www.howmuchbracescost.com.

Comfort Food Braces Cookbook - typo in the Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Softies

Just when you think that having five people read a book for typos, including a paid editor, would catch absolutely every error, you find another one. In our title, The Braces Cookbook 2, on pg 111, in the recipes for Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Softies, we left out the word "cup" in: 1/4 cup vegetable oil - arrgh! Just to be perfectly clear, here is the recipe in full. Now that it's Fall, it's a great time for this treat.

Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Softies

Mmmm – nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger – enjoy the fragrance of Thanksgiving cooking without all the fuss. These cookies combine the moisture of pumpkin purée and the fun of chocolate chips. They’re even softer the second day (if you can wait that long), after they’ve been placed in a tightly-sealed container.
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 (15-ounce) can plain pumpkin purée
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons molasses
1 Tablespoon milk
1 (12-ounce) bag chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 25 minutes.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. In a large mixing bowl, with a mixer or whisk, combine the pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs, oil, molasses and milk. Add the flour mixture slowly into the pumpkin mixture until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
The dough is very soft. Drop by heaping Tablespoons onto greased cookie sheets, 12 cookies to a pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Makes 36 – 40 cookies. Store in a covered container between sheets of waxed paper.
*** Chef Amee’s Gourmet Touch
Replace all-purpose flour with my favorite secret baking ingredient – whole-wheat pastry flour, about 1¼ cups. Not only is it healthier, but it keeps baked goods moist longer. Top these little cookies with a sprinkle of fine sugar for a bit of added sparkle, and bake according to directions.

From The Braces Cookbook: Comfort Food with a Gourmet Touch (2009)
ISBN 978-097749223-7 The Discovery Box

Wear your Retainer!!

Recently someone on Live Journal asked about whether she should get a new retainer to replace her broken one. She'd worn it off and on since age 14, and is now 21. She also wondered what it might cost. I've seen this question come up every once in a while in a blog, and here's my response: Wear it!!

It's a no-brainer, really! Wear it every night and you won't regret it! I had five years of braces as a teen, long enough ago that the theory was, wear the retainer a few years, get your wisdom teeth out, and then you're fine. Wrong! My teeth shifted so much I ended with a *big* gap right between my lower front teeth. I didn't notice it in the mirror when I smiled, but after I saw myself on videos I realized it really showed when I talked (I just don't talk to my mirror much, I guess).

Anyhow, I had to get adult braces for a year to fix it, so now I'm going to wear the retainer at night forever - it is so *not* a big deal at all. Also, my daughter's retainer broke and it was only $150 (no insurance involved) to get it replaced, just a couple of months ago, so it really would be worth it. Ask any orthodontist - they just do the mold and send it out. In a few days you have the new retainer and a lifetime of smiles.