“My child has a cavity and needs a filling or a stainless
steel crown, on a baby tooth. These are just baby teeth right?”

So how important are these teeth?

Very important for your child’sdevelopment. Baby (primary) teeth provide the function of chewing during the
years of greatest body growth. These teeth provide an attractive appearance and smile. Primary teeth play a role in speech. From the orthodontic viewpoint primary teeth, especially the molars, help guide the permanent teeth into
place.

Baby teeth will remain on average until 10-13 years of age.

So if your child has a cavity in a baby tooth and the dentist recommends a filling, you should feel confident
that this is the right thing to do to maintain your child’s mouth and restore it to health.

How do I prevent cavities in the baby teeth?

            First,take your child to your dentist or pediatric dentist when your child’s first tooth appears, usually around age 6 months. Your dentist and the dental team will give you information about infant dental health and maintaining healthy teeth.

You may be aware that sugar isn’t good for teeth, primary or permanent, but even fruit juices sipped frequently cause tooth decay at an early age.  Frequency and stickiness of sugary foods are the main culprits. Sticky foods such as fruit roll ups, raisins, and gummy bears stick to the biting surfaces of the
teeth as well as in between the teeth and lead to cavities.  Cavities in primary teeth develop between
the teeth.

Parents need to clean their child’s teeth beginning with the first tooth at age 6 months. Most children at age 8-9 years need parental assistance. If your child has orthodontic treatment, you will
need to supervise their oral hygiene on a daily basis.

So how do I clean my child’s first tooth at 6 months old and beyond?

            You can start with a Q-tip, washcloth, or cotton ball.  As your child grows, let you child watch you
brush his/her teeth. Avoid strongly flavored toothpaste, especially mint flavored, which is “hot”. But most importantly, see your dentist and dental team and let them show you how to take care of your child’s teeth.  Children are changing every day, so don’t assume that if you take good care of your own teeth that you can manage theirteeth on your own. Seek professional advice.

With In-Ovation R system braces, achieving an attractive, healthy smile has never been easier or more comfortable. Their unique, patient-friendly design means that you have less chair time, reduced discomfort and far fewer appointments than older style braces.

In-Ovation R is gentle because it softly guides your teeth into alignment. It uses a free-sliding technology which places little to no pressure on your teeth.  As a result, you treatment time not only takes less time and requires fewer appointments, but is far more comfortable than with traditional fixed-wire braces.

In-Ovation is an excellent system to move teeth;  however, treatment time will vary between patients due to the following:

Excellent cooperation with no bracket breakage and excellent brushing and flossing will allow the braces to work as quickly as possible if you want to complete treatment faster, follow our recommendations with oral hygiene care, and be careful with the foods you eat to avoid breaking a bracket.  Each patient has an estimated treatment time.   If you want to complete treatment under the estimated time, just follow our directions! You will achieve a beautiful healthy smile!

*Text supplied partly by GAC, the makers of In-Ovation system braces and with additions by Dr. Lavonne K. Fore.

The American Association of Orthodontists has scared up somebraces-friendly sweets for the Halloween table to help orthodonticpatients stay on track to achieving a healthy beautiful smile. It’s no trick — these treat recipes are fun to make, fun to eat — and they won’t put a dent in your smile.

For more braces-friendly recipes and tips, visit http://braces.org

Food

Spider Bites

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

1 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 package black rope licorice,

cut into short 1-inch pieces

1 small tube of green (or color of choice) decorating gel

Toothpicks

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In large bowl, combine shortening, sugar, water, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add eggs into mixture and blend. Slowly mix in flour, cocoa,salt and baking powder using low medium speed. Drop tablespoon helpings of mix ture onto ungreased cookie sheets and roll each helping into a ball. Bake 9 minutes. 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. Keep licorice pieces short so as not to harm braces. Once all eight pieces are in place, create eyes or decorate at will using the green decorating gel. Recipe idea adapted from “The Braces Cookbook” by Pamela Waterman.

Frightful Finger Cookies

Makes: ____ cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup almond slices, or whole almonds

1 tube red decorating gel

1 tube green food coloring

Preheat oven to 325°F. Beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla. Slowly beat in the flour, baking powder and salt. If you want green finger cookies, add drops of green food coloring to dough until you achieve a nice deep green color.  Divide the dough into four equal parts, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Take one quarter of the dough at a time from the refrigerator. Break off one heaping tea spoonful and roll it intoa finger shape. Squeeze in around the middle of the finger to create a knuckle shape. Then, using a butter knife, make indents in several places to resemble a finger. Repeat with rest of dough. Place cookies on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes — let cool. Then, squeeze red decorating gel onto the tip of each finger and gently press an almond on top so the gel oozes out from underneath. Remove cookies from baking sheets and let them cool on wire racks. Recipe idea adapted from “CDKitchen.com’s” Marlene C.Mcasias.

Black-Cherry Fruit-Batsand Citrus Orange Pumpkin Fruity Cutouts

Makes about 2 dozen each

Black-Cherry Bats:

2 3-ounce 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 medium saucepan, stir together 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-inch 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 bat-shapes with cookie cutters 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. Keep chilled.

For the Citrus Orange Pumpkins, repeat the directions with:

2 3-ounce packages orange

gelatin (dry)

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup orange juice (no pulp)or lemonade

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Use pumpkin-shaped cookies cutters asdesired.

Recipe idea adapted from “The Braces Cookbook” by Pamela Waterman.

In general, orthodontic patients should look for foods that are soft and easy to chew.

Soft, melt in your mouth chocolates, peanut butter cups, Milk shakes, sliced apples, and Ice cream.

Treats to Avoid

In general, orthodontic patients should avoid treats that are sticky, hard, chewy or crunchy.

Caramel, Nuts (including candies that contain nuts), Licorice, jelly beans or taffy, hard pretzels, bubble gum, candy corn, lollipops, popcorn (including unpopped kernels), taco chips, and ice.

Kids (and adults) who indulge in sweets should remember to do so in moderation and to brush and floss afterward. More information for trick-or-treaters is available at http://www.braces.org

White Spots-Active Lesions (white/chalky appearance)

Do you have white spots on your teeth? Excessive consumption of highly acidic drinks, such as sodas or sports drinks, can cause erosion on your tooth surfaces and increase your chance of developing these white spots.

Wearing braces can trap plaque, allowing it to build-up, and making it difficult to clean your teeth around brackets. The acid produced by the bacteria in this plaque eats into your teeth, especially around brackets and bands, causing mineral loss and white spots. These are unsightly and can also later become cavities. It is important to prevent orthodontic white spots from developing by carefully removing plaque, and boosting fluoride, calcium and phosphate around your teeth.

MI Paste / MI Paste Plus

• Guards against plaque build-up and harmful bacteria
• Helps strengthen tooth enamel
• Helps prevent while spots from forming
• Helps increase the enamel’s appearance and reflectivity

Be careful during your treatment to brush and floss your teeth thoroughly.

Click here to download a PDF about using MI Paste and MI Paste Plus

The folks at bracesquestions.com have put together a great video about common issues patients with braces might face. Watch it below:

And don’t forget to check out the videos at the Fore Orthodontics YouTube page!

Carlie Woods won a $15 gift card for Jandy’s frozen yogurt for her picture crawling through a tortoise.

We want to congratulate Carlie and hope she enjoys her frozen yogurt. And thank you to everyone who entered. Become our fan on Facebook to make sure you hear about our next fun contest!

Here is Carlie’s winning picture: