Summertime 2015 at Smiles For Kids!

Hello sunshine, swimming, and vacations! We’re so excited to hear about all the kids’ summer camps, vacations, and adventures. It looks like the kiddos are going to some really cool places this summer! We have patients going to local summer camps, lake houses a drive away, and far away destinations like Singapore! Take your Smiles for Kids shirt and snap a picture. You can email it to us and we can share it on our Facebook page! Keep your eyes peeled for our annual summer contest!

When you come in, you might notice that we have a few extra helpers to make the summer flow smoothly. You’ll see Alexander’s smiling face at the front desk. Victor is our seasoned summer helper who lends a hand behind the scenes. They’re both wonderful additions to the Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry team and we’re so happy to have them!

Summer is a great time to get the kids in for their cleanings and check-ups before school starts up. We’ve adjusted our scheduling to accommodate our patients. Give us a call to get your summer appointment before it gets filled up! We can’t wait to see you!

Dr. Jadav

Smiles For Kids Pediatric Dentistry

Staying Hydrated this Summer

As the Houston heat is setting in, Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry wanted to remind everyone about staying hydrated this summer.  It is super important for our kids to get plenty of fluids especially with the onset of intense summer heat and summer activities coming up. It seems like there are a million and one options these days at the grocery store when it comes to drinks for our kids. Here’s a quick guide to help you make the best choices for your little one. Juice

Juice is loaded with sugar, which will only accelerate the cavity process! Even 100% organic juices have lots of sugar. We have to be very careful to limit juices. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting juice intake to less than 4-6 oz per day for children ages 1-6. The constant exposure to sugar and acid can quickly break down teeth.  Because of all the sugar and acid, juice is also not a good choice for hydration.  It actually causes more thirst! We recommend giving children fresh fruit slices to get their daily fruit intake. A fun idea for summer is to freeze grapes for a fun, juicy, and healthy afternoon snack!

Sports Drinks

Sports drinks are not recommended for young children. Having them often increases your child’s risk for obesity. They can cause dental erosion because they are acidic. All the sugar will increase their risk for cavities, too.

Sodas

Soda, as we all know, is bad for our teeth and bodies. Drinking soda can be as bad as having battery acid in our kid’s mouth. The acidity can quickly cause breakdown and weakening of teeth.

Keep in mind that frequency is key. It’s worse to sip on a juice drink all day than to just have it during a meal when it comes to your teeth. We recommend that kids should only use sippy cups if they have not mastered using a cup. If it’s not for mealtime, there should only be water in it. All in all, the best option is always water! It will keep our little ones hydrated without all the side effects that juices, sports drinks, and sodas have.  Not to mention that it is much less pricy!

Look at how much sugar these drinks have in them! We would never let our kids eat sugar cubes so why give them drinks loaded with this much sugar?

Happy Summer!

Dr. Jadav

Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry

My child is a thumb (finger, pacifier) sucker!!! What should I do???

One of the most common questions we get from young parents is about navigating the maze of a "sucking habit".  The so called "non-nutritive sucking" is a natural way of comforting themselves for many young ones.  You are one lucky parent if you have a child who does not suck on hands, thumbs, fingers, blankets, shirts, or stuffed animals.  Most of us however are not this lucky and we spend years trying to figure out what to do about it.  So let me put your mind at ease and give your some dental guidelines on when and what do.   But most of all, I want you to know that all these habits will stop at some point.  I don't have any patients who got to high school or college sucking on anything and any dental problems they had self inflicted because of the habit are all fixed by now.  Some naturally go back to what the jaw wants to look like and some need a little help from a friendly orthodontist.  But nevertheless all our patients will eventually have beautiful smiles.All that said, we do want our patients to go through as little trouble because of sucking habits as possible. But each child is very different and so is each family.  So here are the guidelines and you will need to adapt them to your own situation.  My children have been humbling me each and every day of my life and picking your battles is a very tricky game!

PACIFIERS:

These useful little calming devices are many parents' best friends early in life.  They let us sleep a little which is such a luxury! So if your little one likes a pacifier, let them have it and don't stress about it.  There are many different types of pacifiers and just as many articles on which one of them works best.  But in reality, it's not the pacifier that will determine your little ones bite, it's the force of suction which is each child's individual preference.  One advice we have is to use pacifiers for what they are designed.  If you let your little one rely on it all day you will not only create a habit that is hard to stop, but the amount of time your child is sucking on that pacifier will increase the chances of making big changes in the structure of the jaw.  So our advice is to make them a bed only device.  Keep them in the crib or bed and do not allow them at any other times.  Not only is that dentally desirable but also developmentally important as kids must learn how to self calm without relying on external devices.

Quitting time... From a dental stand point pacifiers should be put away around 18-24 months of age.  This gives the young, growing, flexible jaws plenty of time to reshape themselves and cause as little long term damage as possible.  The good news is that parents have complete power over the pacifiers. That's also the bad news.  That puts the ball in our court :). There is no magic bullet on taking away that paci.  It takes parental will power and couple of short, loud and slightly upsetting nights.  But children are amazing and after two to three nights they find a way of soothing themselves without that long term friend.  You can try cutting off the tip of the paci. Your little one is smart enough to know that it is no longer working and will ask for another one.  That's again where your will power comes in.  You can donate the paci to a cause worthy to your child.  This could be a new baby cousin, puppies or kittens or baby princesses. Anything that rocks his or her boat will work.  The most important part however is that parental resolve. We will be happy to support you in the endeavor, but the hard part is making that leap.

THUMBS/FINGERS AND OTHER BODY PARTS:

This is where real work starts as you cannot take away this handy device!  Kids who want to suck their thumbs will not be tricked with pacifiers so don't worry that you didn't push that pacifier hard enough when they were babies.  We do not advise parents to worry about it  until past the age of three.  We use potty training as a good indicator or readiness. At three years of age we start discussing this habit with both parents and kids.

STEP ONE: between ages of three and four we advise lots of positive encouragement and positive reinforcement with stickers, prizes, example of people and characters they love and respect who do not suck thumbs and promised rewards for quitting.  The goal is to make your child aware of all the wonderful things that can and will happen when they are done with the habit.  Only a small percentage of kids will actually quit at that time, but many will know that they should. If the habit is propelled by a "lovee" of any kind such as a  blanket or stuffed animal, you will have to think about a good time to part with that.  This goes back to parental will power and readiness.  :)

STEP TWO: after four years of age it's time to get a little more serious.  This is the time when some physical barriers such as gloves worn in times most likely leading to sucking (such as during TV time, in the car or during the night time routine) should be engaged.  There is a series of devices sold in kids' stores as well as on the Internet that can help.  But simple bandaids, gloves, or those nasty tasting nail polishes will do the same job for a lot less money.  Of course all of these can be taken off so they must be used in conjunction with all the previous incentives. Your little one must be a willing participant and this work is hard for both them and parents. But don't be discouraged! We are also here to help providing additional prizes, incentives and the wall of fame for all our brave souls who finally quit the habit!  At this point the "lovee" must be gone to achieve any success.

STEP THREE: if your little one is still sucking his or her fingers shortly before the eruption of permanent teeth, well into that 5th year of life, we strongly encourage parents to consider a dental appliance that will assist your little one in getting rid of that  habit.  The appliance is small, fits inside the mouth and causes no pain in fabrication or placement. It's role is not to hurt the fingers or thumbs but to create a permanent barrier that will not allow any suction, which is what causes the satisfaction in sucking those fingers.  Kids do great with that device and it gives us the greatest chance of getting rid of the habit.  We will be happy to show both parents and kids the appliance and discuss its creation.  We advise parents to keep it in for around 6 months to ensure success. Well... Now that we've given you the good, the bad, and the ugly it's time to figure out where your family is in the scheme of readiness.  We are here to provide you moral and emotional support and to be your cheerleaders!

Holiday Time 2014 at Smiles For Kids

It's hard to believe that the Holiday Season of 2014/2015 is over! It went by too fast.  We had a blast at Smiles For Kids with all the different  exciting events of December.  We started the fun during the week of Thanksgiving.  It's always such a busy week for us in the office with so many kiddos being out of school and many of our college age patients visiting.  We worked hard that week, but it was worth it! So much fun. Right after Thanksgiving we saw one of our former assistants, now all grown up with a college degree to her name and grad school ahead of her, get married.  Melissa worked with us for many of her high school and college years and it was so exciting to see her enter with such happiness into marriage. After Thanksgiving we came back to work excited about December.  Aside from all the fun events we participate in, we always think about holiday cheer we could spread to the ones in need.  Every year we adopt a family in need from a local school and shop for them for Christmas.  We fulfill their Christmas wants and needs and this year that included school uniforms, shoes, dishes, toys and gift cards.  Our whole team participated and everyone pulled together to make it an unforgettable Christmas for this family of six.  We also continued our tradition of collecting toys for The Star of Hope.  We love that our amazing patients and their families participate and help us make many little ones happy!

And then of course it's time of celebration! We celebrate a lot of things in our practice every day and during the month of December we share the fun.  We dress up in our best Christmas attire each Friday and spread the joy of the season.

Since this is also the season of reflexion on the past year, we always thank all our referral sources such as pediatricians and other doctors who send us amazing patients with a holiday gift.  This year we had fun dental coaster made for each of the doctors and we treated their teams with lots of chocolate! We also love to spend time with each other and celebrate with a holiday party.  This year we decided on lunch time party at a local restaurant with yummy Italian fare and we shared our Secret Santa gifts (blenders, socks, sweaters, boots... You name it!) as well as our crazy game of White Elephant. After this lovely meal and after sharing a ton of laughter we walked over to Kendra Scott and had a jewelry making party. So many beautiful things were made!!!  So much fun!

The last few days of December were super busy here.  We again welcomed all the kiddos who were out of school and hanging out with us.  We love hearing all the stories  of finals, college acceptance, SATs taken, friends made, upcoming trips, and holiday preparations.  You guys are such important parts of our lives. We are so thankful for having you!

Our last, but not least, joy of 2014 came after Christmas.  As our team was sharing the joy of the holidays with friends and family at home (we close the office in this time because we believe that nothing is as important as family), dr. Jadav was in her final days of pregnancy and her sweet princess, her bundle of joy, Meera, joined us on December 30th.  We are so excited about that and can't wait to meet her!

Our team is excited to enter 2015 and we hope to see you guys very soon.  Thanks for sharing 2014 with us!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Bye, Bye Miss Sugarbug

As many of you know, Miss Sugar Bug is retiring. We’re so thankful for your votes and comments on Facebook for our new mascot. You may be wondering what exactly our mascot does at Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry. Miss Sugar Bug helps get the word out about brushing, flossing, foods/drinks that cause cavities, and what we can do to have a healthy smile! Here are some of the events that our Miss Sugar Bug visits! School Visits

Mrs. Yvette does presentations at local elementary schools, Montessori schools and day cares to help promote healthy smiles! Here are some cute photos of Mrs. Yvette and Miss Sugar Bug in action!

Spring Valley Fall Festival

Most recently, Mrs. Yvette has been taking Miss Sugar Bug on her last few rounds around town! Here are a few photos from the Spring Valley Fall Festival. Mrs. Martina and Mrs. Kasia also had fun at the festival!

Here are a few photos from last year’s Spring Valley Fall Festival.

The Heights Bike Rally

Miss Sugar Bug had fun getting some fresh air and spreading the word about sugar bugs!

Exxon Mobil Health Fair

Check out Mrs. Kasia and Miss Sugar Bug at their awesome booth!

Keep your eyes peeled for the new Smiles for Kids mascot!

Take care,

Dr. Jadav

Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry

Fall for Fun at Smiles For Kids!

With the beautiful fall weather coming our way, we have started decorating for fall and wanted to spread the word about a few of our October events!

 Candy Corn Contest

Come by the front desk to guess how many candy corn candies are in our jar. The closest guess will win a LEGO set! Second and third place winners will get gift cards. The deadline to enter is October 30^th so come on by!

 

Halloween Candy Buy Back

It’s almost time for our annual Halloween Candy Buy Back program! Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry has joined Operation Gratitude in donating candy and toothbrushes to our troops.

Each child is eligible to receive $1 per pound for all unopened, uneaten Halloween candy. We encourage all of our participants to also write a nice note or letter to the troops so that we can deliver them alongside toothbrushes and the candy. The program starts on Tuesday, November 4^th and ends on Friday, November 14^th.

New Mascot

Help us choose our new mascot! We’re retiring Miss Sugar Bug and need your help choosing a new, fluffy friend to help spread the word about sugar bugs! We will post the contenders on our Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Smiles-For-Kids-Pediatric-Dentistry/341764944515). “Like” the one that you want to win by Tuesday, November 4^th. We will announce the winner Wednesday, November 5^th. Look out for our Demand Force update for more details.

We can’t wait to see all of your smiling faces here soon! We hope you enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend!

Dr. Jadav

Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry

PATIENTS' APPRECIATION PARTY 2014

Wow that was fun!  We had such a blast with our patients and parents at our Annual Patients' Appreciation Party.  As we have done in the past 3 years, we rented out Studio Movie Grill in Town and Country for our patients.  Sunday afternoons seem to work very well for everyone so at 2:30pm on Sunday September 21st we welcomed around 150 guests to our party.  We start with fun games for everyone.  Stefanie and Kasia led our Bingo Team.  Kids who won got gift cards to Toys R Us.  That looked like a lot of fun.

We also had our Spinner Game with lots of fun prizes to chose from, Pin A Cavity On A Tooth game led by Yvette and our Bean Bag Toss with Dani as the boss.

 

And of course we always enjoy face painting that Malgosia, Brittney and Anitra took on this year.  They did a great job with ladybugs, snakes, rainbows, flowers and other fun creations.

We invited our special guests this year as well.  Our two balloon artists were fantastic.  They did an amazing job with Frozen characters, swords, Spiderman and they even made us our signature airplane!  So cool!

Idea Lab Kids brought their project as well.  This year they had kids make slime and that was a hit!  We partied hard for about an hour until it was time for food.  Yummy pizza definitely hit the spot with all of us.  Before we started the movie, we did our door prize drawings and both kids and parents got to win gift cards to the movies, Toys R Us or dinners.

Speaking of the movie, this year we watched Wreck It Ralph while munching on popcorn.  That's such a fun movie for everyone.  Fun was had by all!!!  Thanks for coming to celebrate with us.  We truly love our patients and all the parents.

Lift that lip!!!

We love out babies to pieces!  We love those sweet googly eyes, those tiny little ears, those velvety feet and delicious smelling rolls!  We gaze for hours at those adorable little creatures, but somehow baby teeth seem forgotten in the admiration we give them.   Many parents ask us why exactly are we so stuck on those baby teeth.  "Aren't they coming out anyway?" Oh yes they are!  At least we hope so.  But meantime they serve a very important role and we want moms and dads to be well educated about the merits of baby teeth.  We want those teeth to be admired as much as the rest of those fluffy little ones.  So exactly, why are they important?  Well... they help kids eat well and grow strong.  They assist kids in speech development and pronunciation.  They guide permanent teeth into the right position and they provide them with a healthy, adorable smile.  Front baby teeth stay in until six to eight years of age and the back ones do not come out until twelve!  I don't even want to mention the distress that cavities, abscesses, infections, fillings, crowns or extractions cause both parents and kids! Cavities are caused by bacteria in baby's mouth that is fed by sugars from common foods and drinks such as juice, milk, sweets, crackers etc.  Let me show you a picture or two...

But the coolest thing about cavities is that they are preventable!  What would you say if we gave you tools on prevention and early detection?  Wouldn't it be wonderful if you little one's smile always looked like this?

So here are easy prevention tips:

1. Clean and brush your little one's teeth as soon as you see them.  Use soft toothbrush and add toothpaste around 18 months of age.

2. Do not allow your baby to sleep with a bottle filled with anything different than water.  Milk and juice at night will cause cavities.

3. Do not let your toddler snack or crackers, cereal or drink milk or juice all day long.  Have designated snack times.

4. Form good habits by showing your little one your own good oral hygiene, brushing and flossing daily.

5. Find a pediatric dentist and make your first appointment by 1 year of age.

But in all honesty... how will you know if your baby is starting to get cavities?  In order to know for sure  you need to find your baby a dental home by one year of age.  Meantime however, parents and care takers can check by LIFTING THAT LIP!  Lay your little one in your lap once every few weeks and lift the lip up gently.  You can see a lot by gazing at those front pearly whites.  Check for any white lines along the gums, check for dark spots between the teeth or close to the gums, check for any fractures or discoloration.  If you see anything of concern, call your pediatric dentist and set up an appointment.  Here are a few pictures with examples of what you are looking for:

This is how you LIFT THE LIP

Examples of early dental decay: white lines along the gums and early cavitations as well as cavities on the back side of the upper front teeth.

So now that you know, LIFT THAT LIP often, brush, floss, use good judgement on snacks and come see us every six months.  We will help with checking on the back teeth, making sure there are no cavities between the teeth and guiding you through great oral hygiene habits as well as answering any other questions you might have about those adorable smiles!

September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month!

Dr. Lindhorst recently went on a cruise and was sitting on the deck listening to the happy giggles of kids all around.  Huge waves of water from the nearby water slide were sloshing around as kids came down the plastic tubes.  Those waves however, were way too large for a normal size child to make. Kiddos of all ages, from adorably squishy toddlers in parents' arms to teenagers squeezing into way too tiny bathing suits with folds of fat peaking out from under sun shirts, were mostly... well... overweight!  It's an alarming trend to see all around us especially in the age of inexpensive fast food restaurants, availability of sodas and juices, and many unhealthy choices right at the eye level in grocery stores.  These foods can have terrible dental consequences, but we worry about them from a more global perspective as well.

Did you know that 1 in 3 children in the United States is either overweight or obese? Obesity increases a child's risk for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease, asthma, and sleep apnea.

Luckily, we can help prevent childhood obesity. The Smiles for Kids team encourages your family to make these changes together to help minimize your child's risk:

(1) Eat healthy meals together. Try to incorporate fresh fruits and vegetables into every meal of the day. Avoid eating refined sugars. If you're eating grains, choose whole-grain foods. Have your kids help prepare meals so they can learn about healthy choices and portion sizes.

(2) Play together. Encourage your kids to get active. They can play sports, go on a walk with the family, or even ride their bike around the neighborhood. Try to encourage 30-60 minutes of activity time every day.

(3) Limit their screen time. Though ipads and computers are very tempting, try to limit the amount of time your child plays video games or watches television.

(4) Talk to your pediatrician. Know your child's BMI (body mass index) and track it as they grow. It is a calculation based off of your child's weight and height.

These small changes can make a world of difference. We hope that you will spread the word about National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month!

Take care,

Dr. Jadav & the Smiles for Kids Team

Dental Tips for Expecting Moms-From Our Expecting Mom Dr. Jadav

As an expecting mother, I thought I would share some useful information about pregnancy and your oral health.

Seeing the Dentist

It is recommended that you see your dentist for a checkup and cleaning during your pregnancy.   Though it is safe to provide dental treatment throughout pregnancy, it is recommended that you go in your second trimester when you will likely be the most comfortable.  If you do get a cavity or notice anything unusual on your gums, you should see your dentist regardless of where you are in your pregnancy timeline. Let your provider know that you are pregnant and how far along you are so that they can best accommodate you.  The relationship between periodontitis (gum and jaw bone disease) and its effect on preterm, low birth weight infants is still being studied, but if you have a history of gum disease, it is important to see your dentist and hygienist regularly.

What You May Notice

There are several changes that occur in your mouth during pregnancy.  If you suffer from morning sickness and vomiting, it is important to wait one hour after an episode before brushing your teeth.  In the meantime, it’s a good idea to rinse with a cup of water mixed with one teaspoon of baking soda.  You want to minimize erosion to your teeth after stomach acid exposure. Also, you may notice your gums looking red and are even bleeding. This is due to the effects of your hormones changing. Usually these changes come about during your second trimester and peak in the 8^th month of pregnancy. Most women find their front teeth are affected more often than their back teeth. 

Changes You Can Make

Maintaining good oral health is very important during pregnancy for both you and your little bundle of joy. You can do this with brushing, flossing, eating a healthy diet, and seeing your dentist. By improving your oral health, you will decrease bacteria in your own saliva. This will reduce the transfer of cavity-causing bacteria to baby. Talk to your dentist about chewing xylitol gum to help minimize the mother-child transmission of this bacteria.

Dr. Jadav

OUR BIG THREE RULES FOR HEALTHY TEETH

Those of you who have been seeing us on regular basis have heard us repeatedly talk about the BIG THREE RULES. I know... It gets repetitious, but honestly it is hard to overemphasize just how simple and important they are!  So for prosperity sake and for a simple and quick reference we figured that putting them on our blog might just be one more reminder of these easy secrets to healthy teeth.

RULE #1
CLEAN TEETH AT NIGHT

Think of what your body does at night.  It shuts down, it rests, it goes into a “save” mode in order to regenerate for the upcoming challenges of the day ahead.  Your mouth is no different.  It "sleeps" and this means that number one protective substance in your mouth, your saliva, is at its minimum activity level. The cleaning system is shut down.  Cavity causing bacteria love that environment. So if any sugar and acid from your daily consumption of foods and drinks is left on the teeth for all these snoozing hours, cavities will slowly but surely form.  So floss and brush at night and go to sleep with clean teeth.  That does meant that after brushing there is no more snacking, no more last sips of milk, no more sneaking in even healthy snacks like fruit.  Water is the only acceptable snack.  Let those teeth be clean for this vulnerable time of the day and you will take your first step to healthy teeth.  Now add to this one more factor for your kids.  Baby teeth have thinner enamel than permanent teeth so it takes very little time for cavities to form.  Protect them by this simple nightly routine of 3 minutes all together (1 minute of flossing and 2 minutes of brushing)!

RULE #2
USE FLUORIDATED TOOTHPASTE

With all the recent hoopla about fluoride we get so many questions about this.  Funny thing is, as our country is getting more and more Internet crazed about this wonderful tooth medicine, Europe is actually moving towards higher concentrations of fluoride in toothpaste, community fluoride applications in daycares and schools and other community programs involving fluoride that have largely decreased amount of dental decay in children.  At a recent dental conference in Europe, I was pleasantly surprised to see these fluoridation efforts and their amazing impact on the rate of dental decay (cavities) in countries like Sweden, Netherlands, or Denmark.  Bottom line? Fluoride is medicine and should be used as such.  The amount and concentration should be based on individual's risk for decay as well as size.  Fluoridated toothpaste is a baseline that provides our teeth strength and ability to recoup damage done to enamel throughout the day.  Or governing body American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) recommends using fluoride toothpaste as soon as baby teeth come in.  In our practice we support that but allow parents worried about fluorosis (discoloration of teeth due to overuse of fluoride) to start using it closer to 18-24 months when permanent teeth have largely formed and will not be affected. We show parents how little toothpaste should be used and those amounts will not cause fluorosis.  Any amount larger than pea size in kids over the age of five and larger than a grain of rice in kids under five is unnecessary.  We also educate parents on keeping fluoridated toothpaste stored away from the kids in unreachable areas,  in order to prevent any overdose since toothpaste tastes rather yummy!  Bottom line:  Nighttime brushing should be done with fluoridated toothpaste closely supervised and dosed by parents.  It will allow those teeth to strengthen and recover thorough the night.

RULE #3
WATCH OUR TWO "DANGER FOOD CATEGORIES" AND USE THEM SPARINGLY AS TREATS ONLY:

LIQUID SUGARS AND GOOEY, CHEWY, STICKY SNACKS.

So before you panic... No it does not mean that you can't ever have that Sprite, Gatorade or pack of Skittles.  But before you reach for them consider what they are made of and what that does to those young, thin, and sensitive teeth.  So first and for most, all these popular drinks such as fruit juices, Capri Suns, Sprites, Gatorades and others are extremely acidic.  If you research their pH, you will find that they are rather dangerously close to the acidity of battery acid!!!  Anything with a pH under 5.5 will dissolve enamel and allow for bacteria to easily penetrate those injured teeth.  These drinks have acidity of 2.1-4.5!  Now add to that the fact that one drink has between 5 and 12 teaspoons of sugar depending on which one you chose, and you have a perfect combination for cavity making.  Check out this great website (drinksdestroyteeth.org) for fun science projects, pictures and tables with acidity and sugar content of more popular drinks.  We have those charts in our office too so stop by and pick one up for your fridge!  “OK so what should we drink?”  you might ask...  I hate to tell you what you already know, but water is your teeth's best friend.  Drink tons of water throughout the day and you will give yourself and your teeth a great gift of health.  Milk is also a good choice especially with meals.  Milk has a pH of 6.7 which is only slightly more acidic than water and it has 1 teaspoon of sugar per serving. Flavored milk like chocolate or strawberry has closer to 5 teaspoons of sugar, but it is still a much better occasional choice than acidic juices.  Just remember to not allow your kids to go to bed with milk. Don't forget RULE #1!  And when it comes to chewy snacks such as Skittles, Starbursts or gummies, so deceptively called "fruit snacks" or "fruit roll ups", they are just as acidic and sweet as juice, but they have additional cavity forming quality of sticking tightly and effectively to the grooves of those baby molars and young permanent teeth.  It takes several days to brush them off even with diligent brushing.  So instead of making that sticky choice at the supermarket shelf (so conveniently located at kids' eye level and right by checkout where your kids are bored and you have no choice but to stop for a while!) think of other sweets that are neither acidic nor sticky.  Yes they will be sugary, but one out of three ain't too bad!  Think of snacks based on milk such as chocolate or ice cream. They sure will make little faces light up in smiles and, if used sparingly, will keep their teeth out of harm’s way!

So that's it in a nutshell. Well... Maybe a large nutshell, but these are the rules our team lives by and believes in.  We have spent many hours considering what are the most important lessons we can pass on to our dental families and these are the three things we believe will make a huge difference in children's dental health.  And I'm sure we will repeat this mantra again at your next appointment which we are already looking forward to!

SCHOOL LUNCH CHALLENGE

It's back to school time and "back to school shopping" is on everyone's top priority list.  We've seen some fabulous dresses, super fast shoes and a ton of lovely hair accessories on our fabulous patients.  But this is also the time when moms and dads are starting to think about that fun task of making lunches and wondering how to make them interesting, nutritional, yummy and attractive to the little ones.  My biggest challenge is to make sure that I make a lunch that gets eaten and not brought back home neatly squashed by the water bottle!  And we really want to make sure that those gummies (who doesn't love those?!!!), sweets, juices and other such enemies of teeth will not find their way into the lunch boxes too often.  So we figured that it is time for some fun ideas of foods that will not harm little teeth.  So here they are: 1. Yogurts or cottage chesese are always good, full of calcium and nutritional.  Look for yogurts with low sugar content and you will be surprised to find great choices even in easy to freeze tubes. 2. Cheesees of all kinds.  Chose ones with lower fat content, but string cheese works great and is fun to eat. 3. Fruit shishkabobs are so fun,  surprise your little ones with different fruit selections on a toothpick each day.  Make fun color designs and stick figures with fruit. Fruit is wonderful anyway you do it!  Mix it with those yogurts, put it in a box or pack whole pieces like apples, bananas, or plums.  Consider adding nuts of all kinds as well. 4. Crunchy veggies such as carrots, celery, broccoli, sugar snap peas or cauliflower. Put them together with your little one's favorite dip such as peanut butter or ranch dressing. 5. Meat roll ups.  You can pick your kids' favorite meat and make it pretty by rolling it up, putting it on toothpicks, alternating it with cheese or fruit. 6. Sandwiches are great and can be lots of fun if cut into fun shapes with your cookie cutters!

For drinks void anything we call LIQUID SUGARS. All juices, Gatorade, Powerade, or carbonated sodas are not only full of sugar (6-12 teaspoons each!) but also very acidic.  That's a great and powerful combination for cavities.  Acid causes erosion and dissolution of teeth and then the sugar is deposited into those weakened areas.  Soon after that cavities will form.  Replace these drinks with water or milk. Even chocolate milk will do although it does have more sugar than regular white milk.  These days there are flavored waters on the market that can be fun as well, but check their sugar content and artificial flavors and make sure you are comfortable with whatever the labels say before sending it with your kiddos.

Have fun with lunch! Make your kids lunch box colorful and exciting to make sure that all their friends want to peak in it daily.  That will make your kids happy and they surely will eat all you have packed!

Summer Time 2014 at Smiles For Kids

Summer time at Smile For Kids is always the most fun part of the year. Seeing our high school and college kids is super fun and rewarding after a full year of hard work they have been doing. You guys are busy but so much more relaxed in summertime!!! We know that this summer break is greatly appreciated to recharge some of those worn out by studying and finals batteries. But at the same time it seems that these days sports are ongoing for the summer. We have some very promising swimmers, baseball players, basketball rising starts, gymnastics pros, football players and dancers! We better start getting those autographs before they get too famous to come back and see their dentist. In the summer we also live vicariously through our patients’ trips. Some of you guys are having fantastic vacations! We’ve heard of European adventures with friends and families. Two of our recent visitors are going on Alaskan cruises. We love to hear about those dog sledding adventures, helicopter rides to glaciers, whale watching tours… Oh how we’d love to come along! And then, of course, every year we have a slur of Disney fans. If we ever go to Disney parks, we will have to call you guys for advice. There are so many cool things you guys are doing there, so many favorites when it comes to parks, rides, hotels, and food. We just can’t keep up! And then there are our “city dwellers”. So far we’ve heard of trips to New York, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, and Miami. How fun! Can’t wait to hear about the museums, tours and food in those cities. But perhaps our favorite is camp. We can almost smell those pine woods, feel that cool water while jumping on water trampolines, paddling or kayaking, taste those s’mores and hang on tight to those horses! Oh what memories of childhood that brings for all of us! It’s hard to tell which one of those camps sounds best. Maybe we should try them all? Just to test them out for our patients… You know… research is what it’s called...

So in the meantime what is our Smiles For Kids team up to you might ask? Well, we are here for you in the summer time! We know that this is probably the best time for all our kiddos to make it to the dentist. Yes, those summer camps are important and definitely an investment, but at least you are not getting letters from the school district if you skip to come see us. And no hours of make-up work just because you skipped an hour of school. So yes, we are here in the summer time for you guys to come and visit us. We try our hardest to accommodate for all the kiddos. We have extra hygienists in the summer so we can see more kids. We have also added a new hygiene chair in order to make sure our wait times are short. You might have met Sally, our additional hygienist, who is wonderful with the little patients and has fun with us. We also have Victor helping us turn over chairs and work in the lab. He is going to be a junior in high school and wants to be a pediatric dentist one day. We are so excited to have him help us. He is amazing. Our schedule in the summer varies a little bit. While normally we work Tuesdays through Fridays, some weeks in the summer we work Monday through Thursday to give our team a four day weekend once in a while to hang out with their families and friends. Maybe even take a short weekend trip here and there... And then of course we took our traditional one week long vacation for the week of 4^th of July. That was fun and gave us a much needed breather. But otherwise both Dr. Lindhorst and Dr. Jadav as well as the whole team are excited to see you guys. If you haven’t been in yet, come tell us your vacation stories and plans. And did you know about our fun summer contest??? Draw us a vacation picture and you could win a pack of Schlitterbahn tickets! We even have paper and crayons in the office if you forget to do it at home. Looking forward to spending this last month of Summer 2014 with you guys!