Halloween Candy Buy Back!

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We are having our Annual Halloween Candy Buy Back program at Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry starting November 1st! Have your kids bring their left over Halloween candy to our office and trade it in for $1.00 per pound (up to $5.00). 

The last day to collect candy will be November 12th!

We will donate the candy along with toothbrushes to our troops overseas through Operation Gratitude!

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October is National Dental Hygiene Month

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This month is about promoting healthy mouths and healthy smiles! No one likes a dirty mouth, especially your own. And I bet you’ve noticed your breath more with all this mask wearing! A healthy mouth starts with a good oral hygiene routine in your own home. Here are some tips for starting a healthy routine for your family:

1) Brush twice a day for TWO minutes - Brushing removes the icky biofilm of bacteria on your teeth and tongue. This keeps the mouth clean and also helps with fresh breath because plaque and tartar carry a stinky smell! Using fluoride toothpaste with brushing helps to strengthen the enamel and fight cavities! So brush for two minutes twice a day in a gentle, circular motion at a 45-degree angle to brush the yucky away! AND, don’t forget the tongue!

2) Floss everyday - Did you know that if you don’t floss, then you’re missing cleaning 40% of the surfaces of your teeth? The teeth are usually tight and touching together, and may even be crowded so food gets trapped in this places in between the teeth. Our toothbrush bristles are too thick to reach in those tight contacts. That’s why flossing is so important! Use the floss up and down in between each tooth to clean. If you don’t, food and sugars may linger there causing cavities in between the teeth where you can’t see with yours eyes!

3) Rinse with mouthwash - Mouthwash prevents buildup of plaque, kills and reduces bacteria in the mouth, strengthens tooth enamel, promotes healthy gums, and helps freshen breath! Choose an antimicrobial, anti-cavity fluoride mouth rinse. If you don’t like the “sting” or “burn” of some mouth rinses, then it’s okay to choose an alcohol-free rinse!

We love our dental hygienists, Jamie and Stefanie! They do an amazing job taking care of all of our patients. This month we also celebrate them for keeping our mouths happy and healthy!

Make sure to schedule your next dental appointment and come visit us soon. It is recommended to see your dentist and dental hygienist every 6 months for a professional dental cleaning. We can provide tips on how to improve your oral hygiene routine at home, areas to focus on, tools to take home such as flossers that work around braces or new soft-bristled toothbrushes appropriate for your age and mouth size, etc.

Give us a call at 713-461-1509 to schedule your next appointment!

"Aren't They Just Baby Teeth?"

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We hear this question quite often! We hear it from parents when discussing oral hygiene habits, diet and cavity-preventing recommendations, and when discussing cavities or infection. So why do we care so much about baby teeth at Smiles For Kids? Keep reading!

We’re aware that baby teeth will eventually be replaced by permanent teeth. We work very hard on guarding them for the necessary period of time and you will often hear our doctors discuss how to prevent dental decay and control it as opposed to just doing dental treatment. Yet, you have to remember few facts about the baby teeth and why treatment may be necessary:

*Most baby teeth complete coming in around 2-3 years old, and most of the baby teeth are not lost until the child is between 10-12 years old. That’s 10 years those teeth are needed to talk, smile, chew, and serve as a placeholder for the permanent adult teeth!

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*If a tooth is lost too early before it’s time for the adult tooth to come in, then the adjacent teeth may tilt or drift into the space causing space-loss and crowding, not leaving enough room for the adult tooth to come in. This loss of space compromises proper jaw growth and development, bone formation, and can cause major orthodontic problems which often require complicated or unnecessary orthodontics. When teeth are crooked and crowded, they are also harder to clean and may lead to cavities or gum disease down the road.

*Baby teeth help with chewing and proper nutrition. It is hard for kids to consume and break down food appropriately with large spaces in the back of the mouth, and not enough teeth to chew with.

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*The front baby teeth not only serve a very esthetic function, but are also important in development of speech. With missing front teeth or large spaces in the child’s bite caused by pacifier and finger sucking habits, then speech issues can occur. There are lots of tips and tools we can use to help children stop these habits so they don’t push on the teeth causing growth and proper arch development issues. Luckily the front baby teeth are the first to be replaced at about 7 years old, so we may delay treatment on these teeth or only treat or extract them in severe cases of decay or infection. Every child is unique, so the doctor will discuss all of your options with you.

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*Baby teeth with large cavities will get infections! Dental infections are painful and dangerous. Any infection in the head and neck area is an emergency situation, because children can end up in the hospital on IV antibiotics to control dental infections and facial or neck swelling. The head and neck have a lot of very important structures like the brain, nerves, blood vessels and the airway that we don’t want to harm! Treatment for a dental infection is also difficult because pain can be hard to manage in an infected area. Pain often keeps kids and parents up all night and makes for a very unpleasant reminder of why we should take care of those baby teeth!

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*Baby teeth have different structure than permanent teeth and their thin enamel can easily be attacked and penetrated by bacteria therefore they need more diligent preventative dental care. "Fixing" baby teeth is not a small affair! Although the restorations are fairly simple to do comparing to permanent teeth, the teeth are smaller, more prone to recurrence of decay, and kids are young and often not cooperative for restorative appointments.

So in conclusion, we would like to remind you to take great care of ALL those pearly whites. Please remember that as much as dental decay is multifactorial, we can control oral hygiene and diet such as NOT going to bed with milk, AVOIDING sweet drinks (i.e. juices, sodas and sports drinks like Gatorade), and AVOIDING sticky snacks or gummies (i.e. candy, caramel, taffy, bubble gum, gummies, dried fruit, fruit roll-ups, gold fish, crackers, and cookies). Let’s give those baby teeth a chance to live out all 12 years of their life in good health and prosperity!

Back-To-School Tips For Packing Your Child’s Lunch!

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We know that school has just started and that means early mornings, getting all the kids out of the house with clothes and shoes one, teeth brushed, homework packed, matching shoes, and on time before that bell deems them tardy. We know that dinner time is crazy trying to come up with healthy foods for our kids somehow squeezed in-between tutors, music lessons, homework time, and sports. And we also know that after our precious babies are finally in bed, parents still have laundry, dishes, and those LUNCHES to pack! Oh how easy it is to reach for prepackaged foods full of sugar and completely lacking in nutrition! Marketing companies make it so easy to pick those up from eye level grocery store shelves… So here we, your Heights Pedo/Ortho team, are ready to rescue you by giving you some quick tips on making it easier on yourselves.

Let us start with discussing lunch boxes as those can really make a difference in packing lunches for our kids. Our favorites are ones that have compartments that make is easy to pack just the right amount and just the right variety. Personal favorite? PlanetBox Rover stainless steel lunch box. It comes with a sandwich size compartment that also fits a bowl for soups or salads, few other compartments made just right for fruit, veggies, or the right amount of chips or pretzels. It also has a tiny middle spot perfect for a treat and another small container where you can pack yogurt, apple sauce or salad dressing! These lunch boxes have customizable magnets for decoration, caring case, and a matching bottle! And they are machine washable. No, we are not selling those and we are not getting any royalties from advertising them, but we do love them :) Many other companies make lunch boxes that are similar though so pick one up and then start prepping.

Yes Pinterest has all these photos of smiley faced sandwiches and custom cut fruit that look like animals. You might be one of those crafty parents, in which case you should post on Pinterest and we will follow!

But most of us aren’t quite that skilled…

Lunch needs to be healthy, easy to make, and nutritious. Here are our suggestions:

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  1. The biggest compartment needs to be filled with the main meal. Sandwich with peanut butter, ham and cheese, or anything else your kids love is a good choice. Try to pick non-white bread to make it a bit more healthy. You can also pack a salad, pasta, meatballs, chicken, etc into that larger compartment. Simple wraps made with tortillas are also great ideas kids love. You can make enough pasta to last the whole week. You can make few sandwiches at a time and store in your fridge. The main meal should be an easy pick and pack on daily basis instead of making something new every day.

  2. One of the smaller compartments can fit fruit and/or veggies. For fruit we suggest anything that can easily be sliced at the beginning of the week or fits into the box without cutting up. Apples, oranges, berries, grapes, or kiwis are all great and can be cut up on Sunday night and distributed daily. Best veggies are the ones that your kids will eat. We find that kids like carrots, celery, broccoli, peas in a pod, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. Have them all ready for easy “throw in” at the beginning of the week.

  3. Second smaller compartment can be used for a healthy carb such as pretzels, healthier version of chips or crackers. Kids like crunchy snacks in addition to their main meal and fruit and veggies.

  4. Granola or nut mixes are also great to fill in one of the lunch box spots. If you choose to pack granola bars, read labels as they are often filled with empty calories and sugar. However, there are many great alternatives on the market now, so do your research before and buy in bulk.

  5. Last but not least…. TREAT! The smallest compartment should be the one filled with a treat. Try to stay away from anything that is sticky, gooey or filled with chemicals. But a piece of chocolate, small cookie, chocolate or yogurt dipped pretzels, never hurt anyone and your kids will look forward to those little treats!

  6. SNACKS-these might not fit in a lunch box, but your kids will appreciate something to snack on throughout the day. There are plenty of healthy and non-sugar filled yogurts, apple sauces, puddings, fresh fruit such as apples and bananas, and other packaged foods that can be added to the packet of the lunch box case that will make your kids happy.

  7. DRINKS-we have only one word… WATER. A carton of milk at lunch time is perfectly healthy, but otherwise they need nothing but water to drink throughout the day. And lots of it! Encourage them to make sure that they stay hydrated. Flavored waters without sugar or sodium can be a once a day treat as well.

We sure do hope that this helps guide your on your daily lunch box quest! Remember, the less cutting, slicing, and spreading you can do daily, the less you will despise lunch making hour! And if we have to summarize it in one sentence here it is:

STAY AWAY FROM LIQUID SUGARS, GOOEY, CHEWY, STICKY SNACKS, AND MAKE YOUR KIDS’ LUNCH BOXES AS COLORFUL AS YOU CAN.