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Happy 2017! Can you believe the New Year is already upon us?

It's common for people to make New Year's Resolutions at this time of year as a way to make improvements going forward. The new year is a great time to become a "new you" by adding positive changes to your normal routine.

OUR NUMBER ONE NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION

If you're like our staff at SmilesForever Orthodontics, you've already been busy writing up your lists of New Year's Resolutions aimed at improving your life, or the world around you. And like our staff, you may have started making yourself promises about organizing, healthy eating or exercising yourself to a new you, but have you considered improving your smile with orthodontic treatment? A new smile is an investment in the health of your teeth, gums and bones while aesthetically improving your best feature! Our orthodontists keep up with all advances in orthodontic treatment and technology, making orthodontic treatment more comfortable and progressing as quickly as your teeth will allow. With all of these advances, it's never been easier to achieve a new smile.

MANY BENEFITS OF ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT

Orthodontic treatment is a solution for many dental problems including crooked teeth, crowding and spaces between teeth. Crooked teeth and a bad bite often lead to bone loss, jaw joint pain, headaches and extra wear on tooth enamel. Braces can help to reduce these these risks. Properly aligned teeth are much easier to brush and floss which decreases risks of developing gum disease and tooth decay. Braces aren't just for kids anymore - teeth can be moved at any age. A beautiful, confident smile not only boosts self-esteem it will last a lifetime!

GIVE THE GIFT OF A SMILE

Giving the gift of a new smile will quickly become the best gift you've ever given - to yourself or to a loved one! Dr. Brad Gilbert and Dr. Adam Wells offer many orthodontic treatment options including traditional metal braces and clear braces with "invisible" arch wires. Dr. Gilbert and Dr. Wells are also Preferred Invisalign® Providers to give you an alternative to traditional orthodontic treatment. Straightening teeth with Invisalign® is a popular choice among our adult patients. Get ready to give the best gift of the New Year and call us today or click here to schedule your FREE consultation!

This coming Thursday brings Thanksgiving and the start of the holiday season. What a perfect time to say thank you. And we are so thankful for our wonderful patients! Each and every smile that walks through our doors has become special to us. Each of your smiles have found a warm place within our SmilesForever family.  

As you share and celebrate this Thanksgiving holiday with your families and friends, SmilesForever Orthodontics hopes that it will bring fond memories and finds many ways to make you smile!

Our staff along with Dr. Brad Gilbert and Dr. Adam Wells thank you for your confidence in sharing your smiles with us and for being part of our SmilesForever family. Through your celebrations and travels, remember our heartfelt wishes for your safe and happy holiday.

If you’ve had an adjustment appointment near our lunch hour - you KNOW our staff loves food! You’ll hear us deciding where we’ll eat lunch and who’s in the mood for which type of cuisine. One of our staff members is currently wearing braces and that takes some planning so that we can enjoy her company while she enjoys braces-friendly meal options.

Are you wondering why we’re talking about food? We've found an awesome cookbook for us to look at and we just couldn’t wait to share it with you!

The Braces Cookbook, written by Pamela Waterman and Brenda Waterman, has fantastic information on how to rework menus and address eating habits to help avoid breaking brackets.  It offers soft recipes and great tips for meeting the challenges of working around braces and appliances.

Pamela Waterman, author of The Braces Cookbook: Recipes You and Your Orthodontist Will Love says, “Comfort food takes on a whole new meaning when cooking for children with braces. Whether you have new brackets, elastics, headgear, or more, there are great foods you can eat; it just takes some thought.”

At SmilesForever Orthodontics, Drs. Brad Gilbert, Adam Wells and our staff know that kids can be picky eaters. If cooking for children without braces is difficult, preparing meals for children new to braces may seem a bit daunting. Inspired by The Braces Cookbook, we’ve put together some familiar and staff favorite braces-friendly meal tips to help keep your kids smiling!

• Macaroni and cheese, the ultimate in comfort foods has soft pasta so it’s easy for children with braces to eat. The chances are great that your child already loves this homey classic dish. The warm, gooey cheese melts in the mouth and doesn’t get stuck in the braces. Mashed potatoes are yummy, creamy and warm comfort food too!
• There are some great tips to cooking braces-friendly meals. The key to braces-friendly cooking is in substituting softer foods for the crunchy items often found in recipes. For example, lasagna or spaghetti would be a better choice than pizza and eating a burrito or quesadilla would be better than a crunchy taco.
• If you have a hard time getting your child to eat vegetables, a veggie stir-fry is a healthy choice. Though they may try and tell you they can’t eat vegetables with braces - we’re on to that little trick! Cooked vegetables are nice and soft and are easy to eat as you’ll want to avoid preparing raw vegetables since they are too crunchy and hard.
• Sloppy Joes make a great braces-friendly meal and the meat is a great source of protein. While biting into meat with a bone is never a good idea, our SmilesForever patients can still enjoy chicken and meat, just cut it into smaller pieces. Meatloaf also makes a tasty, soft beef dinner and you can always serve it with those yummy mashed potatoes!
• For most children, the best part of dinner is the dessert! Hard, sticky and chewy treats should be avoided but thankfully there are so many braces-friendly treats to keep them smiling! Ice cream, yogurt, pudding, cake and cupcakes are just a few examples of yummy desserts they can enjoy.

Need more braces-friendly food ideas? Feel free to ask any member of our team.

Don't let it be spooky for your teeth and braces! Avoid those hard, crunchy, sticky and chewy treats. Always remember to brush and floss daily to keep that healthy, beautiful smile!

October typically means one thing for children, Halloween and candy. For Drs. Brad Gilbert and Adam Wells, October is a month for embracing a healthy, beautiful smile in honor of National Orthodontic Health Month!

The American Association of Orthodontist has offered five timely tips to protect braces, and other orthodontic appliances while protecting teeth from decay.

1. Avoid sticky situations with your braces and aligners. Stay away from hard, sticky, crunchy or chewy candy and snacks. These include caramel, gummies, licorice, taffy, bubblegum (even the sugarless kind), jelly beans and soft drinks.
2. Say “boo” to hard treats – including hard-shelled peanut candies, nuts or nut-filled candies, taco chips and popcorn (especially unpopped kernels). And whether in orthodontic treatment or not, we advise that no one should ever chew ice.
3. Brush up! Sweets can cause cavities, which means brushing and flossing are more important than ever during the Halloween season. Orthodontic patients should be especially vigilant about brushing and flossing after consuming sugary or starchy foods.
4. Spooktacular news: Not all Halloween candy is off-limits. Good alternatives include soft chocolates, peanut butter cups or other melt-in-your-mouth varieties. The American Association of Orthodontists even offers orthodontic-friendly recipes for Halloween on its website here.
5. Make a commitment to oral health. Deciding to avoid hard and chewy sweets before the Halloween season increases your rate of success – and reduces the likelihood that you’ll break braces.

Our doctors and staff at SmilesForever Orthodontics wish all of our patients spooky fun and a safe Halloween!