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Happy Valentine's Day!

February 8th, 2024

“I recently visited and I was thoroughly impressed with the exceptional warmth and kindness of the entire staff. From the moment we walked in, they made my 3-year-old feel comfortable, going the extra mile by giving him a tour of the office. The welcoming atmosphere and the genuine care shown by everyone truly set this place apart. Highly recommended for a positive and child-friendly dental experience!” – Anonymous

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and it's the perfect opportunity to show your loved ones how much they mean to you. At our practice, we believe that love and appreciation should be expressed every day. This year we are celebrating this special day by handing out plushie toys to the kids! Even though we are closed on Wednesdays, we want to make sure that our young patients feel the love.

Expressing love and appreciation is essential for our mental and emotional well-being. However, in our busy lives, we often forget to show our love to those important people in our lives. Taking the time to tell someone that they are special and loved can have a significant impact on their mood and health. It makes us feel good, increases our endorphins, and can even help with depression and seasonal sadness.

There are many simple ways to share your love with friends and family. It can be as easy as sending a quick text during the day, asking about their day or activities they are involved in. You might even consider picking up a few things at the supermarket that you know your family likes. Sending cards, flowers, or plushie toys are also great options. A few years ago, one of our team members sang love songs to people in a quartet, which was a fantastic experience that brought joy to everyone.

As we all know, chocolate and other sweet treats are popular Valentine's Day gifts. While indulging in these sugary treats is okay once in a while, it's important to brush and floss our teeth after consuming them. Drinking plenty of water and seeing the dentist twice a year is also necessary. Besides sweets, we think that flowers, jewelry, dinner, or a movie date night can be a great gift option.

At our practice, we're not offering any Valentine's Day specials this month. However, we want to highlight our life-changing service - frenectomies. If your child has been evaluated and diagnosed with a lip/tongue/buccal tie, we can schedule this procedure. Parents have reported a significant improvement in their children's food intake, sleeping habits, and speech.

Lastly, February is National Children's Dental Health Month, and we're excited to visit local preschools to talk with their 4-5 year olds about good oral hygiene and eating healthy snacks. We also hand out special toothbrushes that can stand up on the counter. Our goal is to make dental hygiene fun and accessible to children, and we love seeing them excited about taking care of their teeth.

Can a Night Guard Mean Sweet Dreams for Your Child?

February 7th, 2024

Sometimes the reason for a poor night’s sleep is obvious. Maybe your child watched a scary movie. Or loaded up on sugar before bed. Or can’t get to sleep after a night of computer screens or video games. Not much we can do about these problems.

Sometimes, though, the cause of your child’s sleep difficulties is dental in origin, and that is something Dr. Maryam Azadpur can help with.

Teeth grinding, or bruxism, is a very common childhood dental problem. While children with this condition sleep, their jaws clench and their teeth grind against each other throughout the night. When to suspect children might suffer from bruxism? When they experience:

  • Frequent headaches or facial pain
  • Waking with a sore jaw, or popping or clicking jaw sounds through the day
  • Teeth which are chipped, cracked, flattened, worn down, or sensitive
  • Waking up tired, because grinding affects the quality of sleep
  • Siblings who complain about nocturnal grinding noises, which affect the quality of their

Pain and fatigue are unpleasant enough, but there are additional serious consequences for those who suffer from bruxism. Our jaws are extremely powerful, and clenching and grinding can put hundreds of pounds on pressure on teeth and jaws over a few hours of sleep.

These forces can lead to damaged teeth and dental work, and problems with the temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, the complex hinge that allows our jaws to move up and down, back and forth, and side to side.

Clearly, prevention is clearly a much better option for a healthy smile. And one of the simplest and most effective treatments for preventing the damage caused by bruxism is a night guard.

Night guards fit over the affected teeth to prevent them from touching directly, saving tooth and enamel from injury and wear. Not only do night guards prevent contact, they spread the biting forces of the jaw over the surface of the guard to greatly reduce their impact. And because they also stop the jaw muscles from clenching tightly, there’s no excess stress placed on the temporomandibular joint.

For all these reasons, a night guard is pretty much a slam dunk for adults who grind their teeth. But for children, it’s not necessarily an automatic decision. Why?

  • If tooth grinding is mild and appears to be limited to baby teeth, children often outgrow the condition. Your dentist can let you know if you need to do more than monitor the situation.
  • Sometimes it seems like your child’s smile changes from day to day. Between losing baby teeth and erupting adult teeth, this beautiful smile is a work in progress. A fitted night guard might not be a perfect fit while your child’s teeth are still coming in and shifting position.
  • Finally, jaw and facial pain can also be caused by problems with your child’s bite or misaligned teeth, and that might mean that an orthodontic consultation is in order.

But if you suspect your child is suffering the effects of night time grinding and clenching, give our Simsbury, CT office a call. A thorough examination will provide you with the best diagnosis and solutions for helping your child retain a healthy smile and regain a healthy night’s sleep.

And if a night guard is recommended, a dental professional is the best person to see for the most effective night guard.

While over-the-counter products are available, a custom night guard is designed to fit your child’s individual teeth and mouth perfectly. Impressions or 3D scans are taken in the office, and a guard is fabricated with the precise shape, strength, and thickness needed to protect young teeth. And, as a bonus, custom night guards offer the most comfortable fit for the most comfortable night’s sleep.

Scary movies, a late night sugar rush, mesmerizing video screens—not much we can do about those! But if your child is suffering lost sleep and painful mornings because of tooth grinding, give us a call. A night guard just might be the key to sweet dreams.

Five Fun Snacks for Healthy Teeth

January 31st, 2024

Snacks can taste good and give your child’s energy a boost, but they can also be bad for teeth. Sugary, sticky snacks, such as candy, cookies, and snack cakes can lead to tooth decay if eaten regularly between meals. Still, there are plenty of fun snacks for healthy teeth.

The trick when selecting snacks is to avoid too many added sugars and refined carbohydrates that stay on the teeth and give bacteria a chance to ferment and produce acid from them, which can lead to tooth decay. In addition, snacks should provide nutrients to support a healthy mouth. These are five fun snacks you can feel good about giving to your child.

1. Yogurt and cereal.

Yogurt contains calcium, which is an essential mineral for strong and healthy teeth. Select plain yogurt or yogurt flavored with real fruit, rather than flavored yogurt that is sweetened with added sugar. We recommend choosing a whole-grain cereal, which is less likely to lead to dental caries. Choose a low-sugar or unsweetened cereal to avoid accidentally making the snack as sugary as a candy bar.

2. Tuna and whole-wheat crackers.

Canned tuna contains vitamin D, which is an essential vitamin for helping your body absorb and use calcium. Whole-wheat crackers are natural sources of antioxidants for a strong immune system, and they’re lower in refined carbohydrates than white crackers.

3. Bell pepper strips and hummus.

Red, yellow, and green bell peppers are excellent sources of vitamin C, which is an antioxidant. Vitamin C is also a good choice for supporting regeneration or maintenance of healthy gum tissue. Vitamin E is another antioxidant, and it also supports a healthy immune system. A strong immune system is protective against infections, such as bacterial infections associated with gum disease.

4. Turkey and cheese roll-ups.

Turkey is carbohydrate-free, so it doesn’t leave residues of sugars on teeth for bacteria to ferment. Lean ham is another good choice. Low-fat cheddar, mozzarella, or Swiss cheese is a good source of calcium as well as protein. For a more substantial snack that’s still low in carbohydrates and sugar, add a few celery sticks.

5. Peanut butter and carrots.

Peanut butter is another source of vitamin E. Carrots provide vitamin A, which is essential for a strong immune system. You can also substitute cauliflower or broccoli florets for the carrots, and ranch dressing for the peanut butter, and still have a snack that’s fun to eat and good for your child’s teeth.

For more great snack tips, ask a member of our Simsbury, CT team at your child’s next appointment!

Blog Suggestions? Let’s Hear Them!

January 25th, 2024

Your opinions matter to Dr. Maryam Azadpur and our team! Our blog is meant to be an educational channel, but we always want to know what things you’re interested in learning more about. After all, our blog is here for you to enjoy!

We’d like to encourage you to send us any ideas about what you want to see more of. No idea is too small! Whether it involves a specific treatment or advice on what kind of toothpaste you should use, we’d love to hear from you about it.

To share your thoughts with us, simply leave your comments below or on our Facebook page! You can also fill out a comment card the next time you visit our Simsbury, CT office!

(860) 658-7548
381 Hopmeadow St #202
Weatogue, CT 06089