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Happy New Year! We also want to take a moment to wish a happy birthday to our fabulous hygienist Kay, who celebrated her birthday on Jan 12. Her patients love her so much! She sings to them and keeps them laughing throughout their visits. Make sure to wish her a Happy Birthday next time you see her!

After all the changes 2021 has brought, we plan to change as little as possible in 2022! The status quo is the new normal! We are all trying our best to stay safe and healthy and hope our patients are doing the same. Although, we are happy to announce that we are looking to hire a dental associate this year. If you or someone you may know is interested in the position, give the office a call at 860-658-7548 and ask for Pat, our Office Manager.

I’m sure a lot of our patients are looking to get the smile of their dreams this year. We highly recommend brushing your teeth at least twice a day and flossing at least once a day. Limit consumption of sugary snacks and sticky sweets. If your child plays sports, look into getting a mouth guard to help protect their teeth from injury. We also can make night guards if they grind their teeth at night. By doing all of this, you can easily achieve your smile goals.

We continue to send out appointment reminders and expect all appointments to be confirmed. Text and email reminders will be sent out 5 and 2 days before your appointment and will contain "Click to confirm" links. Please click to confirm and save us a phone call. If your email or mobile number changes, or if you are not receiving notifications, please let us know so we can update your profile. Patients 18 and over will be given a HIPAA form to complete. They can choose whether to allow us to talk with their parents/guardians. Also, we can add their cell phone number to the profile so that they can start receiving text reminders for their appointments.

Please note, we have not relaxed any of our COVID protocols. We continue to provide hand sanitizer and check everyone's temperature before coming in, even the UPS guy! Our clinical staff wears masks, gowns, face shields, gloves, etc. If your child has been exposed to COVID, please give us a call as soon as possible so we can reschedule their appointment. Most of our patients are too young for vaccinations so better safe than sorry.

As a reminder living in New England means snow will fall. Be sure to check the weather reports and plan accordingly. If a storm has the potential to impact appointments, we may call you to push your appointment or reschedule. Some of us live a fair distance away and need to make sure we can travel to work safely. Please be patient while we work to ensure we can all be safe.

With the start of a new year, comes new giveaways! We were so excited to give away $500 to Ski Sundown to a lucky family who referred a friend to our office. Our next promotion will be $500 to Dick's Sporting Goods! The drawing will be held April 1st, just in time for warmer weather. Keep those reviews and referrals coming and earn entries into our quarterly drawings.

We are grateful to everyone for the past year and can’t wait to see where this year takes us. We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and look forward to seeing you soon!

Here is some surprising yet worthwhile advice you might be hearing for the first time: Brushing can be incredibly bad for your child’s teeth if done right after eating certain foods.

Enamel is an extremely hard mineral on the exterior of each tooth. It’s actually the hardest substance in the human body: It’s even stronger than bones! Its only weakness is that acids in the food we eat can easily destroy enamel.

Healthy teeth thrive in an environment that has the proper pH balance. That ensures the mouth doesn’t start the process of demineralization—the process when alkaline turns into acid, which attacks and softens the enamel on the surface of your child’s teeth. Pores and fissures form, and that’s when the harmful bacteria go to work.

A mouth’s pH level fluctuates depending on what is eaten throughout the day. Examples of the most common highly acidic foods include citrus fruits, soda, and sugary foods. Highly acidic foods tip the balance of pH in the mouth from a healthy alkaline to a dangerous acid.

Can brushing your child’s teeth immediately after a meal lead to even more damage? The answer is yes!

Eating highly acidic foods causes your child’s teeth to be more susceptible. If your child brushes when the teeth have been weakened by acids, even more destruction can happen to the enamel. Your child’s toothbrush bristles will actually wear away some of the enamel. So it’s healthier for your child to wait at least an hour after eating or snacking to brush.

Good preventive measures to take instead of brushing after your child eats include:

• Rinsing or drinking water
• Chewing sugarless gum
• Consuming dairy or non-acidic foods to conclude a meal

These practices help produce saliva, which in turn restores a healthy pH level in your child’s mouth and coats the teeth with minerals they need.

Once your child’s mouth is restored to a healthy pH level, he or she may brush normally. Keep in mind that acidic foods can weaken the enamel on the teeth and take the right measures to prevent spiking pH levels.

Still have questions? Call our Simsbury, CT office and schedule an appointment for your child with Dr. Maryam Azadpur.

The grown-ups in your life want you to have a healthy, happy smile. That’s why they help you brush and floss, and make sure you come see Dr. Maryam Azadpur for checkups and cleanings. Did you ever wonder if there are other ways you can help build a beautiful smile? There are! And one of them is eating food that makes our teeth and gums strong and healthy.

Friendly Foods

• Enamel and Bone Builders

Calcium is a very important element that helps us grow strong bones and enamel, the hard covering on the outside of our teeth. Bacteria in our mouths can create acids that weaken enamel and lead to cavities, so we want to keep our enamel as strong as possible. Dairy products like milk, cheese, and yogurt are great sources of calcium, but you might be surprised to know dark green vegetables like kale, spinach and broccoli help build strong teeth as well, and strong teeth are less likely to get cavities!

• Good for Our Gums

Many foods have important vitamins that help keep our gums and mouths healthy. Vitamin C helps protect our gums and make them stronger. When we think of Vitamin C, we usually think of citrus fruits like oranges and lemons, but there are many other fruits and vegetables that give us this important vitamin, including mangos, potatoes, and strawberries. Vitamin A also helps keep our gums healthy. We can increase our Vitamin A by adding fish, leafy green vegetables, or orange colored foods to our diet.

• Natural Toothbrushes

Crunchy foods like apples, carrots, and celery can help keep our teeth clean. They act like gentle brushes to remove food and bacteria left on our teeth after eating. Chewing also increases saliva, which helps wash away food particles and bacteria. And, of course, drinking or rinsing with water after a snack helps clean our teeth when we can’t brush.

What Foods Aren’t Good for Our Teeth?

• Bacteria Builders

Plaque is a film of bacteria that sticks to our teeth. These bacteria make acids that soften our enamel and cause cavities. And what do these bacteria use for food? Sugar is one of their favorites! We can’t stop eating everything with sugar, of course, and we all deserve a treat every now and then. But to keep our teeth their healthiest, it really helps to cut down on sugary foods and drinks, and to brush or rinse with water when we do enjoy dessert.

• Acid Attacks

Bacteria can make acids that weaken our enamel, but we can also eat foods that damage our enamel and might lead to cavities. Drinks like sodas, citrus juices and even some sports drinks are acidic enough to make our enamel softer. Drinking with a straw or rinsing your mouth with water helps, but it’s a good idea to limit foods and drinks that make our enamel weaker over time.

• Sticky Stuff

Any food that stays on or between your teeth gives bacteria more time to grow and produce the acids that cause cavities. We can guess that hard candy and caramel would be a bad idea, but even healthy foods such as dried fruit and trail mix can be a problem when they stick to your teeth. If you eat something sticky, be sure to rinse with water or brush and floss as soon as you can.

You already know that brushing and flossing are the best way to keep your teeth clean, and that visiting us for checkups and office cleanings helps your teeth and gums stay strong and healthy. Eating well is just one more thing you can do to help. The next time you visit our Simsbury, CT office, talk to us about what you and your family can add to the menu for a lifetime of beautiful smiles!

One of the most frequent questions that Dr. Maryam Azadpur and our team hear is about what kinds of snacks are best for a child’s dental health. Sugary snacks are inevitable sometimes, but it’s vital for you as a parent to monitor how frequently your child is eating the kinds of snacks that may give him or her a cavity or two down the line.

Unsurprisingly, the best snacks are healthy ones, though they may not always be the most appealing to your little ones. The good news is that healthy doesn’t mean you have to compromise on taste. Once your kids give these tasty snacks a go, they might become open to all things healthy!

• Fresh veggies and hummus
• Apple wedges with peanut butter
• Low-fat yogurt with berries
• Cubes of cheese and crackers
• Hard-boiled eggs with a little bit of salt and pepper
• Celery sticks with cream cheese and sunflower seeds
• A homemade milkshake with low-fat milk (or almond milk), the fruit of their choice, chia seeds, and cinnamon
• Lean proteins such as chicken breast, fish, and turkey

These snacks aren’t high in sugar but they contain all the nutrients your children need to have the necessary energy throughout the day.

This is only a sample of all the great, healthy snacks out there for your kids. For more ideas, ask us the next time you visit our Simsbury, CT office. It’s never too early to create healthy habits; they’re not only good for oral health, but overall health too. That’s a win-win, if you ask us.