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All Hallows' Eve, more commonly known as Halloween, is a yearly event celebrated on October 31, and one that is anticipated by the young and young at heart all over the world. Some scholars claim that Halloween originated from Celtic festivals that honored the dead or that celebrated the harvest, while others doubt that there's any connection at all to Samhain (a Gaelic harvest festival.) Regardless of its origin, our team at the Pediatric office of Dr. Maryam Azadpur hopes that Halloween is fun and enjoyed by all of our awesome patients!

Trick or treat?

In North America, Halloween is predominantly celebrated by children who dress up in costumes, which range from scary to cute, who then go around the neighborhood knocking on doors asking "trick or treat", and they are given candy in return. Trick-or-treating is a time honored tradition, and though many parents groan at the pounds and pounds of candy collected by youngsters and fear for the health of their teeth, there are a few things you can do to help their teeth stay in great shape until the candy is gone:

• Limit the amount of candy they can consume each day
• Have them brush their teeth after eating candy
• Avoid hard, chewy candies as they can stick in hard to brush places
• Keep candy out of sight to reduce temptation
• Don't buy candy too far in advance to limit pre-Halloween consumption
• Help or encourage your children to floss

Halloween Fun

Halloween isn't just about gorging on candy; there are other events associated with this festive day including carving jack-o'-lanterns, painting pumpkins, decorating sugar cookies, bobbing for apples, going to haunted houses, or just curling up on the couch with a bowl full of popcorn and watching some classic, scary movies.

Halloween Around the World

Some countries, like Australia, frown upon Halloween, claiming it is an American event and not based in Australian culture, while others like Italy have embraced the fun and celebrate much as Canadians and Americans do. Mexicans have been celebrating this fun day since around 1960, and it marks the beginning of the Day of the Dead festival. Some countries in Europe have come late to the party, but since the 1990s, countries like Sweden, Norway, and Germany have started celebrating Halloween as well, and finding children in costumes or having ghosts hanging in windows has become commonplace.

Halloween is about fun; stepping outside our normal lives and donning a costume or gathering with friends to knock on doors and ask for candy is as much a part of our culture as hot dogs and barbecue on Labor Day. Have a safe and happy Halloween from the team at Simsbury Pediatric & Adolescent Dentistry!

You’ve planned your dream vacation. Your reservations are made. You’re packed and ready. You’ve even scheduled a dental checkup at our Simsbury, CT office to make sure you catch any potential problems, have finished any major work, and have an up-to-date chart.

But things don’t always go according to even the best of plans. So, what to do if you find you have a dental emergency while traveling? Dr. Maryam Azadpur and our team have some recommendations for problems that might arise.

• Toothache—Rinse your mouth with warm water and use dental floss to remove any food particles. Never put aspirin directly on a tooth or gum tissue. If the pain persists, call a dentist.
• Cracked or broken tooth—Immediately rinse with warm water to clean the area and apply cold compresses to the face to minimize swelling. Get in touch with a dentist.
• If you lose a tooth—Keep the tooth moist at all times. Put the tooth back in the socket without touching the root if possible. If that is not an option, place the tooth between the cheek and gums or in milk. See a dentist as soon as possible.

Know where to get help if you need it! If you are traveling in the United States, the American Dental Association offers Find-a-Dentist, a website that can locate a member dentist closest to you. If you are traveling to another country, there are steps you can take to prepare for an emergency.

• If you are out of the country and need to locate a dentist, your local embassy or consulate, your hotel concierge, or friends abroad can be a useful resource.
• Before you go, check your insurance to see if you are covered while traveling.
• If you have travel insurance, find out if it covers dental treatment and can provide information on qualified local dentists and translation help, if necessary.
• Good dental care is available in many areas internationally, but it is important to know what standards are present in the countries you plan to visit. The Organization for Safety and Asepsis Procedures offers a checklist for safe treatment in their “Traveler’s Guide to Safe Dental Care.”

If you have any questions, Dr. Maryam Azadpur and our team are happy to do all we can to answer them. While it’s unlikely that problems will arise, we are always available if you need to contact our Simsbury, CT office. Bon voyage, and we look forward to hearing about your trip!

Our team at Simsbury Pediatric & Adolescent Dentistry would like to offer some tips regarding the sometimes dreaded task of brushing a toddler’s teeth.

Much of the trick lies in the positioning. Before you begin, make sure you are in a position of control. This protects both you and your child from injury. Consider how well you can see. If you cannot see clearly, the quality of brushing drops significantly. For instance, if your child is standing, you are likely to see only the bottom teeth well.

Our team finds that the best position for brushing and flossing a toddler is when your child is calm. Have your child lie down on his or her back with arms out to make a T. Sit down just above the head and lightly place your legs over your child’s arms. Using a circular motion, brush all sides of the teeth.

It may sound odd, but approaching the routine this way can make brushing time a cinch! After you’re done, give your child the toothbrush and let him or her have a turn. The benefit of doing the brushing and flossing first is that it gives an example, which your child is more likely to repeat when you’re done.

Different methods work best for different families and children. These practices need to be performed with kindness and care. Be gentle and make this time a happy learning time. Don’t forget to bring your child to our Simsbury, CT office for regular dental checkups and cleanings. Dr. Maryam Azadpur can advise you on ways to implement portions of these tips in a way that may work bests for you and your child.

It's Fall and we are here for it! We have already started decorating the office with fall décor so it can last far beyond October and into the holiday season.

With Halloween coming up, we will also be adding in a few fun and spooky decorations around our office. And don’t forget after each appointment you could go home with a trick or a treat! If you are eating treats, make sure you brush your teeth. And fun fact, chewing a special gum like Xylitol, can help remove any sticky particles that your brush may not reach.

We know everyone has their own activities planned in the next few weeks to get into the fall groove. In case you don’t know where to go, we like to visit Lyman Orchards and Pickin Patch in Avon. It’s a great spot for hayrides, donuts, and cider. We also enjoy Flamig Farm in Simsbury. However, when it comes to carving pumpkins, we tend to wait a little later in the month since the squirrels love to eat them. Once Halloween is over, they are fair game for the critters though! We love everything from the traditional jack-o'-lanterns to fun and scary designs. Check out our Pikachu pumpkin above!

We love traditions. If you have any fall traditions, we would love to hear about them. If you need some inspiration, we’ve listed some of our team’s fall favorites below:

• Planting mums
• Deadheading the garden
• Swapping out clothing in the closets
• Winterizing and checking car tires
• Stacking firewood
• Cleaning out the chimney
• Neighborhood Halloween parties
• Buying candy
• Planning costumes with kids
• Watching movies such as Hocus Pocus, The Witches, Nightmare Before Christmas
• Baking! Check out our yummy pumpkin recipe below

Here are a few updates around the office! Please verify your own schedule as well as the kids’ so that we can prevent conflicts. A new appointment will likely be booked every time you come in so, please take a moment to review your calendar. This will save time at the appointment and prevent issues 6 months later. Please be mindful that early morning and late afternoon appointments book up quickly since most of our patients are in school. We try our best to book fairly. Dental appointments are considered excused absences and we will always be happy to provide a note to bring to school. Please be sure to confirm all appointments and verify that you have the correct date and time in YOUR calendar. We send out text and email reminders 14, 5, and 2 days before each appointment. These reminders contain links that make it easy to confirm your visit. If you have questions, you can always respond directly to the text or call the office directly. Our schedule is pretty full and rescheduling an appointment might mean a date several weeks out.

On Monday and Tuesday, November 1st and 2nd, we will be running our annual Candy Buy Back program. Bring in your candy and we will buy it for $1.00 per pound, up to 5 pounds. The candy will then be donated to troops overseas through Operation Gratitude. Additionally, Veteran's Day is shortly after that so feel free to draw a picture or write a note that we can include with the packages.