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Halloween is fast approaching, and Dr. Maryam Azadpur wanted to be sure to wish our patients a happy day, no matter how you might celebrate this holiday. The Halloween that is familiar to most people today bears little resemblance to the original Halloween; back in the "old days" it wasn't even called Halloween!

Festival of the Dead

Halloween started out as a Celtic festival of the dead that honored departed loved ones and signified a change in the cycle of the seasons. The Celtic people viewed Halloween, then called "Samhain," as a very special day – almost like our New Years day in fact, as their new calendar year began on November 1st. Samhain was the last day of autumn, so it was the time to harvest the last of the season's crops, store food away for winter, and situate livestock comfortably for the upcoming cold weather. The Celts believed that during this day, the last day of winter, the veil between this world and the spirit world is the thinnest, and that the living could communicate with departed loved ones most effectively on Samhain due to this.

Modern Halloween

Halloween as we know it today started because Christian missionaries were working to convert the Celtic people to Christianity. The Celts believed in religious concepts that were not supported by the Christian church, and these practices, which stemmed from Druidism, were perceived by the Christian church as being "devil worship" and dangerous.

When Pope Gregory the First instructed his missionaries to work at converting the Pagan people, he told them to try to incorporate some of the Pagan practices into Christian practices in a limited way. This meant that November 1st became "All Saints Day," which allowed Pagan people to still celebrate a beloved holiday without violating Christian beliefs.

Today, Halloween has evolved into a day devoted purely to fun, candy, and kids. What a change from its origins! We encourage all of our patients to have fun during the holiday, but be safe with the treats. Consider giving apples or fruit roll-ups to the kids instead of candy that is potentially damaging to the teeth and gums.

Remind kids to limit their candy and brush after eating it! Sweets can cause major tooth decay and aggrivate gum disease, so to avoid extra visits to our Simsbury, CT office, make your Halloween a safe one!

While the last baby teeth generally aren’t lost until age ten or 11, most children stop believing in the tooth fairy by the time they're seven or eight. Of course, children are more than happy to play along with the game when there’s money at stake! While it is impossible to know what the tooth fairy does with all those teeth (are they labeled and stored like museum pieces in a giant fairytale castle?), it is possible to trace the history and myth of the tooth fairy to several cultures and traditions. Dr. Maryam Azadpur and our team learned about some interesting myths about the tooth fairy!

The Middle Ages

Legend has it that Europeans in the Middle Ages believed a witch could curse someone by using their teeth, so it was important to dispose of baby teeth correctly. Teeth were swallowed, buried, or burned. Sometimes baby teeth were even left for rodents to eat. Despite being pests, rodents were valued for their strong teeth; it was generally believed a tooth fed to a rodent would lead to the development of a healthy and strong adult tooth.

Eighteenth Century France

The tooth fairy myth began to show more characteristics of a conventional fairytale in 18^th century France. La Bonne Petite Souris, a bedtime story, tells the strange tale of a fairy that changes into a mouse to help a good queen defeat an evil king. The mouse secretly hides under the evil king’s pillow and defeats him by knocking out his teeth.

Scandinavian Lore

So, why does the tooth fairy leave money under the pillow? The idea of exchanging a tooth for coins originated in Scandinavia. Vikings paid children for a lost tooth. Teeth were worn on necklaces as good luck charms in battle. While the idea of exchanging a tooth for coins quickly spread throughout the rest of Europe, a fierce, horn-helmeted Viking is far cry from the image of a fairy collecting teeth.

While the tooth fairy as children know her today didn’t make an appearance until the 1900s, tooth myths and rites of passage have existed in numerous cultures since the dawn of time.

Many parents have concerns about their children’s teeth not falling out on time. Dr. Maryam Azadpur and our team are here to answer any questions parents may have about when children lose their teeth.

Children have 20 primary teeth that come in around age three. By about age six, these teeth will loosen and begin to fall out on their own to make room for the permanent ones. It is common for girls to lose their baby teeth earlier than boys. Most children lose their final baby tooth by age 13.

Baby teeth normally fall out in the order in which they came in. The lower center incisors are usually the first to fall, around age six or seven, followed by the upper central incisors.

If a child loses a tooth to decay or an accident, the permanent tooth may come in too early and take a crooked position due to teeth crowding. If your child loses a tooth to decay or accident, call Dr. Maryam Azadpur to make an appointment.

Some kids can’t wait for their baby teeth to fall out, while others dread the thought of losing a tooth. When your child begins to lose teeth, you should emphasize the importance of proper dental care on a daily basis to promote a healthy mouth.

Remember to:

• Remind your child to brush his or her teeth at least twice a day and offer assistance if needed
• Help your child floss at bedtime
• Limit eating and drinking between meals and at bedtime, especially sugary treats and drinks
• Schedule regular dental visits for your child every six months.
• Ask about the use of fluoride treatments and dental sealants to help prevent tooth decay.

Call Simsbury Pediatric & Adolescent Dentistry to learn more about caring for baby teeth or to schedule an appointment at our Simsbury, CT office!

Greetings from Simsbury Pediatric & Adolescent Dentistry! Fall is right around the corner and we are looking forward to the beautiful colors that arrive with the fall: brilliant oranges, yellows, reds, browns. The riot of colors is a treat for the soul as well as the eyes. Besides the beautiful colors, we are more than ready to say goodbye to the summer heat and mosquitoes and hello to chillier weather that brings with it a cozier atmosphere.

The fall days ahead have us daydreaming of our favorite cozy activities like sitting by fire pits on a cool night, making soups in the crockpot, first days of school excitement (though school is looking very different than in previous years due to new remote learning), and planting fall bulbs that will bloom in the spring! This is also the time of year for pumpkin everything: bread, pies, cookies, lattes, etc. Here is a simple recipe for a pumpkin smoothie you can try out to get your pumpkin fix:

INGREDIENTS

1 frozen banana
1/2 cup (120g) vanilla Greek yogurt*
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*
1/2 cup (120ml) skim milk*
2 Tablespoons (30ml) pure maple syrup
2/3 cup (150g) pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
1 cup ice

INSTRUCTIONS

-Blend ingredients in order
-Scrape down the sides
-Add more milk to thin out if needed
-Adjust spices to taste.

In the office, we are currently running a quarterly promotion for a $500 gift card to Apple. Who couldn't use some new tech these days? For a chance to win, write a review and you will earn 1 entry. Refer a friend and earn 2. It's just that simple! Drawing will be held Oct 1. Good luck!

Since reopening with our new health and safety procedures, the office runs as smoothly and efficiently as ever. We are having patients submit a COVID-19 screening form electronically as well as all other forms that used to be done on paper in the office. Our clinical staff has done a fabulous job adhering to all safety guidelines for cleaning and sterilization too. We have had many parents tell us that they feel very safe coming to our office with their children knowing all we are doing to keep them, as well as our team, as safe as possible.

There’s nothing quite like a pandemic to bring us closer together! While we were a pretty close and strong team prior to the shutdown, this has made us all even closer. We look out for each other because what affects one of us affects us all.

We hope everyone has a fabulous and cozy start to their fall!