The Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools Walk for Education

The Hershey and Heymann team participated in the Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools Walk for Education last Saturday, and visitors to our tent at the post-walk carnival got some cool temporary tatoos. Thanks to everyone who stopped by! Check out all the photos on our Facebook page.

Have a happy, safe, and spooky halloween celebration everyone!

A Great Braces Friendly Halloween Recipe

Our team know how tempting this time of the year can be on our sweet tooth. With all of the caramel, candy corn, and lollipops that are often passed around to trick-or-treaters, we realize that it can sometimes be hard to find hard, chewy, sticky, and crunchy candy alternatives.

However, there is good news! Today, we would like to share a great braces-friendly Halloween recipe with all of our patients, courtesy of the American Association of Orthodontics, or AAO, and “The Braces Cookbook” by Pamela Waterman. This Spider Bites recipe is delicious, and provided that you remember to brush and floss after indulging, this is a cookie that won’t bite back!

Spider Bites

Ingredients:

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1 Tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup cocoa
• 1 Tsp. salt
• ½ Tsp. baking powder
• 1 package black rope licorice, cut into 1-inch pieces**
• 1 small tube of white (or color of choice) frosting
• Toothpicks

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine shortening, sugar, water, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add eggs into the mixture and blend. Slowly mix in flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder using low-medium speed. Drop tablespoon helpings of mixture onto ungreased cookie sheets and roll each helping into a ball.

Bake 9 minutes at 375 degrees. The batch should produce around three dozen cookies.

Let cookies cool for about 10 minutes. Then using a toothpick, create four small holes in either side of the cookie. Still using the toothpick, push one end of a piece of the cut licorice into each hole, creating the “legs” of the spider. Once all eight pieces are in place, create eyes or decorate at will using the white frosting. Then eat and enjoy!

**Licorice can sometimes stick to braces; parents should monitor

October is National Orthodontic Health Month

Can you believe October is already upon us? October happens to be National Orthodontic Health Month, and this month-long event is organized by our friends at the American Association of Orthodontists, or AAO.

Many treats can cause havoc for trick-or-treaters who are going through orthodontic treatment, and these treats may cause damage that could prolong your treatment time. The AAO recommends patients avoid the following Halloween treats, or recipes with these ingredients:

• Caramel
• Nuts
• Popcorn (including un-popped kernels)
• Taffy
• Jelly beans
• Hard pretzels
• Licorice
• Bubblegum
• Taco chips
• Ice

If you happen to damage your braces, please give us a call immediately. Typically, small problems can be solved over the phone. Loose brackets or wires can usually be made more comfortable by applying some wax until the you can come into our office.

Our Team Participates in the Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk in Durham

Thanks to Hershey & Heymann Team members, Allison, Rhonda, Terri and Jennifer! Way to go ladies. They participated in the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk this past Saturday, Sept. 18th in downtown Durham, where they were on the move to end Alzheimer’s. With more than 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer's,... and nearly 10 million more serving as caregivers, the time to act is now! Memory Walk is the nation's largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care, support and research. Since 1989, Memory Walk has raised more than $300 million for the cause.

All Memory Walk donations benefit the Alzheimer's Association, the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care, support and research. The mission of the Alzheimer's Association is to eliminate Alzheimer's disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. So thanks again ladies for joining a nationwide community of thousands of people who are standing up and participating in the fight against this devastating disease. For more information on this cause go to www.alz.org .

The importance of retainers, from Hershey & Heymann Orthodontics

If you recently completed treatment at Hershey & Heymann Orthodontics, we’d like to congratulate you! Now that your braces have been removed, we will provide—or have provided you—with retainers. After braces are removed, teeth can shift out of position if they are not stabilized. Retainers provide that stabilization. They are designed to hold teeth in their corrected, ideal positions until the bones and gums adapt to the treatment changes. Wearing retainers exactly as instructed is the best insurance that the treatment improvements last for a lifetime. Here are some things to remember when you receive your retainers:

* Wear your retainers full time, until the doctor instructs otherwise. Wearing your retainers at night ensures that your pearly whites won’t relapse.
* Take your retainers out when eating...and always put retainers in their case! (Most appliances are lost in school lunch rooms or restaurants.)
* Clean retainers thoroughly once a day with a toothbrush and only a small amount of toothpaste. Use warm but not hot water.
* When retainers are not in your mouth they should ALWAYS be in a retainer case.
* Retainers are breakable, so treat them with care. If retainers are lost or broken, give us a call immediately.
* Remove retainers when swimming or during any sporting activity in which the retainers could fall out and get broken or lost (cheerleading, basketball, etc.) or when you should be wearing a mouth guard (football, soccer, etc.).

We hope this helps! You can always contact our team if you have any questions!

All the cool kids do it!

Braces today are “cool” and—many would say—even “fun.” These were among the findings of a 2010 nationwide survey of moms whose children are going through or have had orthodontic treatment. New technologies, advanced computer software, color options, and even popular celebrities—Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Danny Glover, Serena Williams—sporting stylish braces are making orthodontic treatment more comfortable, fashionable and cool for today’s teens.

The study, conducted on behalf of our friends at the American Association of Orthodontists for February’s National Children’s Dental Health Month, found 86 percent of moms reporting that braces are cooler today than when they were children. Sixty-nine percent of moms also said wearing braces makes their children feel cool, and 81 percent reported their children’s experience with orthodontic treatment as either positive or extremely positive.

Different color options and the ability to change colors, for example, provide exciting ways for young patients to customize appearances. That enthusiasm helps them to feel good about their orthodontic treatment with our team, and may contribute to the success of treatment.

Has your child or teen visited Hershey & Heymann Orthodontics for a consultation? If not, please give us a call and let us help your child begin the journey to a gorgeous smile!

Invisalign Teen's "Make Me Smile" Challenge

Think you can make someone smile in 30 seconds or less? Then check out Invisalign Teen's "Make Me Smile" Challenge! Here's how it works:

Each month, a new challenge will be issued on the Make Me Smile Challenge web site. It is up to you to record a video response to the challenge, and upload it on the site. Videos can only be 30 seconds long, but you can enter as many times as you wish!

There are three challenges total, and the first has already begun! At the end of each round, a judge will chose a winner to receive an Apple iPad! A grand prize will be awarded at the end of the three challenges to send you and a friend to Hollywood!

We've included the contest dates below, but be sure to check out Invisalign Teen's web site for more information, and GOOD LUCK!

Challenge 1: August 17 – September 13, 2010
Challenge 2: September 14 – October 1, 2010
Challenge 3: October 12 – November 9, 2010