Ask Dr. Badalamenti: Which foods should I avoid while in braces?

Thanks for the question! There are a variety of foods Dr. Philip Badalamenti wants you to avoid while you're wearing braces. Some foods can occasionally damage braces, but certain foods can bend the wires or even break the brackets on http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifyour braces. If you’re wearing braces, you should avoid starch, sugar and gummy foods, as these foods can be difficult to remove during brushing. Foods that are high in sugar and starch tend to cause plaque, cavities and even tooth decay.

Avoid tough meats, hard breads and raw vegetables such as carrots and celery. Before long, you'll be able to bite a cucumber again. But you'll need to protect your orthodontic appliances when you eat for as long as you're wearing braces.

Foods you should avoid include:

• Chewy foods: bagels, hard rolls, licorice
• Crunchy foods: popcorn, ice, chips
• Sticky foods: caramels, gum
• Hard foods: nuts, candy
• Foods you have to bite into: corn on the cob, apples, carrots

Also, chewing on hard things (for example, pens, pencils or fingernails) can damage the braces. Damaged braces will cause treatment to take longer.

If you have any questions on which foods you should be avoiding and why, we invite you to give Dr. Badalamenti and our team a call or ask our staff during your next visit.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Happy Earth from Dr. B and team!

At the orthodontic office of Dr. Philip Badalamenti, we have been doing more and more to reduce our carbon imprint on the world, and we can proudly say our office has been "green" for some time now. We have been recycling plastic for a long time (at least 15 years). We are a digital X-ray office, so that eliminates chemicals in the air. We are also paperless with our treatment cards and files.

In addition, digital radiographs are produced without the use of chemicals, helping to keep our water supply free of pollutants. Most xrays can be transmitted digitally instead of being printed and mailed.

This past year we have been scanning documents into the computer, so we are just about paperless. After the documents have been scanned, we shred the paper and donate it to the collections at the schools in our area.

We recycle all plastics, cardboard and other papers. We have gotten used to depositing the different items into their containers, so recycling is easier, and our community reaps some benefit!

In addition, we use rechargeable batteries and try to eliminate spray cleaners, so there is no aerosol spray lingering in the air - our cleaning is done with wipes. Lastly, we give our patients some supplies in reusable grocery-type bags in our effort to help others be "green" !

Happy Earth Day!

Dr. Badalamenti & the AAO Annual Session in Chicago

Dr Badalamenti will be at the American Association of Orthodontists with other Orthodontists from around the world to attend meetings and network. A nice thing about the meeting is that Dr. B comes back to the office with ideas for always finding ways to improve our orthodontic care to our patients. It may be with new technology, or professional and personal enhancements to provide the best for everyone we interact with during each day. We strive for improvements in patient care, phone calls, or just communication among all of us here.

A great highlight to this meeting is that Dr. Badalamenti will be accompanied by his eldest daughter, who is a dentist, and has been accepted to the Orthodontic program at Boston University. He will be introducing her to his orthodontic colleagues, and she will be introducing him to her dental colleagues! Enjoy!

PS, be sure to ask Dr. B what he learned from his trip to the AAO upon his return!

Ask Dr. Badalamenti: What's the deal with retainers?

If you recently completed orthodontic treatment, we’d like to congratulate you! Now that your braces have been removed, Dr. Badalamenti will provide you with retainers. After braces are removed the 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 receiver your retainers from Dr. Badalamenti:

* Wear your retainers full time, until Dr. Badalamenti instructs otherwise.

* 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.

* Initially, you may find it difficult to speak. Practicing speaking, reading, or singing aloud to get used to them quicker is a good idea.

* Retainers are breakable, so treat them with care. If retainers are lost or broken, give us a call immediately.

* Try to remember to bring your retainers to your appointments.

* Retainer replacement is expensive...with proper care they will last for years!

* 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.).

* Keep retainers away from hot water, pockets, the washing machine and napkins.

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

Mother's Day contest!

We want to remind our patients about our April contest....."MOM AND ME" ...Bring in a picture of you and your mom and be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a dozen roses to give her this Mother's Day! Get your cameras ready and bring us some great photos!