Tips For National Facial Protection Month

Spring break has passed and once again our patients are ready to begin the spring sports season! April is National Facial Protection month and because many of our patients are active athletes, the staff at Beisiegel Orthodontics encourages spring sports safety. Whether you’re an athlete, coach, or parent we want to remind everyone to play it safe during organized sports to help prevent serious facial injuries that can take the fun out of the game.

Here are 4 pieces of equipment you can add to your sports bag to stay safe during the sports season.

1. Remember to wear a mouth guard. A mouth guard is less expensive than an injury, and not painful to your mouth or wallet. Keep your smile safe and prevent your orthodontic appliances from injury by habitually wearing a mouth guard during sports.

2. Wear a helmet when needed. Helmets can greatly prevent damage to the head so be sure to always wear one when necessary.

3. Protective eyewear can make a difference. Keep your 20/20 vision with sports eyewear that will keep your vision clear and your game at its best.

4. Face shields may be necessary. If you are a hockey, football, or baseball player face shields can prevent severe damage to your face.

These are all great accessories to have when playing sports. This equipment can prevent impact and damage to your head and mouth, all while not interfering with your MVP skills on the field.

LAYERED STRAWBERRY TRIFLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

SYRUP:

• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water

LAYERS:

• 12 ounces pound cake or butter loaf (store bought is ok)
• 8 ounces (1 package) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 6 cups fresh strawberries

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare the lemon syrup: In a small saucepan, bring the sugar, lemon juice and water to a boil over medium heat. Stir to dissolve sugar completely. Let cool.
2. Slice the cake into 3/4-inch slices. Brush lemon syrup over both sides of each cake slice. Quarter each slice.
3. Use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese with the sugar on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to medium and slowly add the cream. Continue beating until the mixture resembles soft whipped cream.
4. Arrange half of the cake pieces in the bottom of a glass serving bowl or dish (2 quart size is sufficient). Spoon half the cream-cheese mixture over the cake in dollops; spreading to the sides of the dish. Scatter half of the strawberries on top. Repeat layering with cake, cream cheese and berries. Pile additional strawberries on top.
5. Cover and refrigerate until chilled (about an hour). You may also refrigerate overnight.

Steps To Look Younger

Your teeth are probably the only thing on your face that don’t get wrinkles…but your teeth certainly do show signs of aging. So if you want to look younger and healthier, your teeth are a great place to start!

“Just as white, straight teeth convey youth, a smile with crooked, discolored, worn, or missing teeth is associated with an aged look,” says Edmond Hewlett, DDS, professor of restorative dentistry at UCLA's School of Dentistry. “The adage ‘long in the tooth,’ used to describe older persons, reflects the fact that gum disease causes gums to recede and teeth to appear longer as a result."

Take 10 years off your appearance…no plastic surgery needed!

Step 1 - Teeth naturally darken as we age. One reason is that your teeth absorb color from food and drinks. Even if you take fantastic care of your teeth, they will eventually yellow over time. Whitening your teeth with custom whitening trays is the best way to achieve a deep and thorough color change that can take years off your appearance.

Step 2 - Even if you start out with perfectly straight teeth, something called mesial drift will cause them to shift over time. Crowded teeth are an instant giveaway of age and straightening your teeth can often take 10 to 15 years off your appearance. Crowded teeth also increase the risk of tooth decay, premature tooth loss, and gum recession, all of which guarantee looking old.

Step 3 - Old-looking teeth have wear and tear. While we sleep, we gnash and grind our teeth. A night guard can protect your teeth from this damage and keep your teeth looking more youthful. A night guard also prevents crowding by keeping the teeth in place while you wear it.

Beautifully straight, symmetrical glowing white teeth cannot only make you look younger, but they can dramatically improve your confidence.

Save Your Teeth & Stop Nail-Biting

Do you ever find yourself biting your nails? Nail-biting is a very common habit which usually has its beginnings in childhood. It can leave your fingers and nail beds red and swollen. If you think your nails are the only ones getting roughed up by your nail-biting habit, you're mistaken—so are your teeth!

There are several things you can do to ease up on your nail-biting:

• Trim your nails shorter and/or get regular manicures – Trimming your nails shorter is an effective remedy because it makes it a little more difficult to bite them. Also, if you enjoy getting manicures, you’ll be less likely to ruin the investment you’ve made in your hands and fingernails!
• Find a different kind of stress reduction – Try meditation, deep breathing, practicing qigong or yoga, or doing something that will keep your hands occupied like squeezing a stress ball or playing with a yo-yo.
• Wear a bitter-tasting nail polish – When your nails taste awful, you won't bite them! 
• Figure out what triggers your nail-biting – Knowing what situations cause you to bite your nails will help you to avoid them and break the habit.
• Wear gloves or bandages on your fingers – If you've tried the steps above and they aren't working, this technique can prove effective since your fingernails won't be accessible to bite.

Share the Beisiegel Orthodontics Love!

Valentine’s Day has come and gone, but we at Beisiegel Orthodontics remain committed to giving all our patients the care and comfort that make them feel special all year round. Our team strives each day to provide all our patients with the finest personal services and treatment as we combine our clinical expertise and the latest high technology with a warm, caring, and skilled staff.

Since we work hard each day to make our patients feel that their experience with our office is remarkable, we always appreciate the occasions when our patients take the time to tell us that they recognize the special level of care and treatment they receive at Beisiegel Orthodontics. Do you love being a patient at Beisiegel Orthodontics as much as we love having you as a patient? If you do, then would you take just a moment to let us hear about your experience by leaving a review.

Keep reading to see how you can leave a review.

Leave a Google Review

Leaving a review on Google is easy. Simply type “Beisiegel Orthodontics” in the Google search tab, and under the maps option click “write a review” to leave your comments and rate us. Google makes it a fast and easy process. It is so easy you can leave a review using your smartphone or tablet.

Click here to post your Google Review now! https://goo.gl/maps/ZqkBWWFDA9M2

Leave a Facebook Review

Are you connected with Beisiegel Orthodontics on Facebook? LIKE our page and leave a review and rating. It’s easy, fast, and you can share it with all of your Facebook friends.

Click here to post your Facebook Review now!

https://www.facebook.com/pg/BeisiegelOrthodontics/reviews/

Braces Friendly Valentine's Day Recipe

These red velvet cheesecake brownies are AMAZING! Perfectly marbled with creamy cheesecake filling, these make a simple and delicious Valentine's Day treat!

Ingredients

• 1 Egg yolk
• 2 Eggs
• 3/4 cup All-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup Cocoa powder, unsweetened
• 1 tbsp Food coloring, red
• 1/8 tsp Salt
• 2 1/2 tsp Vanilla
• 1 1/4 cup White sugar
• 3/4 tsp White vinegar
• 1/2 cup Butter, unsalted
• 8 oz Cream cheese

Cheesecake Filling

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup white sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Beat the two eggs together in small bowl, set aside.
3. Melt butter.
4. In large bowl, mix butter with sugar, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, salt, food coloring, and vinegar.
5. Whisk in the eggs.
6. Fold in flour, combine well but do not over-mix.
7. Spray 8"x8" baking pan with nonstick spray. Pour batter into pan, leaving a little extra in bowl.
8. Combine the cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla in bowl using hand mixer on medium speed.
9. Mix for about 1 minute until smooth.
10. Spoon dollops of the cheesecake filling on top of the brownie batter in the pan.
11. Pour extra brownie batter over top of both layers.
12. Using a butter knife, start at the top of the pan and go through the batter and cheesecake filling from side to side across the pan. Once you have gone from side to side all the way down, change directions and go up and down.
13. Bake for 28-30 minutes. They are done when a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean.
14. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Do You Know How To Clean Your Invisalign Aligners?

So you just started Invisalign treatment at Beisiegel Orthodontics, and it seems like a pretty easy task compared to metal braces. You’re brushing and flossing regularly, wearing your aligners as advised, and keeping them safe when eating. This seems like the perfect routine, but we must inform you that you are missing one very important task when being treated with Invisalign…you need to clean your aligners!

To get that picture perfect smile, you need to remember 2 things: good oral hygiene, and clean aligners. Cleaning your trays and keeping them invisible is essential to getting the results you want and keeping the look you want during treatment. So many are of you may be thinking, “How do I clean my aligners?” Beisiegel Orthodontics has got your back (and your teeth) and has all the info you need right here.

Check out these 2 methods of cleaning your Invisalign aligners:

Invisalign Cleaning System (http://www.invisalignstore.com)
The cleaning kit comes with a tub and pack of 50 cleaning crystals and costs $75, with refill packs running at $50. To use, you combine a crystal with water and soak your aligners for 15 minutes.

Antibacterial liquid soap
Brushing your aligners with antibacterial soap is an easy way to get rid of the bacteria that accumulates on your trays. Just make sure to give them a really good rinse before you put them back in your mouth.

For more information on Invisalign, or to schedule a consultation, please contact us Beisiegel Orthodontics.

How To Cure Your Pizza Burn

According to Gallop Poll, approximately 3 billion pizzas are sold in the US every year, and we consume about 251,777,000 pounds of pizza per year. If you’ve done your fair share of eating some of the 3 billion pizzas sold nationwide, then chances are you’ve also had your time of suffering from pizza burn. Pizza burn can happen in that micro second it takes to indulge in your first bite of that hot, cheesy, saucy pizza that you just could not wait to bite into. Though burns may be a little out of the orthodontists’ league, we wanted to take a second anyway and give you some helpful tips to get you through the pizza burn pain. When it comes to your mouth, Beisiegel Orthodontics has you covered.

So whether it is a pizza burn, or another hot food you should have waited on before biting into, chances are you’ve burned your mouth before. There are several symptoms that can occur with this unfortunate mishap, from tears in the roof of your mouth to blisters.

Check out these important steps to take to soothe your mouth next time you have this accident, and help it heal correctly.

• Applying or sucking on ice can relieve the stinging. Gargling cold water or eating ice cream are other options.
• An over-the-counter pain reliever can help, if the pain is really distracting.
• Squeezing Vitamin E from a capsule over the wound can speed up healing. It will regenerate new tissue and heal the wound.
• Resist touching the burned area. This may be difficult, but by touching the affected area, the lesion may become irritated further.
• Drinking milk can coat the scorched area.
• Avoid acidic, crunchy, and other hot foods, or even very salty and spicy dressings. This will stop the burn from getting irritated further.
• Maintain good oral hygiene while your mouth is burnt, keeping it as clean as possible to promote healing and prevent further infection.

Make sure you allow your burn to heal; it usually takes about a week for soreness and blistering to pass. Also, let us know if you have any home remedies that we didn’t list, or any interesting stories about a time you burned your mouth. Leave a comment or post it on our Facebook wall!