Are you wondering if your child needs braces or early treatment? It is a great idea to set up a consultation appointment with your orthodontist. Are you trying to figure out what age to set up an appointment for your child? The answer varies per child but the best age to have your child seen is 7. Most 7-year-olds have begun to grow some of their adult teeth. Does your child need to have all their adult teeth in before they are seen? No, most early treatment begins while they still have some of their baby teeth.

Congratulations on the addition to your family! This is an exciting time for you and your new bundle of joy. Though, there can be some downsides; feet swelling, heart burn, cavities, and teeth shift. Now do not panic. This blog may not help with the feet welling or heart burn, though we can help and explain about your teeth changes. You have probably noticed that your hormones are changing, from the moment you find out that you are expecting to after you have delivered your little angel. These changes increase the acidity in your mouth, leading to increased cavities. With the changes in your hormones, it can affect your sugar intake due to new cravings and decrease the attention to prevention to your dental care. Once you are in your second and third trimester your body’s inflammatory response increases and your body begins to secrete Relaxin. Relaxin is a hormone produced to relaxes your ligaments prepare your body for childbirth. This great because you are about to bring a life into the world but it does mean the rest of your body’s ligaments are also loose which leads to your teeth shifting. Your teeth shifting does not mean you are more likely loose your teeth, though you will have to keep up with your dental routine. Limit sugary foods and drinks Brush twice a day Floss daily Saltwater rinse (if you have irritated gums) Continue to see your dentist and orthodontist.

Are you worried that your braces are going to ruin your Halloween? What if I told you that that is simply not true and that you can still have a ghoulishly good time? There are some candies that you will want to trade with your friends or family because you need to avoid them, but you can swap those for ones that are safe for braces. Candies to avoid: Caramels Taffy Hard candy Chewy candy Jellybeans Suckers Sour candy Caramel Popcorn Nuts Candies that you can eat: Softer, melt-in-your-mouth candies tend to be less risky when it comes to keeping your braces intact. Chocolate (without caramel or nuts) Peanut butter cups Kit-Kats 3 Musketeers Marshmallows Cookies Once you have fully indulged on your candy stash make sure that you brush and floss. If a bracket does come loose be sure to call your orthodontist to make an appointment as soon as possible.

Straighter teeth started in Egypt. Traditional braces have been around for almost 300 years. Braces used to have a whole lot more metal. They were custom to each person and wrapped around the entire tooth. They were then cemented in the mouth. Before the 1970’s, orthodontists hand anchor brackets to teeth by winding wires tightly around each individual tooth The first book about dentistry was written in 1840. Chapin A. Harris published his first book; “The Dental Art”. It describes practices about soldering knobs on bands to assist tooth rotation as well as applying gold caps to molars to open the dental bite.

This is the month of thanks. Think about all the things that you hold special in your heart and be thankful that you are lucky enough to have them. November is always a good time to throw away your diet and pig out! Always avoid sticky and chewy things so that you won’t break your brackets. Pumpkins Do you have pumpkin leftovers ? So many of us carve our pumpkins, and once Halloween is over, we don’t know what to do with the leftovers. If you love to carve pumpkins but hate dealing with the mess, Michael’s Craft store sells hollow fake pumpkins that are great for carving. Candy Buy Back Remember to bring in Halloween candy to receive extra Century coins. We hope this will help prevent you from breaking brackets. You will receive 1 coin per pound up to 5lbs. Shopping Reminder Day For all of you holiday shoppers, November 25th is shopping reminder day. There is only one month left until Christmas, and Hanukkah begins on the 1st of December. Leaves Falling What a beautiful site to see all the different colors of autumn. This month is the perfect time to spend raking leaves into one enormous pile! Then take a great plunge into them, making an explosion of leaves all over the street. Then hurry to do it all over again. Ice skating begins Most ice skating begins in November. Are the kids hounding you to go ice skating? Well if so here are a few rinks you can go to: Steinberg’s 314-367-7465 Ice Zone at the Mills 314-227-5288 Kirkwood 314-822-5825 Queeny Park 636-391-0900 Vegan Awareness Month What is a Vegan? Veganism is a type of vegetarian diet that excludes meat, eggs, dairy products and all other animal-derived ingredients. Many vegans also do not eat foods that are processed using animal products such as refined white sugar and some wines. Most vegans also avoid the use of all products tested on animals as well as animal-derived non-food products, such as leather, fur and wool. Say No to Drunk Drivers Each day drunk drivers are being arrested for driving after drinking too much. Drunk driving cost people $135 billion annually. With $51 billion is just due to the accidents that they are involved in. Drunk drivers are always at fault when they are in an accident even if the other driver caused the accident. The more that one drinks the higher the chance of them getting into an accident. For our patients that are 21 or older please drink responsibly. Remember to always have a designated driver to help keep you safe this holiday season. www.madd.org November Month of Thanks The month of November is a chance to enjoy the time that we have with our families. We give thanks that we have them. We give thanks that we can put food on our tables and love in our hearts. Almost every family in America celebrates Thanksgiving in some way. Many spend it with their families, but many people choose to spend their time helping the less fortunate. They celebrate by making and preparing food to give to the homeless and to those who do not have enough money to provide a thanksgiving dinner. This time of year, there are many food drives. Next time you go to the store remember to pick up a few extra canned goods. That way when the scouts stop by, or schools are asking you to make donations, you won’t have to make a trip out. This is also the month to start thinking about the winter holiday and buying things for your friends and loved ones. There are many places that you can donate gifts, new or used coats, shoes and toys to give to those who have little or nothing. Wild Lights at St. Louis ZOO Visit the St. Louis ZOO for WildLights . Walk through the Zoo's holiday wonderland of spectacular light displays and animals. This is a great event for the whole family. Weekends starting November 23rd-December 30th between 5:30-8:30pm. 314-781-0900 Social Media Century Orthodontics participates in many of the social media that are available on the internet. We do this to stay up to date in our patient’s lives. This makes it easier for them to communicate with us and share ideas. If you would like to join us in any of our social media we work with please do. We offer extra coins and prizes through facebook , twitter , foursquare, pinterest and even our blog. If you don’t always get a chance to view our monthly newspaper it is always available on our blog and you can even see past newspapers. Our blog provides answers to questions that many of our patients have from “how long do I wear my retainer?” to “Should I wear a mouth guard?” This helps not only educate our patients but people all over the world. We love to answer questions. If you have any questions on social media or anything orthodontic please ask one of our assistants and they can help you find the answer. LABELS : 2012 ART FAIR BOOKS CANDY SALE FACEBOOK HALLOWEEN ICE SKATING LEAVES MADD SHOPPING REMINDER SOCIAL MEDIA THANKSGIVING TWITTER VEGAN AWARENESS WILD LIGHTS

Fall is in the air this month, and the trees will begin to change colors. Be prepared to see Century Orthodontics staff in their Halloween Garb. Remember to wear your costume this month and receive an extra coin and maybe even a photo on the wall of Fame. This month is our newspaper’s sixth birthday!! The statue of Liberty’s birthday is October 28th. Who could forget Halloween on the 31st? Candy Buy Back For our patients in braces Halloween isn’t always as fun as it used to be. Braces really do take the bite out of chewy candies. So if you bring in your sticky chewy candy from Halloween, we will give you extra coins. Haunted Places Missouri has lots of Haunted places. If you are interested in a scare visit: www.theshadowlands.net This website has haunted places all over the United States and the rest of the world. So if you are looking for a good scary story or places to experience a fright, the shadow land is a great website. Boss’ Day Please remember your boss on October 16th. Let them know how much you appreciate working for them. Don’t forget to bring them something sweet to help seal the deal. October Festivals There are many ways to enjoy this harvest season. Here are some things to think about: Hayrides in Castlewood Park, Boo at the Zoo, and Twilight Tuesday. Fire Month October is fire prevention month. Please remember to change the batteries in your smoke detectors and plan a route out of the house and a safe location for the family to meet. Remember only you can prevent forest fires. www.sparky.org Facebook Please Like our facebook page and check out the winners of our Scavenger hunt!!! Pumpkin Stencils If you are looking for the perfect pumpkin stencil I have found a great spot to print out the stencil of your nightmares! www.pumpkinlady.com Costumes Costumes are welcome the whole month of October. If you are wearing your Halloween costume, you will receive some extra coins. If you like, we can take your photo and add your Halloween look to our website or front wall of fame. Halloween Safety Century Orthodontics would like to remind everyone to be safe on Halloween and remember not to eat any candy that may break brackets or wires. For other safety tips visit www.halloween-safety.com Trick-or-Treating safety Children should be well supervised by an adult when trick-or-treating. Older children should trick-or-treat in large groups in well-known neighborhoods. Carry a flashlight Stick to well lit houses in familiar neighborhoods only Follow traffic signals and rules of the road Drive slowly Avoid taking shortcuts across backyards. Stick to the sidewalks of well lit streets Discounts Here is a great spot to find all of St. Louis’ great free and discounted events and places to eat. www.stlmommy.com This site offers great places to eat and free places for kids to eat. Free events and places to be summer, spring, winter and fall. Grant’s Farm This month is the last month to visit Grant’s Farm. In the month of October, the Halloween décor is all around. There are many kid friendly spooky attractions that everyone can enjoy. Don’t forget to arrive early so you can find a good parking place. MOTO Museum This museum show cases a man’s motorcycle collection. There are motorcycles that range in age from as early as the 1900’s and new as 2000’s. That’s a century of creative design changes over the years. This would be a great place to visit on a early release day from school. They ask to call before going to make sure they are open for public viewing. Here is the website: www.themotomuseum.com Eat Better, Eat Together Month This month families are encouraged not only to eat healthier, but to eat with your family. They like having time to share, to find out what others have been doing, and to laugh. Twitter If you love to tweet follow us on twitter and tweet your #Centurysmile. We love to see our patients smile share them with us! @centuryortho LABELS : 2012 ART FAIR CANDY SALE CATS COSTUMES DAYLIGHT SAVINGS DOG FACEBOOK FACEBOOKS GHOSTS GIVE THANKS GRANDPARENT'S DAY HALLOWEEN NEWSPAPER PARADE PET DAY RAT RESCUE TOOTHBRUSH BUDDY

September means being back to school and fall is knocking at your door. Read a new book this month and take part in the national reading month. Child safety week is the first week in September. School Spirit Please remember to wear your school colors the month of September to keep your school spirit at their highest. If we catch you wearing your school colors or school t-shirt, you will receive an extra coin. Bring your teacher an apple to observe Apple Month. The first Monday in the Month of September is Labor Day. This day is a day of relaxation and used to mark the end of summer. Veterans Village in Forest Park is having a 3 day celebration Saturday-Monday. For more information please visit: www.vfstl.com St. Louis Balloon Race September 14 & 15th Go downtown to Central Field to watch the balloons glow September 14th. This experience is one to enjoy with the whole family. Stay after dark to watch the balloons glow and take pictures of your favorite balloons. Wake up early to watch the Balloons take off on the morning of 15th. Wear your Century Orthodontic T-shirt in a photo and Tag us on Facebook for extra coins. Parking and Admission is Free www.greatforestparkballoonrace.com Coupon Month Cutting coupons saves you money and allows you more of the things that you like and sometimes even the things you like for free. Great Fire Engine Rally Sept 8th Fire engines are on parade, directly below the arch. This makes a great photo opportunity, and a learning experience, for young and old. If you plan on heading down to watch the parade everyone should bring their earplugs this will be a very loud event. www.greatfirerally.com Clayton Art Fair Clayton will be hosting the annual Art Fair on September 7-9th. This is a FREE event with music, art, & other fun with the Clayton Community. www.culturalfestivals.com Grandparent’s Day is a day to remember how great it is to have grandparents and to remember all the great things that they do for us. This is a day to get to know them better and spend time learning about how their life is going. Grandparent’s Day is September 9th this year so please remember to give them a hug. If they don’t live close enough for a hug, give a phone call to brighten their day. Talk like Pirate Day September 19th is talk like a pirate day. If you would like to participate in this holiday you can also dress like a pirate for added fun! If you happen to come to our office dressed like a pirate extra, loot will be yours for the taking. Save the Koala September is save the koala month. If you would like to donate to saving the koala’s habitat or sponsor a koala, you can visit www.savethekoala.com Kids Take Over the Kitchen On September 13th let your kids make their own meals. Let them choose what they want for dinner and help them cook their favorite dish for the family. www.youngchefsacademy.com Banned Book Week Did you know that there are books that are banned from some schools and libraries around the United States and the world? These books are banned because of their content. Some of these books over the years have been changed so that they can be used in all areas. The last week in September is a banned book week. You may celebrate it however you’d like. Turn Off Week Turn off your electronics! The week of turning off the television and participating in time with your family friends and neighbors will help change the way you and your family look at the real world. It will help make the family dynamic change for the better. For ideas of what to do if you aren’t watching TV visit: www.turnoffyourtv.com Hauntings The time to be spooky is now! St. Louis offers many fun places to get your scare on. If you are looking for a haunted house that will knock your socks off take a look at the websites that I have posted below. www.scarefest.com www.lempmansion.com www.prairieghosts.com/stlouis www.ghostridetours.com www.stcharlesghosts.com Costumes Wear your Halloween costume in October. Receive extra coins for wearing an elaborate costume. If you bring in a picture of you on Halloween in your costume, we will also give you an extra coin. Halloween Candy Sale Bring in the candy you receive that you can’t eat with braces, and we will reward you with extra coins. For every pound an extra coin will be given. (no more then 3 extra) Shaw Art Fair October 1-2 St. Louis, MO Historic Shaw Art Fair, 4100 & 4200 Blocks Flora Place. Saturday, 9 am to 5 pm; Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm Presented by the Shaw Neighborhood For more information: www.shawartfair.org/ FACEBOOK Please LIKE our fan page! There is always a better chance to win the contest if you like our Facebook page. We post contests, events and holidays so that everyone has a good chance of getting involved with Century Orthodontics. If you “like” Century Orthodontics’ business page also add Staff Century Orthodontics to your friends so that you can email and tag us. LABELS : 2012 ART FAIR CANDY SALE COSTUMES COUPON MONTH DOG FACEBOOK GHOSTS HALLOWEEN PET DAY SAVE KOALA SCHOOL SPIRIT ST. LOUIS BALLOON RACE TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY TOOTHBRUSH BUDDY TURN OFF WEEK

August is National Golf Month. Try to get back into the swing of things by going for a game of 18 holes. The second week in August is National Smile week. So show off your beautiful Century smile. If you don’t have a Century smile and would like one, remember Century Orthodontics offers complimentary consultations. Please just give us a call. August 1st is respect your parents day. Remember to wear your favorite sunglasses this August and receive extra coins. In September we are celebrating school pride so wear your school colors or logo and receive an extra coin. Joy of summer Celebrate your summer by bringing a disposable camera everywhere you go. This way you can snap a picture of the first day of camp, a funny face painting, or a fantastic firework display. Did you know? Our brains are cross-wired. The left hemisphere (right hand control) controls speech, language, writing, logic, mathematics, and science. It is the linear thinking mode. The right hemisphere (left hand control) controls music, art, creativity, perception, emotions, and genius. It is the holistic thinking mode. 10 to 15 percent of humankind is left-handed. Share Your Ideas Please share your stories of braces, vacations, or news. Good jokes are always welcome. Bring in photos showing off your Century smile. Picnic Time Again! August 31st is eat outside day. So take your meals outdoors and enjoy the sunlight and maybe even catch a few rays before you make your way back into work or school. Grandparent’s Day

Quote of the Month “There’s something to love in everyday.” Spring Time If you and your family are traveling to a place other than the backyard, send us a postcard of your springtime extravaganza and receive extra Coins from our staff. Spring is a great time to get away from all your school time worries, but this is not a time to forget about your braces. Please keep up good oral hygiene all year long. What’s up St. Louis? St. Louis has a lot going on this month and, many things have to do with Earth Day. For more information visit: www.stlouisearthday.org Arbor Day Arbor Day this year is the 28th of April. What is Arbor Day you ask? On this day we help to replenish one of our Earth’s natural resources by planting trees. This will help our environment and give a healthy supply of oxygen to our Earth. So remember to plant a tree. www.arborday.org April Foolery The month of April is a month of laughs and practical jokes. Maybe this is the reason so many of our famous comedians and funny people were born in this month. Some of the funny people are David Letterman, Eddie Murphy, George Lopez, Carol Barnett, Jay Leno, and Jerry Seinfeld. Did you know? Did you know during the day you swallow 2,000 times? This helps flush away bacteria. At night you swallow about 20 times, this is why it is so important to brush your teeth before you go to sleep. Braces straighten your teeth, but they can also help rid your face of wrinkles and trade them in for a beautiful smile. Did you know that teeth maybe considered feminine? Feminine teeth tend to be rounded and soft where as male teeth are more angular with straighter edges. Scavenger Hunt Century Orthodontics is hosting a summer vacation scavenger hunt for all of our patients. This photo scavenger hunt can be done in any location you visit this summer. Patients will be awarded prizes for the most points, the most pictures and the best use of their Century Orthodontic T-shirt. To find a list for the hunt check our Facebook or stop in any of our offices to pick one up. Extra coins will be rewarded for early entries. Facebook Do you have Facebook? If you love our office, please stop by our Facebook business page and like our page. This will give you reminders of any of our special events that our office is providing or participating in. Our Facebook page has staff photos and we like to share the fun times we have inside and outside the office. We would love to see your photos too, so please share them with us. May May is a month for celebration of spring. This month is national Barbeque month so spend time with loved ones and feast on friendship and food. May is a month for great smiles so put on a smile and keep it there. Don’t forget to get mom something special for mother’s day. The month of May is also Get Fit Fast month and bike month. There are so many great ways to get fit and stay healthy, in the spring and summer months. This month keep a log of all the fitness activities that you take part in. One-way to take part in two May observations are to ride your bike for health and for fun. Look on our website for some unique ideas for all of these May celebrations. LABELS : 2012 APRIL ARBOR DAY FACEBOOKS LETTER MAY NEWSPAPER SCAVENGER HUNT SPRING