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Thanksgiving Trivia For The Holidays

Thanksgiving Trivia Scarborough METhanksgiving is celebrated with feasts and football games and the start of the Christmas shopping season, Thanksgiving means roasted turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and green bean casserole with Campbells mushroom soup. No matter how you celebrate this momentous day, at the orthodontic office of Lisa P. Howard DDS MS, we want you to know we are thankful for all our wonderful patients we treat throughout the year. We wouldn’t be here without you! To commemorate this traditional holiday, we would like to share some fun trivia we thought you would enjoy! Feel free to add some fun facts of your own in the comment area.Read More

Traveling With Invisalign – Are You Prepared?

Traveling with InvisalignAt the orthodontic office of Dr. Lisa P. Howard DDS MS, some teens and adults opt for Invisalign, the “braceless” alternative to traditional braces to straighten teeth. What would you do if something happened to your Invisalign aligners while you were out of town? What if an aligner breaks, is left behind at a restaurant while eating, or you lost your purse or luggage with your aligners inside? Here are some tips for Invisalign patients on what to do if you are out of town and something happens to your aligners!Read More

Halloween Fun Facts

Halloween Scarborough MEHalloween was also known as All Hallows’ Eve in some circles. It goes as far back as about 2,000 years to a pre-Christian Celtic festival held around Nov. 1 called Samhain (pronounced “sah-win”), which means “summer’s end” in the Gaelic language.

Halloween costumes and the tradition of “dressing up” may go back to a time when people would disguise themselves and go door-to-door, asking for food. Early costumes were usually disguises, often woven out of straw and there were times when people wore costumes to perform in plays or skits to celebrate All Hallow’s Eve.

Trick-or-treating didn’t start in the United States until World War II. However, Halloween was as much a time for festivities and games as it was for playing tricks or asking for treats. Apples are associated with Halloween, both as a treat and in the game of bobbing for apples, a game that since the colonial era in America was used for fortune-telling.

Halloween is a fun time of year for kids of all ages… but for orthodontic patients it can be a “nightmare” waiting to happen if braces are being damaged from eating the wrong treats. Watch this video put out a few years ago by the American Association of Orthodontists with additional “Halloween Brace Tips” for consumers that still very much apply today!Read More

Oral Piercings – Are They Worth It?

Oral Piercings Scarborough MEOral piercings of the tongue, lips, and cheeks are growing in popularity and acceptance, and are considered a way to express ones personality in an art form like tattoos. However, did you know the human bite can be more “toxic” than an animal bite? Keeping this in mind, imagine what could happen to your mouth with oral piercings that collect additional food and debris (that breed bacteria and germs) while banging against your teeth over 1500 times a day when you swallow…Read More

Sensitive Teeth – Why?

Sensitive teeth Scarborough MESensitive Teeth…Have you ever experienced sensitivity in your teeth when drinking hot coffee or eating ice cream? How about when brushing your teeth? Ever wonder why this happens? Most of the time it is due to enamel wear of teeth. When this happens, the dentin (sensitive part of the tooth) is exposed and left vulnerable to all kinds of painful experiences, depending upon how severe.

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Labor Day – A Little Fun Holiday History

Labor Day Scarborough MEDo you know why we celebrate Labor Day? Labor Day is a federal holiday in the USA and has been since June 28, 1894 when congress passed an act making the first Monday in September a national holiday. The purpose of Labor Day is to honor laborers of all kinds and the “workingman” and now working woman and their achievements. Yes, this also includes orthodontists and orthodontic team members at the orthodontic office of Lisa P. Howard DDS MS.Read More