Hello all, hope you are all making the most of this lovely start to Autumn with blue skies and the Sun shining. It’s almost hard to believe we are in October.
Halloween
Pumpkins, skeletons, and…cavities? Indeed, Halloween is the most fun-filled and frightening time of the year! And, of course, along with Halloween comes piles upon piles of delicious sweet treats.
As fun as Halloween is, it’s important to make sure you maintain good oral health as you enjoy the day. We would not want to deny anyone a sweet treat so here are our top tips on how to care for your teeth this Halloween.
- Frequency: frequency of sugars, eating sweets at meal times is much better for your teeth than snacking on them throughout the day. The risk of developing tooth decay increases as the amount and frequency of sugar consumption rises.
- Brush twice a day: keeping teeth clean by regular brushing twice a day every morning and before bed helps prevent decay. Children’s brushing should be supervised until the age of seven/eight.
- Use a fluoride toothpaste: all children up to three years old should use a toothpaste with a fluoride level of at least 1000ppm, both morning and night. From three to six years old, their toothpaste should contain more than 1000ppm. For children six years and older, the recommended amount is between 1350ppm-1500ppm
Children are very reluctant to swap out sugary treats for healthier options as we can see with this Halloween treats gone wrong clip Here
We sometimes have to be sneaky and disguise healthier options and label them as ‘Cake’ or decorating fruit with spooky faces.
Here at Crown Street Dental Group, we are very partial to a slice of Banana bread. Our lovely Head Nurse Claire Hobbs makes the best.
Here is a recipe for Banana bread which is naturally sweetened with fruit and an optional drizzle of agave syrup meaning less added sugar is required in this banana bread.
Ingredients
125g self-raising wholemeal flour
½ tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
75g sultana
50g butter, melted
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg
1 tbsp milk
3 ripe bananas, mashed
drizzle agave syrup, to serve (optional)
STEP 1
Grown ups: Preheat the oven to 180C/ 160C fan/ gas mark 4. Grease and line a 450g loaf/1lb tin with baking parchment.
STEP 2
Children: Weigh the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and sultanas into a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon. Then weigh the butter, vanilla essence, egg, milk and mashed bananas and put into another bowl or jug and mix with a small balloon whisk or fork. Pour the ‘wet’ banana mixture into the ‘dry’ flour mixture and combine thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Weighing needs to be very accurate when baking so help older children to measure carefully. Younger children can also get involved by spooning or pouring into the scales with adult supervision. Younger children can also beat the egg with a fork and mash the banana with a potato masher.
STEP 3
Grown ups: Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 30 – 40 mins or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven, allow to cool in the tin for 10 mins then turn out.
STEP 4
Children: Drizzle with agave syrup if using.
Half term days out
This year we see the return of many Halloween themed days out with the family from Picking Pumpkins, to Ghost Hunts at Kelvedon Hatch Or Fright Week and Epping Ongar Railway
If you are all ‘Halloweened’ out, perhaps a lovely walk along Thorney Bay Beach which has been transformed by a group of volunteers. It is a very safe clean beach to visit with a great play park and a very nice café. Well worth a day out, weather permitting of course!
What’s New
In house consultations
For the last year and a half we have been holding virtual consultations. Which has proved to be very popular for people seeking dental treatments to improve their smiles. This software is still available on our website; however, we are very pleased to now be able to offer Free consultations in house with our Treatment Co-Ordinator Leanne.
During these consultations Leanne will be able to take a 3D scan of your teeth and provide you with your treatment options and show you an example of how your teeth could look straight.
If you would like to come in to see Leanne, please get in touch either by calling emailing or via WhatsApp.
Baby NEWS!
Our lovely Hygienist/Therapist Danielle is expecting her first baby in February next year. We are all very excited and cannot wait for the arrival of our first Crown Street Baby.
Please be sure to keep an eye on our website for up-to-date information, and if you would like to provide us with some feedback, the links to our google reviews and Facebook reviews are at the bottom of this email.
As always, stay safe and stay off the sugar * (excluding 31st October ?)
