Soft Drinks -- Trouble For Your Teeth from Dr. Roy McAnnally

At Dr. McAnnally's office, we know that when you sit down to dinner or grab a sandwich for lunch, you wouldn’t have a side of nine teaspoons of sugar. But that’s exactly what you’re taking in when you pair a meal with a 12-ounce can of soda pop.

Soft drinks are a poor choice for your overall health, since they have no nutritional value, and they contain sugar and caffeine. And when it comes to your teeth, soft drinks can cause big trouble. The steep servings of sugar create the perfect condition for cavities to form, while the phosphoric and citric acids in soda pop can erode and weaken your enamel – the outer coating on your teeth – making it tougher for your teeth to withstand the onslaught of sugar.

Both the Canadian and American Dental Associations recommend limiting your intake of soft drinks. And if you do occasionally indulge in a fizzy beverage, it’s a good idea to drink it with a straw, to reduce exposure to your teeth. Brushing your teeth afterward, or at least swishing with water, can help remove the sugar from your teeth.

Having trouble cutting back? Try these tricks from Dr. Roy McAnnally to help wean yourself from a steady diet of soft drinks:

--Don’t quit cold turkey: Start by swapping one soda each day with an alternate drink, preferably water. Gradually increase your swaps until you’re down to one soft drink a day, then one every two days, then one a week, and so on.
--Switch to tea: If you’re looking for a source of caffeine, tea is much healthier than soda pop. Just remember not to add nine teaspoons of sugar to it.
--Switch to seltzer: If it’s the fizz or the flavor you’re after, try a sugar-free flavored water or seltzer.
--Remember your goals: If you’re wavering in your commitment to cut back on soda pop, remember the health problems it can cause.
--Be patient: Adjusting a habit doesn’t happen overnight. Give yourself a reasonable amount of time to change your diet.

Marvelous Molasses Cookies from Dr. Roy McAnnally

At Dr. Roy McAnnally's office, we know that it can be hard while you are in orthodontic treatment to not eat all of your favorite foods, so we were so excited to find Pam and Brenda Waterman's book, The Braces Cookbook! It has tons of great recipes that everyone who is in orthodontic treatment can enjoy! Here is one of our favorite recipes!

Marvelous Molasses Cookies

They smell wonderful even before baking, they melt in your mouth, and they never harden up. Yum – the best of gingerbread and ginger snaps in one!

--1 cup shortening
--1 cup brown sugar
--1 egg
--1/2 tsp salt
--1/2 cup molasses
--1/2 cup warm water
--1 tsp baking soda
--1 tsp cinnamon
--1/2 tsp ginger
--2 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Baking time 11 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine shortening, brown sugar, egg, salt and molasses, using an electric mixer and beating until fluffy. Add cinnamon and ginger. In a small bowl or measuring cup, stir the baking soda into the warm water; add water mixture to the molasses mixture alternately with the flour until well blended.

Drop by tablespoons onto greased cookie sheets. Bake for 11 minutes at 350 degrees. Makes about four dozen. Store in a covered container.

Entrust Your Family's Smile to An Orthodontic Expert Dr. Roy McAnnally

You can entrust your family's smiles to Dr. McAnnally because he is a trained, licensed specialist. Only an orthodontist has two to three years of specialized education beyond dental school, including a residency supervised by orthodontists. Dr. McAnnally will work cooperatively with your dentist and other health care providers to ensure all of your oral health needs are met.

More than a smile - A healthy, beautiful smile is a work of art. It is the work of an orthodontist.

Gain the confidence, physical, social, business and economic advantages that come with healthy teeth and a beautiful smile. Your smile says so much about you without saying a word. A healthy, beautiful smile projects confidence and lights up a room.

Potential benefits

Orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics play an important role in improving overall Craniomandibular, oral-facial, and cardiovascular health. Orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics provide balance and harmony between the teeth and face, and a beautiful and healthy smile. An attractive smile enhances confidence and self esteem, and creates social, work-related, and economic opportunities to improve the quality of life.

The likelihood of temporomandibular or myofascial pain disorders, snoring, and sleep apnea is reduced. Respiratory and cardiovascular functions are often improved.

Orthodontic treatment can eliminate potential dental problems including abnormal wear of the teeth. Properly aligned teeth are easier to brush. There is less likelihood of dental decay, diseases of the gum and supporting bone, and costly restorative care.

"Prior to having this work done, I definitely felt self conscious about my smile; and as you age, in particular, there is something that happens to your mouth that changes and it really shows your age. I think that in having my teeth straightened, there's the physical part that changes but there's something inside that changes that you are not even aware of, and that has to do with your confidence and how you walk into a room. You know you look fine, so you present yourself differently and that's bound to affect everything."

Everybody's Brushing With Dr. McAnnally

Everybody is brushing at Dr. McAnnally's office. Check out this fun video to show the kids to teach them the importance of oral hygiene!