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When you were a kid, your parents may have told you to drink milk to build strong bones and grow tall and strong. Now that you have children of your own, you may hear yourself parroting those instructions you received years ago. Getting enough dairy is essential for young children whose teeth are growing. A child who consumes the recommended daily serving of dairy will develop healthy, strong teeth for the rest of his or her life.

So, which foods are the best in terms of acquiring the right amount of calcium? Milk and other dairy products are excellent sources of calcium. Milk also contains vitamin D, phosphorus, magnesium, and proteins. Magnesium promotes calcium deposits in your enamel, while phosphorus forms a small but important barrier against acidic foods that cause cavities. Vitamin D and protein are used by a child’s body to build bone tissue and maintain dental health.

According to a recent study, the majority of Americans, including children, do not receive enough calcium. In fact, according to the Academy of General Dentistry, only one in five children meets even the minimum standards for calcium consumption. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that children under the age of eight should receive two and a half cups of dairy per day. Children older than eight need three full cups, the same as adult men and women. In addition to milk, eating yogurt is a great way your child can increase his or her dairy consumption. Drinking sugary beverages in place of milk causes cavities and tooth decay.

If your child does not get enough dairy consumption, they run the risk of improper tooth development and other dental health problems. Drs. Don and Mindy and our team at Kanawha City Pediatric Dentistry encourage you to monitor your child’s dairy consumption to ensure he or she grows healthy teeth to last a lifetime.

Questions? Give us a call at our Charleston office!

Thanksgiving marks the start to the holidays; a season filled with feasting, indulging, and spending time with family and friends are always special. Thanksgiving is a holiday meant for giving thanks, and while this may seem like such a natural celebration, the United States is only one of a handful of countries to officially celebrate with a holiday.

Unlike many holidays, Thanksgiving is a secular holiday, and it is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States. In Canada, it is celebrated on the second Monday of October, which is, oddly enough, much closer to a time when harvests were likely gathered. In addition to the different dates, the origins of the celebration also share different roots.

Thanksgiving in the United States

Giving thanks for a bountiful harvest are not new, but the modern day holiday in the US can be traced to a celebration at Plymouth in Massachusetts in 1621. This feast of thanksgiving was inspired by a good harvest, and the tradition was simply continued on. At first, the colony at Plymouth didn't have enough food to feed everyone present, but the Native Americans helped by providing seeds and teaching them how to fish, and they soon began to be able to hold a feast worthy of the name. The tradition spread, and by the 1660s, most of New England was hosting a Thanksgiving feast in honor of the harvest.

Canadian Thanksgiving

An explorer of early Canada named Martin Frobisher is accredited for the first Canadian Thanksgiving. He survived the arduous journey from England through harsh weather conditions and rough terrain, and after his last voyage from Europe to present-day Nunavut, he held a formal ceremony to give thanks for his survival and good fortune. As time passed and more settlers arrived, a feast was added to what quickly became a yearly tradition. Another explorer, Samuel de Champlain, is linked to the first actual Thanksgiving celebration in honor of a successful harvest; settlers who arrived with him in New France celebrated the harvest with a bountiful feast.

A Modern Thanksgiving

Today, Thanksgiving is traditionally celebrated with the best of Americana. From feasts and football games to getting ready for the start of the Christmas shopping season, Thanksgiving means roasted turkey, pumpkin pie, and green bean casserole. No matter how you celebrate this momentous day, pause for a moment to give thanks for your friends, family, and all the bounties you’ve received. Happy Thanksgiving from Kanawha City Pediatric Dentistry!

Sealants provide a thin coating over molars that can be a powerful tool to protect your child’s teeth from decay. This simple and painless solution can be applied in a matter of minutes by our team at Kanawha City Pediatric Dentistry, forming a protective shield and avoiding costly and painful cavities or other forms of tooth decay later.

The Causes of Tooth Decay

Our mouths are routinely filled with germs and bacteria. Some of these bacteria can be helpful in converting the foods we eat (especially sugars in the food) into acids that our bodies use to break down food. However, when we eat too much sugar, the excess acids can cause cavities and other decay in teeth.

Molars (our chewing teeth) are prime sites for tooth decay because they have rough surfaces with lots of little grooves where small food particles and germs find places to stay for extended periods of time. If you can prevent tooth decay in your child’s teeth now, you may be able to avoid treatments for decaying teeth later in life—costly and painful procedures like crowns and fillings.

Protecting Against Decay

A comprehensive plan for mouth care can protect against tooth decay. This plan should include:

• Drinking water with fluoride in it or using other fluoride supplements
• Eating a healthy diet (avoiding excessive sugar)
• Brushing teeth regularly
• Applying sealants

On their own, each of these activities is good but does not provide enough protection against decay. Fluoride is best for protecting the smooth surfaces of our front teeth, but may not provide enough of a shield for our rough, uneven back teeth. In addition, toothbrush bristles may not get to all the tiny food particles and germs in our mouths. For these reasons, sealants are the recommended preventive measure for molars in the fight against germs.

Who needs sealants, and when?

The best time to get a sealant is when your child’s adult teeth are just growing in. Between the ages of about five and seven, children grow their first permanent molar teeth, and they grow a second set of permanent molars between the ages of 11 and 14. Sealants placed on these teeth as soon as they grow in will be most effective in preventing tooth decay before it occurs.

If your child still has his or her baby teeth, Drs. Don and Mindy may recommend sealants for teeth that are especially rough or uneven and may be prone to tooth decay. When your child loses his or her baby teeth, we will apply new sealants to the permanent teeth when they grow in. In addition, our team may recommend sealants for adults in special cases; for example, if a previously placed sealant falls out, if you never had sealants put in as a child, or if your teeth are prone to decay and the preventive treatment may help.

Talk to us during your next visit at our Charleston office to learn more about how dental sealants can help protect your child’s teeth.

Hello, November! At Kanawha City Pediatric Dentistry we are excited to welcome the start of the holiday season. With each passing year, we enjoy the changing of the seasons more and more. With all the ups and downs of this year, we are certainly thankful for a beautiful blue sky and sunshine-- we have had an abundance of those days this fall!

This Thanksgiving, Dr.Skaff’s menu will remain the same, but his family unit will be much smaller due to the ongoing Coronavirus. Traditionally, Dr. Skaff has hosted his extended family for a Thanksgiving feast. The gathered guests were so large in number it required additional tables be set, which at one time numbered 40 people! Dr. Skaff will definitely miss seeing everyone at his home this year but thankfully staying connected has never been easier with frequent texting, calling, and sending FB posts to loved ones to stay in touch. For those who won’t be in person at Dr. Skaff’s house, they will have a Zoom gathering on Thanksgiving Day. When it’s not the holidays Dr. Skaff tries to have a Zoom get together or a Netflix watch party with his extended family.

This year might look a little different from previous years, but thankfully the traditional thanksgiving menu will not change. There’s nothing like a delicious turkey that has been brined and roasted in a bag, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, hashwee (a traditional rice dressing), candied sweet potatoes, cornbread stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, green beans, rolls, and brussel sprouts. So much yumminess! For dessert, there will be both pumpkin and pecan pie. To keep it interesting, Dr. Skaff and his family like to try a different twist on classic recipes each year.

Thanksgiving is not only a time to express love and gratitude to your family but also to give back to your community and express gratitude in all areas of your life. Each November, Dr. Skaff and his family keep a gratitude journal and update it daily with something they are grateful for. Also, they make donations to local and national charities, such as Manna Meal, The Salvation Army, Union Mission, and others.
Dr. Skaff and his team are all so grateful that the dental practice has continued to flourish amid this ongoing pandemic. Thank you to all our awesome patients for cooperating with the new office health and safety guidelines. We couldn’t do it without each and every one of you! Also, with the addition of Dr. Mindy, we have had so many opportunities to see new patients and welcome them into our dental family.

We hope everyone has a safe and joyful Thanksgiving holiday this month. See you in our office again soon!