With the holiday season in full swing from October’s candy brigade to New Year’s celebrations and beyond, keeping our braces free from incident, or better stated, keeping brackets and wires in place, certainly seems to be a challenge in our house. By the looks of our local orthodontist’s waiting room, I’m guessing we are not the only family falling prey to finding ourselves in these sticky situations.
Now that I have a heightened awareness of the need to be more conscious of what the girls are chewing on, I am looking for friendlier options to have on hand for the girls so they aren’t tempted to reach for the holiday treats we should be avoiding.
Making myself and the girls aware of a basic list of treats to enjoy and treats to avoid is a great way to begin the season.
Treats To Avoid
- Sticky Items (taffy, caramel, licorice)
- Hard Items (candy canes)
- Mixes (popcorn, mixed nuts)
Orthodontic Friendly Options To Enjoy
- Ice cream
- Soft chocolates
- Pudding or Gelatin
- Smoothies
- Thinly sliced apples or fruit
We have always enjoyed the holidays and different treats in our family. This year, I’ve decided to become more intentional about planning ahead to make sure the girls have treats they can enjoy along with everyone else, and that we won’t be jetting in to the orthodontist’s office after every party or gathering.
For Thanksgiving, Taylor and I will be making Pumpkin Brownie Pops. We will roll our cooked brownies into small balls and put those in the refrigerator to cool. Once they are cool, we will dip lollipop sticks in melted milk chocolate and insert the sticks into the top of the brownie balls and send them back to the fridge to cool. Once the chocolate has cooled and set, we will dip them in melted orange colored candy melts and allow those to dry. I will let Taylor decorate them with small tubes of gel icing for stems or designs.
For our traditional family Santa party, I will have Grace make Strawberry Santa treats. These are easily made with only a few ingredients. We start by slicing the top of the strawberry so that it stands upright on a plate. Next you will cut the tip of the strawberry off and set it to the side to use later. Top the strawberry with a squirt of whipped topping, and place the tip of the strawberry back on and add a bit of whipped cream on top of that. You can use chocolate sprinkles or mini chocolate chips to decorate his face and enjoy!
As with any sugary treat filled fun, it is always important to make good oral hygiene part of the plan! Enjoy the holiday treats with braces and stay out of sticky situations!
Our orthodontic experience is at Starling Orthodontics in Brentwood, where we are receiving discounted orthodontic treatment in exchange for including them in the blog. Nonetheless, all information and content are an honest review of the experience.
