What does Orthodontics have to do with your mental health?
A LOT!
Having orthodontic treatment is more than just straightening your teeth to help with your overall oral health, or helping correct any problems with your bite. The smile you leave our office with at the end of treatment will have you walking a little taller and socializing more. Smiling is linked to dopamine and serotonin, which help lift you mood, and smiling has also been known to lower stress levels!
But what happens when you don't like your smile- you hate how your teeth overlap or you have a big gap that you just *know* people stare at while you're talking? When you're self conscious about something that is so front and center, lots of things can happen. You end up participating in conversations less and less, and you may seek out situations and jobs where you have limited or no contact with the public (like a work from home possibility). Not liking your smile and how you see yourself can also lead to lowered confidence in other aspects of your life. This can really start to impact your overall mental health and potentially lead to depression.
If you're noticing your smile is impacting your daily life because you feel self conscious about your teeth, give our office a call to schedule a complimentary consult with Dr. Kennell. He, along with our amazing team, can help you start your journey to a more healthy, confident you!
If you or a loved one is struggling with mental health dial 988 or text "HOME" to 741741 for 24/7 support.
Dr. Kennell and the KO team love showing appreciation for our patients. We would not be able to be the Orthodontic office that we are without them! This year we celebrated our patients with a super fun tubing night at Gunstock Mountain. Our patients, and their family and friends, checked in with the team, grabbed some KO Swag (super warm winter hats!), and then entered our raffle to win all sorts of prizes- light up scooters, snow tubes, gift cards, and more! Then they were free to enjoy endless runs down the hill, cookies, hot chocolate, and the fire pit.
We had a professional photographer on hand to capture all the fun! To see all the photos from the event head over to our Facebook page, click "Photos", and check out the whole album!
Valentine's Day is the perfect holiday to enjoy some sweet treats that are safe to enjoy with braces, expanders, space maintainers, and or even if you have separators in! Valentine's Day is known for enjoying chocolates, which is totally acceptable for you too! Just try to avoid any chocolates that have nuts or extremely chewy centers! If you receive any lollipops or hard candies just make sure you sure only sucking on them and NOT chewing them. Another wonderful and yummy option is to make and enjoy chocolate covered strawberries.
Here is a fun recipe to try this weekend: Deviled Hearts using strawberries!
Here are the Ingredients You Will Need:
8oz packaged cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
1/3 cup sour cream
1 lemon, zested
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
16 strawberries, tops cut off and cut in half lengthwise
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
Directions:
In a mixing bowl and with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, lemon juice, zest, and vanilla until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
In another mixing bowl, beat the heavy cream with an electric mixer until stiff peaks are formed.
Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.
Slice the backs of each strawberry very slightly, so they sit up straight.
Use a small measuring spoon or melon baller to hollow the inner center of each strawberry.
Fill a piping bag with the cream cheese mixture to pipe a dollop into each strawberry.
Top each with a sprinkle of graham cracker crumbs.
We know you all have been waiting for this...we FINALLY have a Patient Portal! Now patients will be able to set up online payments and access appointment information as well! If you need to cancel or change your appointment you will still need to call or e-mail us! You can scan the QR code below to sign up now!
Other exciting news... we are hosting another Patient Appreciation Event! This year it will be at Gunstock Mountain and FREE for all of our patients to go snow tubing!! Make sure to register you and your families! Here is the link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kennell-orthodontics-patient-appreciation-snow-tubing-event-tickets-1978176159143?aff=oddtdtcreator
Mark the date for March 5th from 6pm-9pm and we will see you there!!
