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CONGRATULATIONS! You're pregnant!

If you are wearing braces, let your orthodontist know as soon as possible your happy family news.

Your orthodontic treatment will continue while you are pregnant with a few special considerations.

Considerations for Dental and Orthodontic X-rays

Your orthodontist will elect not to do X-ray (radiographs) while you are pregnant. Please let all dental and medical professionals know when you are pregnant and restrain from having X-rays taken.

Pregnancy and Gingivitis

Due to the increased levels of your hormones, your gums are more susceptible to gingivitis. You may have "pregnancy gingivitis" if your gums become puffy and you are pregnant. Your gums may bleed when you brush and appear red. This is due to pregnancy gingivitis which affects up to 70% of pregnant women.

Pregnancy does not cause pregnancy gingivitis. The altered tissue metabolism of pregnancy accentuates the response to local irritants. For this reason, it is of utmost importance for your oral hygiene to be excellent during pregnancy for your to avoid the pregancy gingivitis condition.

If you have symptoms of pregnancy gingivitis, your orthodontist may recommend additional cleanings with your dental hygienist. These are best done with the orthodontic arch wires removed. If you have gingival enlargements of your gums, your orthodontist may also send you to your dentist or a periodontist for additional specialty gum care. Our goal is for you to have minimal gingival inflammation during pregnancy with no infections of your teeth or gums.

Your teeth may also feel lose during pregnancy if you have pregnancy gingivitis. Your orthodontist may recommend that your teeth be moved more slowly or not at all during the last trimester of pregnancy.

Pregnancy gingivitis can be minimized or prevented by excellent oral hygiene from the beginning to the end of your pregnancy.

If You Have Questions, Let Us Know!

If you have questions about orthodontics or pregnancy gingivitis, visit us at Gorczyca Orthodontics in Antioch, California. Find us at www.clubbraces.com.

Your body may feel hot during pregnancy as well. Due to your hormonal changes, your taste buds may have the constant urge to eat ice cream. Eat up and enjoy this special time. Come see us for braces when your pregnancy is over and be sure to bring your baby for an initial orthodontic exam at 7 years old.

WHEN I THINK OF THANKSGIVING, I have fond memories of growing up in the cranberry capitol of the world, Southeastern Massachusetts in the small town of East Freetown. On nearby corners were cranberry bogs which, in the fall, would be flooded to produce a red froth of cranberries floating on the water, which would be vacuumed up and carried away. In the winter, these bogs made excellent ice skating rinks.

Dad's Cranberry Sauce

Every Thanksgiving, Professor Tinkham would give my Dad bags of cranberries grown in his bogs in Acushnet, Massachusetts. Although my Dad hardly cooked, he would take special time to make his one recipe, homemade cranberry sauce. In a giant pot, he would stir his secret ingredients including sugar, orange zest, cinnamon and spices. On Thanksgiving day he would proudly serve his special cranberry sauce made with love.

Cranberries And The Pilgrims

After Thanksgiving dinner, my family and I would often visit Plimoth Plantation (Plymouth Plantation) to see where the pilgrims landed the Mayflower in 1620. Located on a hillside over looking the Atlantic, this settlement could be so cold in late November that our hands would freeze and our faces burn from the wind blowing up the coast. As we sought refuge in a one room Pilgrim house with a small fire and dirt floor I would often think "How did this these people survive?"

Perhaps the cranberry helped. Rich in vitamin C and fiber, the cranberry was a new food to the Pilgrims introduced to them by the Wampanoag Indians. Today we know the many health benefits of cranberries as an anti-oxidant, anti-cancer food as well as an anti-inflammtory agent. In addition, cranberry sauce simply looks good and tastes great at Thanksgiving.

There's a lot of history in a tiny cranberry. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Gorczyca Orthodontics and please pass the cranberry sauce.

Dr. Ann Marie Gorczyca
Gorczyca Orthodontics
Antioch, California www.clubbraces.com

THANKSGIVING IS just around the corner! Not only is it a time to share good company, it’s a time to share good food!

It’s Time To Share Our Favorite Thanksgiving Dishes!

Each family has their own signature dish they serve this time of year. Today, we’d like to share some of our team member’s favorites!

Dana: My favorite dish is scalloped potatoes. We slice potatoes thin and bake them with cheese and milk. They're delicious!

Jolene: I love Pecan Pie. It's my favorite!

Pam: The stuffing is fantastic. We make homemade stuffing with turkey giblets and add the turkey gravy. It is my favorite thing to eat.

Dr. Gorczyca: I just love the mashed potatoes with gravy. If that were the only think I ate at Thanksgiving I would be happy. I get hungry just thinking about it! Let's not forget the cranberry sauce as well. It just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without cranberry sauce.

Veronica and Roberta: Turkey, plain and simple. This by far was our most popular answer of all team members and even our patients. The turkey is what makes Thanksgiving special. "It also puts me to sleep so I need to take a nap after I eat Thanksgiving turkey!"

Special patient: Sweet Potatoes. Sweet potatoes make me say "Yum!"

Very special patient: Ham with pineapples. I love it so much I even eat it at Thanksgiving!

Do you have a favorite holiday recipe? Feel free to share it with us on our Facebook page or in the comments below!

Do you need help picking the perfect turkey? Maybe Marta Stewart can help!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7eMosK54Sc

Have A Happy Thanksgiving!

There you have it, our Thanksgiving favorites. Wishing you a very special Thanksgiving from all of us at Gorczyca Orthodontics.

Gorczyca Orthodontics, Antioch, California www.clubbraces.com

Have a safe and happy holiday season!

Top image by Flickr user jeffreyw used under Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

ON JULY 4, 1851, William. W. Smith held a picnic for the town residents of what was called Smith's Landing, at Smith's Point. In memory of his deceased brother, Rev. Joseph Horton Smith, William named the town which he and his brother had settled one year earlier, Antioch, California.

The History of Antioch's Pilgrims

Born in New Hampshire, the Smith brothers were itinerant ministers. Following the call of gold and intrigued by California, "The Paradise of America, where summer reigns perpetually," they sailed from Boston, Massachusetts to the San Francisco Bay. They landed on July 6, 1849 and on December 24, 1849, acquired a portion of land for $500 from Dr. John Marsh of Brentwood in return for starting a settlement. They never paid Marsh but settled the area just east of what is now downtown Antioch.

On February 5, 1850 Rev. Joseph H. Smith died of malaria. W. W. Smith moved to higher ground overlooking the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, to the area which is now First Street.

W. W. Smith chose the name Antioch since it was where "the disciples were first called Christians according to Acts 11:25-26." The ancient city of Antioch is featured prominently in the Bible and was the third largest city in the Roman Empire following Alexandria and Rome. Previously in Syria, ancient Antioch is now modern day Antakya, Turkey.

A stone monument marks the place where W. W. Smith welcomed a ship of the early settlers to Antioch on September 16, 1850. this monument sits at the foot of Kimball (F) Street. W. W. Smith was the true founder of Antioch. He died in October, 1899.

Dr. Ann Marie Gorczyca, Gorczyca Orthodontics, 5201 Deer Valley Road, Antioch, California www.clubbraces.com