800 South Washington St., Afton, WY 83110 (307) 885-4337 | www.drlivingstondds.com
October 2018
Life With Livingston Dental
e G e n
Halloween Memories In the Home of the First Stampede
hadn’t given everything up — she’d hidden part of her stash and was sneaking pieces of it! In addition to the candy, Christine also enjoyed a few more cavities than her brothers that year. My kids certainly had a different experience than I did trick-or-treating. They didn’t carry clubs, and homemade treats were off-limits since they posed a greater risk of containing harmful ingredients. The exception to that rule, of course, was Grandma’s homemade candy. My mother-in-law made the best chocolates; they had nougat centers and nuts and were crafted from scratch, beginning to end. It was a surprise if there were any chocolates left over at the end. Today, you don’t see those kinds of homemade treats very often.
who egged or toilet-papered people’s houses. It wasn’t as easy to clean off these pranks as it was to create them. We lived on Main Street, and that made us a target of would-be Halloween tricksters. One Halloween, a group of teenagers drove by and threw eggs at our house. My mother, who was fed up with tricks at this point and had identified the egg throwers’ car, wasn’t going to let them get away with their shenanigans. “Jim,” she said to me, “You need to go get the ladder, climb up on the roof, take a dozen eggs, and when that car comes back around, you throw eggs back at them!” I’d always said I would never be like the kids who threw eggs, but then, I couldn’t disobey my mother. Let’s just say we didn’t have any eggs for breakfast in the morning. Shenanigans aside, Halloween was a fun time as a kid. When you become a parent, there are a lot more rules you’re aware of. You want to let your kids enjoy the fun, but you also worry about them eating too many sweets. Back when the kids were young, they would bring home their candy stashes on Halloween, and Jeanelle and I would give out instructions that they could eat as much as they wanted, but they had to eat it in one week. Our daughter, Christine, and her brothers would dutifully hand us their remaining pieces at the end of the week. But once, we came to find out that Christine
I grew up in a little community in Alberta, Canada, called Raymond. There are two things Raymond is known for: being home to the first Canadian stampede in 1902, and having a very wide main street, wide enough that you can have angled parking on both sides and still have enough room for three lanes of traffic. Raymond is a small farming community, and these are its claims to fame. My graduating class had 67 students. A few memories stand out about Halloween in our town. There were always certain houses you were sure to stop at because they had homemade popcorn balls and candy. But it was often quite the challenge to safely carry it home. We quickly learned that to make it back from trick-or-treating with our candy stashes intact, we needed some kind of defense against the older kids who tried to take our treats. In grades one through six, we made papier-mache creations. So when Halloweentime came, we crafted papier-mache clubs for ourselves and brought them trick-or- treating. They looked intimidating, even if they were mostly harmless. Unfortunately, vandalism was part of Halloween. The police actually deputized a handful of fathers each Halloween to serve as temporary policemen. They had the right to arrest people, including the teenagers
Have a safe and fun Halloween — and when the eggs come flying, duck!
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Best in Show or Halloween Hazard?
Costume Safety Tips for Kids
and can be put out quickly, it can still catch fire and cause serious injuries. Remind your child to use caution around open flames and avoid costumes with flimsy, hanging components, like flowing sleeves, long skirts, and capes. TEST MAKEUP FIRST. Halloween is a great time to have fun with face paint, and makeup is a good alternative to masks, which can obscure a child’s vision. However, a lot of costume makeup isn’t approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Before letting your child cover their face in makeup from the Halloween store, test their skin for allergic reactions by putting just a little bit on the back of their hand first. PRACTICE PROP SAFETY. What’s a Jedi Knight without her lightsaber or a wizard without his magic wand? The right accessories can really bring a costume together, but it’s important that props — especially weapon props, like swords, knives, or guns — are not mistaken for the real thing. Choose props that are obviously fake, with round edges made from soft, flexible material. And if your child wants to wear their Halloween costume to school or some other event, check the rules on props beforehand to avoid any trouble.
For many kids, picking out a costume is the best part of Halloween. Will they be a spooky witch, a wildcat, or their favorite superhero? There are so many options! But in all the fun, it can be easy for parents to overlook certain risks that Halloween costumes can pose. Here are important safety tips to remember when choosing the best Halloween costume. LOOK FOR FIRE- RESISTANT COSTUMES. Candles inside jack-o’-lanterns and other open flames are
everywhere on Halloween night, so make sure your child’s costume isn’t a fire hazard. Most store-bought costumes are made from fire-resistant materials, but you should still check the labels on all costumes,
wigs, and accessories. The same goes when you’re buying fabric for homemade costumes. And remember, fire-resistant is not the same as fireproof. While fire-resistant material takes longer to burn Halloween is a night for ghosts and goblins to come out to play, and with these tips, your kids can safely dress up and join in the fun. The Sugary Substance Dentists Actually Recommend
Xylitol Starves the Bad Bacteria in Your Mouth
weight gain, risk of heart disease and cancer, and several other serious health-related issues.
If you’ve ever seen the 1971 classic “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” then you are familiar with the fictional sugar- filled labyrinth from which some of the most scrumdiddlyumptious sweets are delivered to the world’s candy stores. To children, the chocolate river, Everlasting Gobstoppers, and Fizzy Lifting Drinks are the mouthwatering epitome of fun, but adults might look at all that sugar and run away screaming. According to the American Diabetes Association, added sugar may be the unhealthiest aspect of the modern diet. Fortunately, the natural sweetener xylitol provides a healthier alternative. WHAT IS XYLITOL? Xylitol is a white, crystallized sugar alcohol. It looks and tastes like sugar, but it has fewer calories and only has a negligible effect on blood sugar levels. You can find small amounts of it in many fruits and vegetables, which is why many define it as “natural.” You can also find xylitol in birch trees, but more often than not, scientists make it in a lab using the plant fiber xylan. Xylitol is considered a healthier choice than fructose, especially high fructose corn syrup, which spikes blood sugar and insulin levels. This spike can lead to insulin resistance,
WHY DO DENTISTS RECOMMEND IT? Many dentists recommend using xylitol-sweetened chewing gum — no, not the kind that turned Violet into a giant blueberry. Studies indicate that xylitol can prevent tooth decay. One of the leading risk factors for tooth decay is a type of oral bacteria called Streptococcus mutans. Having traces of this bacteria on your teeth is normal, but when there is an abundance, your immune system starts attacking it. These attacks often lead to inflammatory gum diseases that can cause gingivitis. To stay alive, these bacteria feed on sugar from the food you eat, but oddly, they can’t process xylitol. If you replace your sugar intake with xylitol, the bacteria will still eat it, but their energy pathways will become clogged and they will starve. It is not often that a dentist recommends that their patients chew on sweets, but consuming this sugar can do wonders for your teeth and gums.
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Kick the Habit Maybe it started when you were younger, or maybe it was just an occasional social break at work. Whatever the root is of your smoking habit, you know you want to quit. Smoking poses a hazard to your health, and the feel-good effects of the addictive ingredients make you want to keep doing it. But you’re ready, and you can overpower them. Here are some suggestions from the American Lung Association to give a one-two punch to nicotine and say goodbye to your toxic friend once and for all. GET RID OF TRIGGERS. Throw out all the items related to your habit — ashtrays, cigarettes, lighters, sprays — anything that makes you think of lighting up. If you light up when you’re stressed or nervous, try to get to the core of that behavior before you turn to the nicotine. If your smoking is work- related, replace it with a healthier habit, like taking a walk around the block with a friend who doesn’t smoke.
3 Tips for Giving Up Smoking
WAIT 3–5 MINUTES. This is how long a craving lasts, so if you can beat the clock, you’ll gain momentum to get past the next one. When the craving hits, call a friend, put on some music, or watch a video — anything positive to distract yourself and get through the tough minutes. TAKE IT ONE DAY AT A TIME. The first 7–10 days will likely be the hardest, but those cravings may never completely go away. Use a calendar to chart your progress, putting a dash next to each day that you go without smoking, and begin to connect those dashes to make a quitting chain. Use it as motivation — don’t break the chain. When you’ve kicked the habit, find a way to celebrate. Maybe it’s getting a new hairstyle or taking a weekend trip. And if you want one, the team at Livingston Dental can help you create a smile to match your new lifestyle. Call us today to learn about our restorative and cosmetic dentistry options.
LOOK TO OTHERS FOR SUPPORT. Connect with others who have quit or don’t smoke. Talk to them about strategies for quitting. Letting others know that you are trying to quit will provide you accountability and encouragement to stick with your goal.
Puzzle Time! Spiced Pumpkin Seed Crunch Ingredients
Inspired by Bon Appétit magazine
• 1/4 cup shelled sunflower seeds • 1/4 cup raw cashews, coarsely chopped • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper • Nonstick vegetable oil spray
Directions • 1 large egg white • 1 teaspoon light agave syrup • 1/2 teaspoon garam masala or curry powder • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt • 1/4 cup shelled pumpkin seeds 1. Heat oven to 300 F. 2. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. 3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together egg white, agave, salt, and spices. Add nuts and seeds and toss until evenly coated.
4. Using a slotted spoon, strain spoonfuls of mixture over bowl and transfer to baking sheet. Discard excess egg white mixture. 5. Bake 20–25 minutes, tossing once. 6. Let cool and serve.
Scary stories Spooky Trickortreat Zombie
Halloween Hallows Eve
Cauldron Costume Dracula Ghost
Haunted Pumpkin
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800 South Washington St., Afton, WY 83110 (307) 885-4337 | www.drlivingstondds.com
Inside
Halloween Shenanigans
What Parents Need to Know About Halloween Costumes The Sugar You Should Be Eating
Kick the Habit Spiced Pumpkin Seed Crunch
The Birthplace of Halloween
The Real Halloween Town
County Meath, Ireland, Where Halloween Began
meaning all the really scary ghosts wait until after sunset to come out.
festival was born in Meath and marked the end of the harvest. Samhain was celebrated with bonfires, offerings to fairies, and other rituals meant to keep evil spirits away. Many of these customs carried through the centuries and inspired Halloween traditions that are still practiced today. Today, Meath celebrates Oct. 31 with a blend of spooky thrills and traditional Samhain practices. The Spirits of Meath Halloween Festival starts with the lighting of the first torch fire of Samhain in Athboy, which kicks off a month of fun activities. If you like your Halloween extra spooky, the scream park, Farmaphobia, is waiting for you. And if you’re not a fan of screaming your head off, you can check out the Halloween-themed Spookling Afternoon Tea for fresh-baked treats and spirited conversation. The motto of this all-ages festival is “Fun by Day; Frights by Night,”
Fans of Halloween don’t need to look far to find somewhere to celebrate their favorite holiday. There are festive parties all over the world, from New Orleans to London, but if you really want to embrace the spirit of Halloween, there’s no better destination than the birthplace of the holiday: County Meath, Ireland. Every year in Boyne Valley, the residents of County Meath throw a month-long Halloween celebration. The Spirits of Meath Halloween Festival attracts thousands of guests from all over the world, and while this festival has only been celebrated since 2009, many of the traditions observed here date back to ancient times. The ancient Irish weren’t trick-or-treating or visiting haunted houses on Oct. 31, but they were celebrating the pagan holiday Samhain. Over 3,000 years ago, this Celtic 4 (307) 885-4337 | www.drlivingstondds.com
There are plenty of ways to celebrate Halloween, from carving jack-o’-lanterns and eating chocolate to running for your life through a haunted corn maze. And in County Meath, you can celebrate Halloween in every possible way. For more info, visit Discoverboynevalley.ie/whats-on/ spirits-meath-halloween-festival-2018.
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