Pitner Ortho's online newsletter for September 2017
THE STRAIGHT UP
September 2017
NEW BEGINNINGS and the Tears That Come With Them
I
first two or three weeks of the new year were a nightmare.You’d have thought it was the end of times with the way I carried on. When I came home in the afternoons, I always brought with me horror stories about howmean my new teachers were and how awful everything was, and how I wouldn’t be able to survive. I honestly don’t know why my parents didn’t stop me with, “Enough, Leslie!You do this every year.”They probably did at some point, but I’m sure I insisted that this year was different. Of course, it wasn’t different. After a few weeks, my anxieties would subside, I’d enjoy the year, and I’d forget all about my horrors until the next year started. You’d think all of this trauma I experienced would have put me off school, but I kept going back. It wasn’t until dental school that I stopped facing the start of school with such dread. It took a long time for me to learn that even if things start out rough, they often get better after some time. Now this is a lesson I teach many of my patients.
’ve spent about half of my life in school — 12 years from elementary
braces, lingual braces, or Invisalign, it’s going to feel like the worst decision you’ve ever made. Food will get stuck, you will have to relearn how to brush and floss, and you’ll have to remember to put the plastic aligner back in after you’re done eating. But by week three, I promise things will seem so much easier. Anytime we start something new, it’s hard. It might be braces, a new hobby, a new job, or the first day of school. In the beginning, everything feels challenging, and we might not remember why we wanted to do this thing in the first place. And then, all of a sudden, it’s easy again. No matter the tears, trauma, and drama, it gets better.We just need to give it a little time. After 30-plus years of school, I can say that for a fact. “THE YEAR IS AN OPEN BOOK OF POSSIBILITIES, AND I STILL GET EXCITED ABOUT THAT THOUGHT."
through high school, four years in college, three years in grad school when I still wanted to go into art history, seven years of dental school and residency, and a fewmore years of schooling here and there. After all that time, to me, the new year doesn’t start in January. It starts in August or September with the first day of school. I’ve always loved the fresh start a new school year represents. I love buying new supplies, like clean notebooks and just the right pens, because obviously you’ll be way smarter if you have just the right pen. The new year is an open book of possibilities, and I still get excited about that thought. Though, to be completely honest, while I’ve always loved the idea of a new school year, I’ve always hated the first few weeks. A new school year brings a lot of change, and while I like change, I absolutely hate it at first! Everything is different on the first day of school. New classrooms, new teachers, new schedules ... and I always ended up with the worst of everything! At least that’s what I would tell my parents every day after school. To me, those
– Dr. Leslie Pitner
The first few weeks of wearing braces will be horrible.Whether you’re dealing with traditional
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EXTRACURRICULAR OVERLOAD How To Demystify Your Kids' Jampacked Schedules
you spend as a chauffeur. To simplify the process and make
Let’s get one thing straight:You can’t afford to be scrawling “Abby piano lesson rescheduled 9/21” on the first scrap of paper you come across. That doesn’t mean you have to be hyper-organized, but it does mean that you need to keep your entire calendar in one place, whether that place is Google Calendar, a fridge whiteboard, or the old-fashioned standby: a calendar with a lighthouse on every page. One particularly attractive option is the Cozi app (cozi.com), which not only consolidates an entire family’s calendars, but allows you to include to-do lists, shopping lists, recipes, chore checklists, and more. Whichever system you choose, keep it updated. Its word is law. Form parent alliances. Those soccer practices Jacob’s going to? There are other teammates there, and they have parents shuttling them around, just like you are. Set up carpools — Noah’s mom drives them bothTuesday while you’ve got Thursdays — to manage scheduling conflicts between your kids and drastically reduce the time
Every parent knows that a poorly organized tangle of kids’ activities is a recipe for a migraine. As school starts up again, so does sports season, and your kids’ extracurricular ambitions pile up like the falling autumn leaves. Don’t let yourself get burnt out. Here are some tips to stay sane in the midst of the extracurricular whirlwind.
sure everyone’s on the same page, check out the Carpool-Kids app at carpool-kids.com. It’ll let you directly invite other parents and set up weekly or one-shot carpool schedules. Maintain balance. You almost certainly will need to say no to additional extracurricular activities every now and then. Sure, simultaneous baseball, football, and soccer seasons might seem healthy and fun for your kid, but you need to consider your own needs, as well. Many parents give their children free rein over what to choose, but limit activities to one or two per season. Johnny wants
Consolidate all your scheduling, jotting, and activity-tracking into one system.
to do underwater basket weaving? Strange choice, but sure — though
he’ll have to abandon either fencing or ice hockey. Make sure you weigh each child’s needs equally, and keep the rules the same for each of them.
A SMILE FIT FOR A GODDESS Braces, Rust, and Tooth Whitening Truths after the Roman goddess of love and beauty, VenusWhite uses peroxide to go inside the teeth andmake them their brightest from the inside out. It takes only 30minutes a day, and after a fewweeks, you'll have dazzling white teeth to match your new, straight smiles.
Braces are stressful.You have to learn what you can eat and how to care for your braces, all while evidence of your braces is recorded by every photo you appear in. And one of your biggest fears may be what your teeth will look like when you are done.Will there be scars or yellow areas frombad brushing?This kind of discoloration is common because it can be difficult to brush and floss in hard to reach places while wearing braces. If you don't properly clean your teeth, plaque and bacteria will decay your pearly whites and turn them yellow.The good news is that with good care, your teeth will be as beautiful at the end as when you start. But what if you want to take your smile to it's brightest after braces? It is completely safe to whiten your teeth after braces.Over-the-counter whitening kits are available, but if you're looking for safe, customized results, our in-office whitening treatments are the way to go. At PitnerOrthodontics, our favorite teeth whitening product is theVenusWhite System. Named
Braces might be stressful, but with the VenusWhitening System, Dr. Leslie Pitner canmake sure "yellow teeth" is one less stress you need to worry about.
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THE UNSTOPPABLE RISE OF THE BULLET JOURNAL The New Journaling System That’s Taken Social Media by Storm
important daily events, and little notes you take throughout the day. Everything is marked by a particular bullet: dots for tasks, circles for events, and dashes for notes. At the beginning of each month, bullet journalers examine last month’s list, eliminating completed or now-irrelevant tasks and migrating long-term or continuing tasks to the current month. Bullet journals may seem simple, and they are, but they’ve acquired an explosive following on social media. At the time of this writing, there are over 791,000 posts on Instagram tagged with the #bulletjournal hashtag; there are posts upon posts of users’ beautiful layouts, bearing intricate calligraphy and embellished with incredible designs. As the bullet journal’s creator, Ryder Carroll, told New Republic writer JosephineWolff, “The most valuable part of the bullet journal [is] the inventiveness of its community.”
In the modern age, where the internet is constantly flooded with productivity apps and trends promising to fix our schedules, unlock our potential, and improve our lives, it’s difficult not to wish for something simpler.We want an object we can hold in our hands that doesn’t come with a bunch of unwanted features. Enter the bullet journal: the humble, easy-to- use notebook system that’s taken the world by storm. Instead of maintaining a separate to-do list, calendar, and diary, the bullet journaling system rolls everything into a single economical notebook. Partitioned into minimalistic “modules” — the Index, the Future Log, the Monthly Log, and the Daily Log — bullet journals encourage you to write down everything on your to-do list, single-line tidbits recounting
But don’t be daunted by users who seem to spend hours on every page of their journals. Really, it’s a simple system that only takes a few minutes to learn. Check out bulletjournal.com to learn how to start your own modular notebook. But be warned:You may get obsessed.
Apple Cider CHICKEN
INGREDIENTS
• 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and sliced into 1/4-inch wedges • 3 cloves garlic, minced • 2 teaspoons dried thyme • 2 bay leaves • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour • 1 1/2 cups apple cider
• 2 tablespoons olive oil • 2 tablespoons butter • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds) • Salt and freshly ground black pepper • 1/2Vidalia onion, chopped
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. 2. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, add to pan and sear until golden, about 4 minutes each side. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. 3. Add remaining butter, onion, apple, garlic, thyme, and bay leaves. Sauté until apple begins to get color and onions soften, about 6 minutes. Add flour and stir for 2–3 minutes. 4. Nestle chicken back into pan, add cider, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook until chicken is cooked through, about 12 minutes.
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Smile big. Smile often. • 803-781-5225
PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
5953 Wescott Rd. Columbia, SC 29212 803-781-5225 Monday–Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. www.drpitner.com
INSIDE
1. 2.
New Year Wonders and Woes
Demystify Your Kid’s Overstuffed Schedules A Smile Fit for a Goddess
3. 3. 4.
The Unstoppable Rise of the Bullet Journal
Apple Cider Chicken
Local Events
Local Events to Start a New Season JUMP INTO FALL!
Riverbanks Zoofari Where: Riverbanks Zoo &Garden, Columbia, SouthCarolina When: Friday, September 22; 7 p.m. Admission: $60 for Riverbanks members, $70 for general public Website: riverbanks.org/events It’s an evening all about cocktails, cuisine, and conservation at the Riverbanks Zoo &Garden’s premier fundraising event. Enjoy delicious food and livemusic while you explore behind the scenes with Riverbanks Backstage, feed the giraffes, and bid on unique items in the silent auction.The night’s proceeds will support ongoing conversation and education efforts at Riverbanks Zoo &Gardens. Space is limited, so grab your tickets now!
44thAnnual IrmoOkra Strut Festival Where: 7507 EastviewDrive, Irmo, South Carolina When: Friday andSaturday, September 29–30 Admission: Free Website: okrastrut.com Nothing says Southern cooking quite like fried okra.The first IrmoOkra Strut in 1973 was held to raisemoney to build a new library. Since then, theOkra Strut has become one of the most successful fundraising ventures in the area, providing charitable contributions to local schools and civic organizations. Gather the family and join in on the rides, food, entertainment, and, of course, okra!
LaserTag at SevenOaks Park When: SevenOaks Park, Columbia, South Carolina Where: Saturday,October 7; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission: $5 per person Website: icrc.net/calendar
Take part in the ultimate laser tag experience at Seven Oaks Park! Everyone ages 6 and up is welcome to join in on the fun. All gear will
be provided, so come ready to shoot some lasers and lead your team to victory. This event is held indoors and will take place rain or shine!
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