Ask Moles Orthodontics: What do you love about Wisconsin?

Recently, the team at Moles Orthodontics was asked: "What makes your community unique?"

And here are our answers...

Southeast Wisconsin is truly a super place to live. Where else can you live next to a lake that looks like an ocean and have two major cities—Milwaukee and Chicago—almost next to each other with all the great things that come along with that. The entertainment, sports events, dining, and shopping are amazing in either city. With three major airports, it’s also easy to travel. Some of Dr. Moles' favorite places in Racine to eat are Sebastian’s, and The Waves. In Milwaukee there are so many great restaurants, but we got Dr. Moles to give us a few of his favorites, like Lake Park Bistro, Bacchus, Kil@wat and Three Brothers.

Our assistants love Joses Blue Sombrero in Racine. It is by far the best Mexican cuisine around. The wait there typically on the weekend can be very long—almost an hour at dinner time. They are very well known. The best place for shopping is taking a drive to the outlet mall in Pleasant Prairie, which is located in Kenosha. If you're looking for an even larger mall, Gurnee Mills Shopping Mall has over a mile of shopping. The mall is located on the border of Illinois and Kenosha.

But the best thing about where we live is the people. They are down to earth and genuine.

Do you have a favorite place or get-away in Wisconsin? We'd love to know all about it!

A Braces-Friendly Holiday Treat, from Moles Orthodontics

This holiday season, Moles Orthodontics recommends a delicious braces-friendly recipe that is sure to be a great treat. This pumpkin cake recipe is a great choice for thanksgiving for people of all ages with braces. Plus, it tastes GREAT and is BRACES-FRIENDLY!!

Ingredients:

1 pkg yellow or white cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
1/4 cup water (add 2 tbl. of water if eggs are small)

Directions:

Put cake mix in a large bowl. Make an indentation in the center and pour in the oil and one egg. Mix using mixer at medium speed, then add the rest of the eggs one at a time, beating after each one. Add pumpkin, sugar, spices, then water. Bake in greased and floured tube pan in 350 degree over for 60-70 minutes. Cool before removing from pan. Makes a moist and delicious cake--no frosting required.

Patients can feel free to enjoy their Thanksgiving meal. But we would like to remind you there are a couple of offenders on the list of holiday foods. Here’s a list to help you decide:

Good:
Turkey (cut up in small pieces)
Stuffing (with no nuts)
Mashed Potatoes with gravy
Cranberry sauce
Squash
Sweet Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole (minus the crunchy onion topping)
Cornbread
Pumpkin Pie

Not Good:
Corn on the Cob
Pecan Pie
Any pies with Nuts in them

As always, patients should use their best judgment. Some things that may seem okay to eat can still break appliances. Be careful and enjoy this treat!

--Dr. Moles and team

What do we love here at Moles Orthodontics?

Debands. Our office absolutely loves debands, because the first time the patient gets to see their new smile – you’re with them. There’s one patient in particular who gave us goose-bumps. She was so excited for her braces and then even more excited when they came off. When I say even more excited when they came off- I mean she cried, and they were of course happy tears! She came around and thanked and hugged us all.

It just gave us all such a great feeling to know and see how happy she was, and how much it changed her life. She even keeps her before pictures in her wallet and shows people when they ask her about her teeth or compliment her. Seeing how much we can really affect somebody’s life by making a change in their smile is really fulfilling. It’s the absolute best part of our jobs here at Moles Orthodontics.

Let’s talk about teeth - Dr. Moles

The average adult has about 28-32 - depending on - wisdom teeth. If they need wisdom teeth extracted - they have 28, if they are able to keep wisdom teeth they could have up to 32. Not all wisdom teeth grow in. Some people have all 4 some have only 1. It can really change from mouth to mouth.

We lose our first set of teeth basically because as we grow so does our jaw/mouth. If we grow permanent teeth right away as a small child, they would not fit and would automatically be crowded. They would basically be far too large for our mouths.

Teeth are made of enamel, dentin and pulp.

If you think you may have a cavity you should see your dentist right away before it worsens. You can usually tell or have an idea you may have one if the color of your tooth changes, or your having pain in an area or tooth you haven’t had it before.

People get cavities because they are either prone to them, bad oral hygiene, and too many sugary or sweet food/ drinks.

The wearing away of the enamel or large roots (sensitive roots) can make teeth sensitive to hot and cold. Enamel is the hardest and most highly mineralized substance of the body.

Wisdom teeth are just your 3rd molars. Typically most people have these and end up having them extracted, because they don’t have enough room in there mouths and the wisdom teeth usually crowd the rest of the teeth in the mouth.

Even if you have enough room in your mouth for them the dentist/orthodontist may still suggest you have them out, due to hygiene. It can be very difficult to clean around them and that’s a better chance for calculus/decay to erode the teeth and cause damage later.

Our teeth become discolored because of our daily habits ex: eating certain foods (fruits and veggies) drinks (dark sodas, coffee, teas, wine etc.) tobacco, poor dental hygiene, diseases, aging, genetics, environment, trauma to a tooth (due to a fall) and medications. So as you can see there are a lot of variables when it comes to how teeth discolor. There are so many factors.

Crooked teeth can be genetic but are not always. Crooked teeth can be caused from wisdom teeth coming in, grinding, and the way your bite is aligned. It isn’t always genetic.

The Racine Community

In the beginning of 2009 Racine’s population was 78,805. It’s a decent sized city to live in, not too large and not too small- it seems just right! Racine’s downtown is located on Lake Michigan and the area has been improving greatly over the past 10 years. New housing has gone up, new shops and great new restaurants. Racine has a lot of schools to choose from- about 28 grade schools and high schools not including the private schools. Driving distance to some major universities is really close, UW-Parkside, UW-Milwaukee are both within athirty minute drive. Racine is located between 2 major cities, Milwaukee and Chicago. This makes day-trips to Chicago for shopping and dining out great!

Dr. Moles favorite lunch during the work week- is from our neighbor restaurant Los Mariachis. He orders the chicken tacos w/ rice and beans. The office favorite is the local Q-Doba Mexican Grill, or Jimmy Johns. A new Gorgie Porgie just opened as well. The Restaurants in the area are all amazing. Racine’s Best Mexican is Joses Blue Sombrero, Italian: Salutes, American: The Corner House is by far the best in Racine and has been Voted that for American cuisine. The steak is their main attraction.

Dr. Moles has developed a way to give back with some other area professionals- its called Smile for a lifetime. Basically the idea of smile for a lifetime is that they are helping under-privileged kids in the area who cant afford to have a not only great looking smile but a smile that will be healthy and last a lifetime! You can find more info on it at- www.s4L.com