“Teeth—they come in handy when you chew or smile.”

Kindergartners at a local Asheville elementary school found out all about teeth when Dr. Steve Saunders visited their school bringing the message of good dental health, as part of the National Children’s Dental Health Month.

In celebration of the birthday of famed children’s author Dr. Seuss, Dr. Steve read aloud the book, titled The Tooth Book and displayed the tools of the dental trade: mirror, probe, digital x-rays, loops (eye glasses with an attached light), and of course–a toothbrush and floss.

With the aid of a stuffed animal with large teeth, Dr. Steve demonstrated how to brush and floss properly. He gave the children small hour-glass timers to remind them that it takes at least two full minutes to brush thoroughly. He also told them to watch out for those sugary drinks and snacks that cause bacteria to grow and to eat healthy foods.

The children asked many questions, including, “What is your favorite part of being a dentist?” Dr. Steve’s answer? “The pleasure of helping his patients achieve their best dental health.”

When it was time to go, each child went home with their own “dental tool kit,” containing toothbrush, toothpaste, floss threader, hour-glass timer, stickers and—an eagerness to brush their teeth!

The all-American favorite—apple pie—begins with firm, crisp, slightly tart apples. And the best place to buy them is just a few minutes drive from our Asheville dental office.

On a recent September day, I drove to a Hendersonville apple orchard to taste and chose the best apple for my first pie of the season. Hendersonville orchards produce most of the apples grown in North Carolina, which is the seventh largest producer of apples in the country.

A good apple pie begins with a tasty apple.

 On this day, the best choice for a pie was a Jonagold, a cultivar which combines the thin, smooth skin of a Golden Delicious and the sweet-tart flavor of a Jonathan. After tasting a few, I bought a bag along with some Mutsus, a green honey-flavored apple.

 The combination proved irresistible: the pie was gone within a day.

Delicious Apple Pie

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
8 tart apples, peeled and thinly sliced (about 6-7 cups)
¾ cup of sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (if the apples are very juicy use cornstarch)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and a dash of ground nutmeg (or 1 ½ teaspoons of apple pie spice)
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of butter
Dash of salt

Combine apples, sugar, flour, spices, lemon juice, and salt. Mix well.
Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry. Fill with apple mixture. Dot with butter.
Adjust top pie crust, cutting slits to allow steam to escape. Seal the edges.
Bake at 400 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes. Use aluminum foil to prevent edges from browning before the top of
the crust.

Pastry Crust
2 cups of sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cups of shortening
5 to 7 tablespoons of cold water

Sift flour and salt; cut in shortening with a pastry blender or two knives until pieces are the size of cornmeal
and small peas. Sprinkle cold water gradually and form dough into a ball. Flatten on a floured surface and roll
from center out till 1/8 inch thick. Makes enough for a 9-inch double crust pie.

(The recipe I use is based on the Perfect Apple Pie from the 1971 edition of Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.)

The on-going recession and slow recovering economy has left many North Carolinians without a safety net. That’s what we heard on a Saturday in early August as we—the Saunders Family Dental team—took our time, education, and talents to a two day dental clinic set up by the North Carolina Missions of Mercy (NCMOM) on the campus of Asheville’s A-B Tech.

 Even before the doors opened Drs. Steven and Mike Saunders, dental assistant Jessica Patrick, and dental hygienist Leigh Anne Thibodeau were busy making ready to treat the hundreds of people already lined up at the door. The work began months ago for Dr. Steven who serves as a planning committee board member. “It’s quite a logistical feat to prepare the clinic, collect donations, recruit volunteers and organize them to efficiently treat a large number of patients.” 

 To be sure, all the planning and work were worth the effort because by the end of the weekend approximately 1,000 North Carolinians had been served with procedures such as cleanings, x-rays, fillings, partials, and extractions.

Make your smile as brilliant as a Western North Carolina summer!

Every bride needs a beautiful smile for her big day. Take advantage of the special teeth-whitening offer going on this month at Saunders Family Dental Practice.

Brides, receive a 50 percent reduction in the cost of a professional in-office teeth whitening procedure. We’ll send you home with everything you need to achieve your teeth’s maximum whiteness.

What about your bridesmaids, your mom, and even your groom?

Call us at 828-277-6070, and we’ll work out a plan to make sure everyone in your wedding party is camera ready for your special day.

Dental Discovery

New teeth are one aspect of early life that let you know your child is growing and developing. All kids grow and change at different rates and the same is true about tooth development.

Tooth development begins before a child is born. Around 6 months of age the first primary, or baby tooth erupts. An orderly pattern of eruption continues until all the baby teeth are present. The average child has his or her full set of 20 primary teeth by age 3:

• Preserve space for the permanent teeth and help guide them into position
• Aid in speech development
• Help provide nutrition (missing or decayed baby teeth make it difficult to chew, causing children to reject certain foods)
• Aid in the normal development of the jaw bones and facial muscles
• Help give a healthy start to permanent teeth (decay and infection in the baby teeth can cause damage to the permanent teeth developing beneath them)

After eruption of the baby teeth, the child’s adult dentition begins to develop. Typically the first baby tooth is lost at age 6 and the permanent tooth erupts soon after. This transition from baby teeth to adult teeth is considered the mixed dentition stage:

Here are some general guidelines concerning tooth development in children:

• Girls usually precede boys in teeth eruption
• Lower teeth usually erupt before upper teeth
• Teeth in both jaws usually erupt in pairs (one on the right and one on the left)
• Primary teeth are smaller in size and whiter in color than permanent teeth

Eruption times vary from child to child but generally should follow the sequencing chart below:

Thank you for taking the time to visit the dental blog of Dr. Steven Saunders and Dr. Michael Saunders. Please check back often for updates on events happening at our Asheville dental office. We also hope to share important and interesting information about dental implants, cosmetic dentistry, prevention, emergency dentistry, and other hot topics in the dental industry.

For more information or to set up an appointment with an Asheville dentist, please call 828-277-6060!