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How better to spend the fall months than inside by the fireplace with a warm cup of cider and a book in hand? Dr. Diehl encourages you to warm up your mind this season with a few great books. Sure it may be easy to put off reading when balancing a hectic schedule, but reading is vital to brain development. Besides, reading is fun!

This week, we thought we’d ask: What are YOU reading this fall? Do you have any suggestions for must-read books this year? Out of ideas for great fall reads? Ask us for suggestions, and our staff would be happy to provide a few suggestions. You may also ask a local librarian for some ideas or check out these fall reading ideas that we came across today, courtesy of Amazon.

Happy reading! Be sure to share with us your fall picks or your all-time favorites on our Facebook page.

Keeping your teeth clean is more important than ever when you have braces. Food bits have more spots than usual to hide in your mouth, so you must be diligent in order to avoid bad breath, swollen gums, discolored teeth and cavities. If you remove plaque regularly during treatment, you'll experience better results and shorter treatment time. Keep plaque at bay with these top ten tips:

1. One tooth at a time. When you brush, take time with each individual tooth – at least 10 seconds each – and pay careful attention to the spots where your teeth touch your braces.

2. It’s all about the angles. Brush the tops of your teeth and braces with your brush angled down toward where they meet. Brush the bottoms of your teeth and braces with your brush angled up.

3. The tooth, the whole tooth, nothing but the tooth. While the front surface of your teeth may seem like the most logical to clean, it’s equally important to clean the inner surface of your teeth (tongue side) as well as the chewing surface. And be sure to clean along your gum line – a key spot for plaque buildup.

4. Step 1: eat, step 2: clean. While you’re in treatment, it’s important to brush after every meal. Bits of food can easily get caught between braces and teeth, and these food bits interact with bacteria in your mouth to cause decay. The longer food is in contact with your teeth, the greater opportunity for plaque to form. If you are eating somewhere that you can’t brush, thoroughly rinse your mouth with water.

5. Like a Boy Scout, always be prepared. The easiest way to be sure you can brush after every meal is to get in the habit of taking a toothbrush, toothpaste and floss with you wherever you go. Designate a special container just for your teeth-cleaning tools and keep it in your purse, backpack, or laptop case.

6. Remove the moving parts. If you have elastic bands or headgear, remove these parts before you brush or floss.

7. Fluoride is your friend. Fluoride helps prevent cavities. Be sure to brush with fluoride toothpaste, and rinse with fluoride mouthwash.

8. Pointy brushes reach tiny places. Interproximal brushes (sometimes called proxa brushes or interdental brushes) are cone-shaped and come in very handy for reaching spots around your braces that standard brushes can’t.

9. Find the floss for you. Regular floss works for some patients, but others find it easier to work with a floss threader, which helps you get the floss into tight places. Other patients like an all-in-one product called Superfloss, which comes with a stiff end for easy threading, a spongy section for cleaning wide spaces, and regular floss for narrow spaces.

10. Make time for the pros. It’s your job to take care of the everyday cleaning. But make sure to visit your dentist regularly while in treatment, to get the deep, thorough cleaning that only a professional can provide. If you need help finding the right Dentist for you, feel free to contact our office - we’d love to help!

Hope this helps!

-Dr. Diehl and Team

Who’s afraid of “metal mouth” and the appearance of braces? Not adults, apparently. Recently, our staff at Diehl Orthodontics read a fascinating statistic: the number of adults getting braces has actually climbed 24 percent since 1996! Yes, braces help make your pearly whites strong, healthy and perfectly-aligned, but perhaps another reason for the spike in adult braces is this: people want to look and feel great. In an age—and society—where looks matter as much as anything, and at a time when evenly-aligned and sparkling teeth might be the difference between getting a job or a promotion, adults are choosing—wisely, we might add—to invest in orthodontics. Orthodontic treatment with Dr. Diehl can be successful at any age, and adults especially appreciate the benefits of a beautiful smile.

If you’ve been thinking about getting that perfect smile, Dr. Diehl would love to have you visit for a consultation. Please give us a call to set one up!

Have you thanked a veteran lately? November 11 is Veterans Day - the perfect holiday for thanking and honoring our country’s military. In celebration of Veterans Day, Dr. Diehl and our team would like to share a few fun facts about our flag, this national holiday, and our country’s history!

• There are 23.2 million veterans in the U.S.

• The flag was first approved by Congress on June 14, 1777

• Each of the flag’s colors signify different American values- red is for valor and zeal, white is for hope, purity, and cleanliness of life, and blue is for heaven, loyalty, sincerity, justice, and truth

• Research by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) helped develop the CAT Scan, the cardiac pacemaker, and the “Seattle Foot” to give those hurt the ability to run and jump

• Veterans Day, a day that was originally called Armistice Day, is a time to thank and honor the men and women who have served in our military.

• When the flag is displayed next to another flag against a wall, the U.S. flag should be on its own right (on the left side when facing the wall).

• There are five states with over 1 million veterans in their population – California, Florida, Texas, New York, and Pennsylvania

• The VA healthcare system now has 171 medical centers, 126 nursing home care units, and 35 live-in care facilities

• President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the official legislation for Veterans Day on June 1, 1954, changing the name of the holiday from Armistice Day to Veterans Day

• Take a Veteran to School Day is a program that was developed by HISTORY in 2007 to connect students and veterans.

• Veterans Day is often confused with Memorial Day. Memorial Day is a time for remembering and honoring the men and women who died while serving our country, or as a result of injuries that incurred in battle. Veterans Day honors and gives thanks to all veterans who served and currently serve in our military.