Love is in the Air!
When we think of February, we think of Valentine’s Day and showing the people in our lives how much we love them. However, it’s also important to show yourself some love too – so treat yourself well this month! If getting a smile you love is part of that, we can do a free consultation and smile simulation so you can see what your new smile will look like! In this edition, we’re going to talk about palatal expanders and one of our awesome patients! |
Happy 2020!
We hope that 2020 is off to a fantastic start! Still, looking to find a New Year’s resolution to make this year even better than last year? How about a resolution that makes you healthier, looks more attractive, increases your success, be more likable, and make you happier? This all-in-one resolution is to SMILE MORE! Read on to learn how smiling can improve your year!

Smile to be Healthier!
Smiling releases the feel-good neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins, which reduce stress, lower your blood pressure, reduce your heart rate, and relieve pain.
Dr. Murray Grossan reported on NBC News that smiling releases serotonin, which contributes to a person’s happiness and wellbeing and can boost one’s immune system. “What’s crazy is that just the physical act of smiling can make a difference in your immunity.
A study out of Wayne State University found that “smilers” lived longer than “non-smilers.“ This research studied pre-1950s major league baseball player cards, and they found that the span of a player’s smile could predict the span of his life. Players who did not smile in their pictures lived an average of 72.9 years, where players who did smile in their photos lived an average of almost 80 years. That’s about seven years added to your life just from smiling!

Smile to Improve Your Fitness
A study out of the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC) found that smiling could give you a thinner appearance. The study had people look at randomized faces on a computer screen, and those who had sad faces were judged as being heavier. Although this is a surprising conclusion, if you are looking to work on your fitness in the New Year, head off to the gym with a big smile to reap the added benefits!

What’s cookin’ good lookin’?
Another study from UMKC found that smiling could make you look younger. In this study, college students were shown photographs of people they perceived to be older but were smiling in their pictures to appear younger than their actual age. Those who were frowning in their photos were perceived as being older than their age.
A smile is like a natural face-lift (and is much cheaper)! A smile lifts your face, turns up the corners of your mouth, and raises your entire face, including your cheeks, jowls, and neck.

Smile for Success!
The University of California – Berkeley conducted a 30-year longitudinal study that examined the relationship between smiles in an old yearbook and the students’ fulfillment and length of marriages, how highly they would score on standardized tests, wellbeing and happiness, and how inspiring they would be to others. Those who smile the widest in their yearbook photos scored the highest on all of the above!
Ron Gutman, the author of Smiles also found that smiles can predict fulfillment in marriage. The smiles of students were measured, and these ultimately predicted how long-lasting and satisfying the person’s marriage would be.

Smiling is contagious!
Two studies from Uppsala University in Sweden found that when someone around us smiles, we smile too! Seeing other people smile suppresses the control we have over our facial muscles, compelling us to smile.
A study done at Penn State University confirmed that when we smile, we not only appear more likable and courteous, but we are perceived by others to be more competent.

Above all else – Happiness!
If nothing else, this one does it for me. Sarah Stevenson tells Psychology Today that the act of smiling activates neural messaging that benefits your health and happiness. Smiling activates the release of neuropeptides that inhibit stress and the feel-good neurotransmitters dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin. The serotonin release serves as an antidepressant.
British researchers found that one smile can provide the same level of brain stimulation as up to 2,000 chocolate bars. I certainly can’t eat that much chocolate! Researchers also found that smiling can be as stimulating as receiving up to $20,000 in cash.

Smile More!
Although smiling seems easy, we know that life can get stressful and busy. Studies have shown that children smile up to 400 times a day, whereas 30% of adults smile more than 20 times a day, and 14% smile five times or less a day. So consider some mindful smiling as a sustainable resolution and one that seems well worth it.
If you’d like to improve your smile, give a call for a complimentary consultation! We have many parents who join their children in getting a beautiful smile. It’s not too late!
941-451-7005


Holidays at the Office!
We hope you all had a great holiday season! We celebrated the holidays in the office with lunch, holiday sock and sweater day! Check out our style!



Refer a Friend Program
We encourage our happy patients to share their results and experience with their family and friends so that they can also achieve a great smile! For every new client, you refer that starts treatment with us, we’re offering you $100 off your bill or a $100 Amazon gift card. Spreading love is rewarding!
Happy Holidays!
It’s the most wonderful time of year! And 2020 is right around the corner. Can you believe it’s not only a new year, but a new decade ?! Whatever holiday you celebrate, spirits are high this time of year, full of giving and family! This edition will include important information about white spots that result from poor hygiene; a great holiday gift idea; my family’s favorite holiday cookie recipe; and more!
White Spot Lesions
Getting braces off is often one of the happiest days for orthodontic patients. However, after all the work of creating a beautiful, aligned smile, sometimes little white spots appear around where the brackets were. These white spots, or decalcification, occur when plaque sits on the tooth and around the braces for prolonged periods of time. These spots can be permanent! What can be done about them?
Prevention! The best way to deal with white spots is to not let them form in the first place. Here are some tips to prevent white spots from forming: - Waterpik around your gums, between your teeth, around all braces and appliances.
- Brush your teeth around all edges of the braces and gums
- Use a fluoride toothpaste or a prescription toothpaste with added fluoride or calcium.
- Use an anti-cavity rinse such as ACT
- See your dental office routinely for cleanings while in braces
- Avoid sugary drinks like soda, sports drinks and juice
- Limit the sugar in your diet
If you do have white spots after getting your braces off, talk to your orthodontist or dentist about what options are best for you. Here are some options that might be available to you: - Prescription toothpaste- to help re-mineralize the teeth
- Topical fluoride- from your dentist to help re-mineralize your teeth
- Tooth whitening- once the mineral has been restored and teeth are strong and healthy again, see your dentist about tooth whitening options. This can bring the rest of the tooth color closer to the color of the white spot making it less noticeable.
- Microabrasion- a dental procedure in which the dentist removes a small amount of enamel from the surface of the tooth making the white spot less visible.
- Bonding/composite filling- the dentist can place a plastic filling material, the same color of your natural tooth, over the demineralized area of the tooth.
- Veneer- your dentist, working with a lab can create a porcelain covering for the front of the tooth that can cover the white spot.
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Be Merry, Be Bright – with a Great Smile!Stumped on a Christmas gift for your child or a spouse? Give them the gift of a great smile (or at least the tools to get one)! Dr. Moricz highly recommends the Waterpik Complete Care 5.0! Complete Care comes with a separate sonic toothbrush and a water flosser in one device to provide a convenient, complete clean! Benefits of a Waterpik water flosser: - Remove up to 99.9% of plaque from treated areas.
- Clinically proven up to 50% more effective for improving gum health vs. traditional flossing.
- Easy to use for those with implants or braces!
If you’re interested in the Waterpik Complete Care 5.0, you can find it here for only $99.99. |
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Getting InvolvedDr. Moricz and her staff always love to help out in our community and November was full of amazing events that we had the pleasure of being a part of. Here’s what we were up to: - Dr. Moricz and her team had a blast at the Pine View Fair – a day full of games, rides, and fun!
- We were super excited to participate in Pow Wow with the Venice Elementary School community. The event was full of games, food trucks, music, bounce houses, and more all supporting teachers in their classrooms.
- On November 16th, we helped sponsor the Harvest Festival, benefitting Garden Elementary School. This was another fun-filled event with games, music, dancing, and prizes – all for a good cause!
We look forward to continuing being involved in our community into the New Year! |
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A Holiday Favorite – Molasses Cookies |
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To help spread some holiday cheer, here is one of my family’s favorite recipes: molasses cookies. Who doesn’t love a good cookie? Especially freshly baked and made from scratch! Ingredients - 3/4 cup margarine, melted
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 cup white sugar
Directions - In a medium bowl, mix together the melted margarine, 1 cup sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in the molasses. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger; blend into the molasses mixture. Cover, and chill dough for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Roll dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining white sugar. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until tops are cracked. Cool on wire racks.
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Happy November!
Can you believe it’s already November? The year is flying by and fall is well underway. Thanksgiving is right around the corner. This edition will include an important discussion about Smile Direct Club, what you might not know about Invisalign , being grateful , and we’ll fill you in on what Moricz Orthodontics has been up to the past month!
Not All Invisalign is Created Equal
Invisalign is a great alternative to braces! Invisalign’s clear aligners are a preferred option for many patients and for years has been the go to esthetic option to treat minor crowding and spacing but with recent advancements, Invisalign can now treat issues previously reserved for braces. Problems such as overbites, underbites, severe crowding, spacing, growth modification, extractions, and even pre-surgical orthodontics and be beautifully handled with Invisalign.
Not all Invisalign treatment, however, is the same. We like to like to say that it was not the brush that made Picasso a legend, but rather it was his skill in knowing how and when to use each brush, stroke, and color to create his masterpieces. The same goes for Invisalign. It’s not the plastic aligners that craft the perfect smile – it’s the orthodontist. |
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Invisalign offers two basic options: - Invisalign’s team creates a plan for the aligners and the doctor signs off on the plan.
- Orthodontists such as Dr. Moricz, who receive special training, can create the movements and outcomes desired using the software themselves to create the aligners.
The first option is not necessarily the best. Do you want a lab tech in Costa Rica (this is where aligners are designed and fabricated) to determine the position of your teeth? The second option not only yields a better result and is much faster but you can trust that you are getting the highest quality care from a professional . Someone who specializes in creating the ideal smile and occlusion can get you a gorgeous smile AND a functional bite. Dr. Moricz is the artist that can do that. Dentists learn to take care of cavities and create veneers and crowns, but an orthodontist like Dr. Moricz goes through an additional three years of education beyond dental school to study the art and science of the teeth movement and beautiful smiles. Similar to the Invisalign team creating your aligner prescription, Smile Direct Club sells aligners directly to the patient “consumer” with no clinical diagnosis from an orthodontist. The ADA filed a lawsuit against SmileDirect Club, which also creates custom clear plastic aligners, for several issues. Among these are claiming that Smile Direct Club customers receive the same level of orthodontic care as actual patients while the company’s affiliated dentists provide virtually no care. SmileDirect Club also tells customers that their individual plans will help fix crossbite, overbite, underbite, and other dental issues; however, they require “consumers” to sign documents saying that their aligners cannot treat bite conditions at all. Lastly, SmileDirect Club has a “small print” obligation, deceiving customers into waiving any and all rights the customer or any third party may have against them. See someone who specializes in creating the ideal smile and occlusion. Call us today for a free exam and Invisalign simulation to see what your smile could look like in just a few months! |
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It’s Time to Give Thanks!
Thanksgiving is approaching quickly, and it’s the season of gratitude. Thanksgiving is a big deal in my family, and we have some traditions that we hold true to every year to keep the spirit alive. The first of these is pumpkin cheesecake! It’s simply not Thanksgiving without it! Here’s my family’s recipe: PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE - 1 1/2 c molasses cookie crumbs (I use the soft cookies and turn them into crumbs in the blender or food processor)
- 5 T butter (melted)
- 1c plus 1T sugar
- 24oz. cream cheese (leave out to get soft)
- 1t. vanilla
- 1c canned pumpkin
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 t cinnamon
- ½ t clove
- ½ t ginger
DIRECTIONS - Preheat oven to 350
- Combine cookie crumbs, melted butter and 1T sugar… stir well enough to coat crumbs, but not so much that it turns to paste.
- Press crumbs into springform pan (and part way up the sides)
- Bake 5 minutes
- Combine cream cheese, 1c sugar and vanilla…mix until smooth. Add pumpkin, eggs, cinnamon, clove and ginger…beat until smooth and creamy.
- Pour into pan and bake for 60 – 70 minutes… (top will turn darker @ this point.
- Cool and put in fridge before serving.
- To help top from splitting you can place a pan of water in the oven while cheesecake is cooking
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Our second tradition is that we go around the table and say what we are thankful for . It might seem a little obvious and corny, but it is so nice to be grateful for what we have. Dr. Moricz would like to share what she is grateful for with all of you: “I am thankful to have such a wonderful family of patients. We have so many who support our office by referring friends and family and those who travel from far away to be seen by us. All of you make my career so rewarding. I spend more time at the office than at home, so I am truly blessed to be able to share it with such a great group of people.” What are YOU grateful for? |
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