Celebrate Earth Day with Your Kids!

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Image Source: Wiki How

Every April, people honor Earth Day in a variety of ways. Whether they just get out and enjoy nature, participate in earth-friendly activities, or raise awareness about environmental issues; today is the largest, most celebrated environmental event worldwide. Exposing kids to nature not only gives them an opportunity to learn more about our planet, but it also supports creativity, improves academic performance, and betters their health.

In honor of this special day, we’ve rounded up some family-friendly Earth Day actives to help teach your children how to act in environmentally responsible ways:

Watch a movie about the environment - Not only is it entertaining, but it can open the floor for conversation. Try movies like Disney’s Earth, WALL-E, Free Willy, or FernGully: The Last Rainforest.

Clean up your community - Give a hands on lesson in how much time it takes just to clean up one area of your local park.

Create a nature journal - Perfect for your little artists, authors, and nature lovers. Like a personal journal or diary, the nature journal allows your kids to record their outings. Record your time outdoors in drawings, include inserts of leaves or flowers, the ideas are endless.

Make Earth Day crayons - Recycle and reuse your old broken crayons. Collect all the small, broken bits and arrange them in a muffin tin. Bake them in the oven so they melt, wait for them to cool, vuala - good as new!

Although Earth Day is only once a year - it’s important to keep the environment in mind all year long. Let us know how you plan on being green today on our Facebook page!

Easter on Long Island!

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Vibrant colored eggs, peeps, and chocolate bunnies -- Easter is here! Looks like clear skies are on the horizon, perfect for the Easter Bunny to hop all over Long Island hiding those eggs.

If you’re looking for things to do with the family this holiday weekend, check out some of these local Easter happenings below:

Easter Egg hunts – On Long Island this Saturday April 19th, and Easter Sunday kids will be looking for treat-filled Easter eggs. Farmingdale, Cold Spring Harbor, Smithtown, and East Meadow are just a handful of places that will be hosting an Easter egg hunt adventure. Be sure to check out MommyPoppins to find out where and when the hunt is happening!

 

Spring Festival – Come on down to Smithtown tomorrow, April 19th, from 12-4pm and enjoy a fun-filled day of relay races, face painting, egg hunts and a special appearance by the Easter Bunny! For more information click here »

Peter Rabbit Performances - At 2pm at the Studio Theatre in Lindenhurst tomorrow, take the kids to go see a musical performance! Or head to Port Jefferson at Theatre Three to watch the famous tale.

 

Have another event in mind? Share with us on our Facebook page! Hoppy Easter!

Tips for Spring Allergies

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Ah, spring time, prime time for those pesky allergies. Studies have shown that allergies may actually predispose a person to developing sinus infections due to their blocked nasal passages.

Often times when this happens, patients complain of tooth pain. But this tooth pain related to a sinus infection isn’t actually tooth pain - instead it’s coming from the pressure building inside the head. This happens because your sinuses and your teeth are so close together. Your upper teeth sit right under a major sinus cavity, and when they get swollen they could swell right into your teeth.

So in order to avoid all of the above issues, we wanted to provide a helpful guide to help you through allergy season:

1. Protect your mattress and pillow – Try and look for an anti-allergen case to cover your child’s mattress and pillows. This will help protect them from allergens and dust mites.

2. Alternate bed sheets – The bed sheets should be changed and washed at least once a week, but if your child’s allergies are bad, go head and change them every 3 days!

3. Sleep with less bedtime friends – Limit the stuffed animals to only 1-2 at a time, the more friends can activate allergies.  
4. Give the stuffed animals a wash – If your child sleeps with any fuzzy friends or a blankie, give them a wash every week to wash away any dust or allergens. 
 
5. Change clothes – When your kiddies come home from school, daycare or playing outside have them change their clothes so the pollen doesn’t stay on them. 
 
6. Wash hands and face, often – After playing outside make sure you wash their hands and face as soon as they come inside. Allergens can stick immediately without you realizing it - next thing you know kids have their hands in their mouth and are rubbing their eyes.


7. Prop up pillows when sleeping – This can help your child breath better at night if they have a stuffy nose from sneezing all day. 


It’s not fun to spend springtime all stuffed up and sneezing! Follow these tips and your kiddies will have a great season!

April is School Library Month!

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School Library Month celebrates school librarians and their programs. Every April, the Association of School Librarians (AASL) encourages schools to create activities to help their school and local community celebrate the essential role that strong school library programs play in a student’s educational career.

So in honor of School Library Month, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite tooth tales to help celebrate! Be sure to encourage your young readers to pick up these titles in their libraries this month:

Dear Tooth Fairy - Alan Durant Illustrated by: Vanessa Cabban
Age Level: 3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader
Because Holly is reluctant to give up her newly fallen out tooth, she starts to correspond with the Tooth Fairy, asking questions that trouble many children (such as what happens to the teeth). The Tooth Fairy responds to all questions in this elegantly illustrated book.

Junie B.: Toothless Wonder - Barbara Parks
Age Level: 6-9
Reading Level: Independent Reader
Junie B. worries about her loose tooth. If she's the first in her class to lose a tooth, will she appear different, weird? It's inevitable that Junie B.'s tooth comes out and when it does, she sets out to learn what the Tooth Fairy does with all of those teeth. The answer is, of course, addressed in Junie B.'s signature, amusing style!

Fluffy Meets the Tooth Fairy - Kate McMullan Illustrated by: Mavis Smith
Age Level: 6-9
Reading Level: Beginning Reader
Fluffy, the class pet guinea pig wants to lose a tooth to meet the tooth fairy but then learns that guinea pigs don't lose teeth; rather they gnaw to wear them down. When he goes home with one of the kids, however, Fluffy manages to meet the Tooth Fairy after all! Light and playful, this is sure to engage newly independent readers.

Allergies & The Dentist

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If your child has allergies, you’re probably well versed in exercising caution at parties, grocery stores, restaurants - but what about the dentist? At Adelberg Montalvan Pediatric Dental, we always put our patient’s health and well being first, and have taken steps to minimize allergic reactions in patients when coming in for a visit.

Some common allergies include:
Gluten - About 15% of the population suffers from some kind of gluten sensitivity like celiac disease, gluten allergy, and gluten intolerance. To make sure your children are safe, all of our products are gluten free.
Metals - We know some patients may be sensitive to metals, like silver or mercury commonly found in fillings, so we offer white composite fillings.
Latex - The exact cause of this allergy is unknown, but repeat exposure to latex and rubber products can trigger symptoms. We only use non-latex materials that way it’s never a question whether a patient has a latex allergy.

We know the anxieties that can accompany dental visits - especially if allergies are involved. Whether you’re bringing your child in for a routine check up or a more complex procedure, our board certified doctors always utilize the most advanced equipment and techniques to insure the highest quality care.  In fact, we are one of the leading experts in laser dentistry to children and on top of all of that, 95% of the procedures we do for children don't require any anesthetics! See our YouTube video for more of our holistic practices and contact us today:

World Autism Awareness Day: Dental Care for Children with Autism

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Autism affects 1 in 68 US children, more common than pediatric AIDS, diabetes, and cancer combined. Children with autism can have difficulties with communication, social interaction, and sensory processing - characteristics that pose very unique challenges in the dental setting:

Some of these challenges include:

• Communication problems - being able to communicate at the patient’s intellectual and functional abilities
• Behavior problems - may include hyperactivity and quick frustration. The invasive nature of oral care may trigger violent and self-injurious behavior (IE: temper tantrums or head banging).
• Unusual responses to stimuli - can create distractions and interrupt treatment. Children with autism can be especially sensitive to changes in their environment and each reaction may vary. Some may overreact to noise and touch, while exposure to pain may not provoke a reaction at all.
• Unusual and unpredictable body movements - these movements can jeopardize safety as well as the delivery of proper oral health care.
• Seizures - the mouth is always at risk during a seizure (IE: chipped tooth, bitten tongue or cheeks).

At Adelberg and Montalvan Pediatric Dental, we are devoted to providing the best mental and dental care for all of our patients, including those with special healthcare needs. Our doctors are specially trained in special needs dentistry and are committed to providing your child with the attention and care they deserve to create a positive dental experience.

Our doctors have a comprehensive education in behavior management, sedation, and anesthesia techniques. Once a technique is chosen based on the specific needs of your child, our doctors will discuss the benefits, limits, and risks with you. Give us a call today for more information!

 

Participate in our Facebook Contest!

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No, this is no April Fool’s joke - we will be running Facebook contests for our patients! We want to get a little personal and give you the chance to “get to know” your favorite doctors.

For the month of April, Dr. Marc Adelberg will be in the spotlight. All you have to do is head to our Facebook page and answer the question below. Two winners will be randomly selected from the correct answers and will win either a $25 Gift Card to Tanger Outlets or a beach chair & umbrella package. Contest is only open to patients at our practice and their immediate family members, one vote allowed per family!

Winners will be announced  and contacted Thursday, May 1st with details on how to claim your prize. Good luck!