Tidewater Orthodontics want to know: What are your plans for Memorial Day weekend?

Memorial Day weekend is a time Americans remember all those who bravely gave their lives for our country. It’s also the unofficial start of summer, and for many kids, getting out of town for three days with parents after being cooped up in school for the past nine months spells sweet, sweet relief.

We thought we'd ask: What are you up to this Memorial Day weekend? What will you be doing on your day off from school or work? After all, it’s unofficially the start of summer and a time for a season full of vacations, adventures and great memories. Whether you are headed to a barbecue, a camping trip, or just having fun in the sun this weekend, we’d like to hear all about it!

Tidewater Orthodontics, encouraging you to enter the AAO's video scholarship contest!

Our staff at Tidewater Orthodontics have some exciting news to share this tonight! The American Association of Orthodontists, which Dr. Ashbyis a proud member of, is offering a $2,500 academic scholarship to two lucky winners of their "How Orthodontics Changed My Life" video contest.

All of our great patients at Tidewater Orthodontics 18 years of age or younger are eligible to enter, and entries are due by June 1st! You can learn more about the contest on the AAO's website, but here are a few subjects to think about while making your video:

• What were you like before you went through treatment at Tidewater Orthodontics? How have you changed?

• How proud are you of your new smile?

• When did you notice changes in yourself? What kinds of changes have you noticed?

• What would you say to others whose smiles make them self-conscious?

• What does your new smile mean to you?

We think this is a great opportunity and our entire staff at Tidewater Orthodontics encourage you to enter. If you have additional questions, please give us a call! GOOD LUCK!

Write a review of Tidewater Orthodontics!

Whether you have visited Tidewater Orthodontics for a week, month or for years, we’d love to hear your feedback about your experience with Tidewater Orthodontics! Our staff would like to encourage you to write a review of us. It only takes a moment!

You may write a review on our Google Local page.

Thanks, and we hope you're having an outstanding Mother's Day Weekend!

Tidewater Orthodontics, supporting National Physical Fitness and Sports Month

Did you know the month of May is observed as National Physical Fitness and Sports Month? May was first declared National Physical Fitness and Sports Month by President Reagan in 1983 to encourage Americans to incorporate more activity into their lives. The reminder is even more significant today as kids are distracted by television, social networking and video games. Kids living an active lifestyle can improve their health, productivity and overall well being, and best of all? It doesn’t have to take a lot of time!

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has provided these public health guidelines for your reference. The guidelines call for children and teenagers to exercise one hour every day of moderate intensity physical activity (such as playing sports or brisk walking) or one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous activity (jogging, dancing and jumping rope).

At Tidewater Orthodontics we always encourage our patients to exercise or participate in sports. However, we want to remind you to always wear a mouth guard when playing sports. To learn more about how often you should exercise, we recommend you check out this series of helpful articles about kids and exercise, courtesy of our friends at KidsHealth.org.