Orthodontists plan for post-Halloween rush

U.S. orthodontists said they expect the next week to be the busiest of the year, as children damage their dental gear with Halloween candy.

Harold Frank, a Virginia orthodontist with offices in Arlington and Woodbridge, said the volume of emergency appointments involving damaged braces begins to grow in the days leading up to Halloween, spikes the day after the holiday and continues at a high rate for a week until children begin to run low on candy, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

"It's all hands on deck, no vacation time for anyone," said Lee Graber, a trustee with the American Association of Orthodontists who has a practice in the Chicago area.

Frank said the fallout from Halloween can mean scheduling emergency appointments on calendars that are already full, as the damage done to braces has to be corrected quickly.

"Whatever your imagination can run with, it's worse than that," Frank said. "We warn the staff, but there's nothing you can do to avoid it."

Copyright 2007 by United Press International