For six years, orthodontist Dr. Aejaaz A. Issa and his staff, of Emmaus, have asked referring dentists to decorate pumpkins which are then donated to the Lehigh Valley Children’s Hospital at Lehigh Valley Health Network - Cedar Crest.

To make it fun, Issa holds a contest where community judges, staff and patients vote for their favorites.

The creative pumpkin decorators this year included Dr. Eric Marsh and Mrs. Michele Piscano-Marsh; Dr. Sonya Daley, Daley Dental; Dr. Leonard Salines III; Dr. Sophia Kladias; Dr. Rami Khoury and Dr. Harry Shleifer; Dr. Brian Gibbs; Dr. William Kiesel and Dr. Peter Bullock, Kiesel Dental Associates; Dr. Navideep Kaur; Dr. Mary Cresseveur-Reed; Dr. Jason Pellegrino; Dr. Jennifer Risley; Dr. Brandon Walsh; Dr. Matthew Lang and Dr. Lucas Mantilla, Castle Dental; Dr. Kenneth Oppenheim, Dr. Vinky Pathak, Dr. Dane Kyle, Sloane & Oppenheim; Dr. Karen Paternaude; Dr. James Shearer; Dr. Charles Harding, Extraordinary Smiles; Dr. Timothy Lin, Dr. Jamie Kang, Dr. Ameir Eltom, Lehigh Valley Endodontics; Dr. Gregory Dimmick, Dr. David Bender, Dr. Arkur Johri, Lehigh Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery; Dr. Joseph Rossowski and Dr. Anthony Cerami, Dorneyville Dental; Dr. George Shoenberger and Dr. Mark Shoenberger; Dr. Phillip Brinton, Pediatric Dentistry; Dr. Marsha Gordon and Dr. Wanda Janik; Dr. Nadia Afzal and Dr. Kristin Kratzer, Valley Dental LLC; Dr. Christina Lawrence and Dr. Brad Piezala; Dr. Michelle Wasno; Dr. Allen Crawford; Dr. Timothy Wright; Dr. Brian Schoenly, Dr. Maijid Dastgir, Dr. Lisa Price, Quakertown Family Dental; Dr. Lawrence Glaser and Dr. Season Rose; Dr. Mark Minetola, Dr. Michele Ferguson, Dr. Howard Fluhr, Gentle Dental; Dr. Justin Kenney; Dr. Christopher Hill; Dr. Julie Hong; Dr. Leslee Dreisbach; Dr. Cuong Tran; Dr. Michael Schiffman; Dr. Nichole Miller and Dr. Chang Park, The Friendliest Dental Office in Town; Dr. Hugh O’Donnell and Matt Boswell, Allentown, Bethlehem Pediatric Dental Associates; Dr. Navid Hadian and Dr. Timothy Burke, Brookside Dental Care; Dr. Dana Cope; Dr. Peter Cilento and Dr. Maryam Sholehvar, Lehigh Prosthodontics; Dr. R.K. Gangji, Gentle Family Dentistry; Dr. Lorri Tomko, Tomko Dental Associates and their staff members.

In addition to Issa, judges included Tracy Stauffer, Pediatric Cancer Foundation; Jessica O’Donnell and Greg Yestrumskas, Emmaus Main Street Partners; Sharon Hyndman, Dan Schantz Farm; Amy Burrows and Jen McGorry, Lehigh Valley Health Network; Kirsten Hess, Let’s Play Books and Mark McCloskey American Orthondontics.

Over 44 pumpkins were donated by Dan Schantz Farm, decorated by the dentists and their staff, returned to Issa’s office and entered into the contest.

“Every year, the pumpkins are getting better and better,” Issa said. “It is really great to see all of the offices participating.”

The winners of the contest this year were announced Nov. 7. In the office judging, first place was given to “Steam Pumpkin” submitted by Dr. James Shearer, second place was given to “Stay Puft from Ghostbusters” by Brookside Dental Care and third place was given to “Nemo and Dory in the Coral Pumpkin” by Tomko Dental Associates.

In the Facebook judging, first place was “Dubble Bubble” by Gentle Family Dentistry, second place was “Snoopy and Woodstock” by Quakertown Family Dental and third place was “The Cat in the Hat” by Dr. Sophia Kladias.

However, the real winners of the contest were the patients and their families at the hospital who were entertained by the decorated pumpkins.

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