Category: Orthodontic Dental Care
Now that we all have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic from individuals to big corporations and no matter what we do, “staying in place” has become the norm, at least for now. Your dental offices are one of the most highly affected businesses next to the hospitals and medical offices. After all, dentists, regardless of the practice model, endodontists, oral surgeon, orthodontists, pediatric dentists all work in the one of most cautious areas on the body, the mouth. Talking about coughing and sneezing being dangerous, would you want to work in someone’s mouth right now? I don’t think so....
Over the years I have seen patients who have not come on a regular basis for their orthodontic checkups. As many as 11 months have gone by and the patient is just wandering around with braces on and no one has checked them. This bad habit can lead to quite a few problems: If the patient is not the greatest at brushing and taking care of their teeth decalcification can develop Unhealthy teeth can lead to unhealthy gums…gum disease Unmonitored orthodontic appliances means no progress is being and lead to longer treatment time One of the worst times that this...
After orthodontic treatment everyone and I do mean everyone should get a retainer to hold their now straight teeth in place. One of the biggest questions is which retainer will you get. Depending on orthodontist you get one or the other, unless for some particular reason the orthodontist chooses one over the other. Be aware there are challenges that come along for each type of retainer, so let’s compare: Removable retainer: First of all it is removable which means the patient has the responsibility of making sure they keep up with the retainer and wear as instructed to maintain that...
How many times has your child thrown this question at you? In all of my years of working in an orthodontic office, occasionally there’s comes that patient that just doesn’t want treatment. They don’t care about having straight teeth (at least not while there going into 7th, 8th, or especially 9th grade). All they want is to be left alone with their crooked teeth and are not interested in anything that has to do with straightening their teeth. Usually, they have muddled through with treatment but during the entire process they complain, “this hurts, that hurts, everything just hurts!” They...
Okay, now that you’ve had your Q & A with the doctor and pretty much have an idea of what to expect during treatment, now comes the fun part and the beginning of a committed and long term relationship with your orthodontist and his or her team. The initial banding or bonding is when your teeth will have their first encounter with the whole orthodontic experience. What to expect Depending on your/or your child’s individual treatment plan will determine which teeth the braces may be placed on first. Back in the day (there’s that term again) or in the past,...
This is a pretty simple question. Sometimes patient’s think their orthodontist is trying to watch their patient’s diet. This is not the case. The reason for the restriction on foods is to avoid broken bracket and wires. Every time a patient comes into the office with something broken, usually unbeknownst to them, they are just prolonging their treatment. Think of it like this – Your car needs an oil change but every time you go into your mechanic’s auto shop you have flat tire which needs to be fixed. For argument sake you can only do one thing when you’re there…so what do...
I know how it feels to have finally gotten rid of those food trapping, scratchy, wire poking braces off, but now that your teeth have been rearranged into a fantastically beautiful smile you must now get ready to try and maintain all of that suffering you just endured for years to come. Believe it or not, but your teeth have memory. They kinda remember where they came from. Now they may not return completely to their original positions, but they can shift around enough to undo all of that hard labor they just went through to get into their best possible...
