If anything should arise while you are on vacation always remember that we are here for you whether you are in town or out of town on vacation. Just simply give us a call and we may be able to address the problem over the phone. Second, if we are unable to help you fix the problem over the phone, we will help you with some home remedies. Third, if a serious situation we could help you find an orthodontist that is in your area. If you experience problems reaching our office, we suggest going online and searching for orthodontic practices in your area. Most orthodontists will lend a helping hand to another orthodontic patient and get them out of pain or discomfort. If you have braces, we suggest steering clear of the following foods to avoid broken brackets and/or wire distortion while you are on vacation: Chewy, sticky, or…
orthodontics
New Product — Air Floss
Every little but helps and it is very time consuming to floss with braces on. I have received great feedback from hygienist of referring dentists, so I purchased an air floss unit for myself. After one week of use, I give it an enthusiastic thumbs up! Technique is important and the tip should be aimed directly between the teeth and gum line. I use mouthwash rather than water and peroxide can be substituted as well. You can purchase the Sonicare Air Floss online at sonicare.com or Amazon. If you go on Sonicare.com they are offering a coupon for $15 off http://philips.to/U7mPDL. It is definitely worth the investment. Especially if you or your child have braces. Dr. David McSurdy
No More Messy Impressions That Make You Gag!
In our quest to always be at the forefront of modern orthodontics, we will soon have a new technology in our office that will allow us to take a series of photos of your teeth using a specialized intraoral camera. The system is called “iTero” and it will be used specifically to take needed impressions for Invisalign patients without all the gagging and goop! Images of your teeth and gums will be immediately uploaded to a computer that will allow us to send this information directly to Invisalign. The benefits for you, the patient are amazing! No more goop in your mouth, and no more gagging when getting your “impressions” or “molds” for Invisalign. Also, because the images are uploaded immediately, processing time is decreased, so you will be able to get started with your aligners more quickly! In fact, the intraoral camera is so accurate that when you finally…
A Comfortable Growth Change
Young children that are rapidly growing and developing are tremendously flexible. Bony sutures are still open and not fully fused at early elementary school ages. This is how our Press-on Incremental Expanders (PIE’s) are able to accomplish palatal expansion so comfortable. The PIE’s gently guide palatal growth day by day as our 6-10 year old patients wear them. Parents just have to help remove the smooth appliances from their children’s molar teeth, and their child can brush/floss and press on the next slightly wider appliance before bed time. For most young children we can avoid cemented expanders. Parents who formerly had to activate a jack-screw appliance are thus able to keep the process more pain-free for their children. Our appliances are made entirely of plastic- a more forgiving substance than the heavier metal jack-screw appliances. Thus, through palatal growth, we are able to create enough room for tooth…
The Many Uses of Vinegar
One day as I was browsing Pinterest, I came along a post that said you could clean your grimy shower head with vinegar, and it would come out looking like new! I thought that I had nothing to lose and I gave it a try. I was AMAZED at how clean and shiny my shower head was, it honestly looked brand new. After trying that experiment, I went on to find things that I could use vinegar for. Here is a list of my experiments so far…. Shower Head – Tie a bagger of white distilled vinegar around your shower head and leave it sit over night. Remove the bad and rinse with water. Retainers – Calcium build up on retainers can be soaked in ½ vinegar and ½ water for about 20 minutes. After soaking scrub with toothbrush. Windows – 2 cups of water, ¼ cup white distilled vinegar,…