The myths and facts about braces

January 28th, 2013

Some folks believe your chances of being struck by lightning increases when you have braces, while other folks believe having braces interferes with romance, and even metal detectors as you try to make your way through the airport for a much-needed vacation. Trust us when we say we know there are quite a few myths about braces out there these days. But before you buy into those myths, we think you should get the facts first! To help set the record straight, here is some great information on the myths and facts of orthodontics. We encourage you to check them out today!

If you have any questions about braces or your orthodontic treatment, please feel free to give us a call or ask us on Facebook! Smile bright!

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month!

Each February for the past 63 years, our friends at the American Dental Association have sponsored National Children’s Dental Health Month to raise awareness about the importance of oral health at a young age, and especially during your orthodontic treatment. Developing good habits at an early age and scheduling regular visits with your dentist—even while you’re wearing braces—helps our young patients get a good start on a lifetime of healthy teeth and gums.

For kids wearing braces, brushing and flossing can become more difficult, requiring extra time and effort to remove food particles that accrue on and between your teeth and braces. If you ignore your oral health during your treatment, the results can be significantly compromised. We are happy to explain why effective brushing and flossing is so critical during orthodontic treatment. If you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call, ask us on Facebook or ask us at your next adjustment appointment!

Independence Day Facts & Tips

It’s hard to believe, but July is already here and half of 2012 has already passed! As July 4th approaches, our team thought it would be fun to share some facts and safety tips for celebrating our country’s independence day.

Fun Facts:
• Betsy Ross, according to legend, sewed the first American flag in May or June 1776, as commissioned by the Congressional Committee.
• The major objection to being ruled by Britain was taxation without representation. The colonists had no say in the decisions of English Parliament.
• The word ‘patriotism’ comes from the Latin patria, which means ‘homeland’ or ‘fatherland.’
• The first public Fourth of July event at the White House occurred in 1804.
• And what could be more fitting than spending the day in a place called “America”? There are five such places in the country, with the most populous being American Fork, Utah, with 21,941 residents. Check out American Fact Finder.

Safety Tips: 
• Avoid buying fireworks that are packaged in brown paper because this is often a sign that the fireworks were made for professional displays and that they could pose a danger to consumers.
• Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose handy in case of fire or other mishap.
• Never carry fireworks in a pocket or shoot them off in metal or glass containers.
• To prevent a trash fire, be sure to douse the spent fireworks with plenty of water from a bucket or hose after fireworks complete their burning and before discarding them.
• Make sure fireworks are legal before buying or using them.

What are your plans this 4th of July? Share them with us! We’d love to hear what you and the rest of the community will be doing to celebrate! (Don’t forget to make sure there are no restrictions on fireworks! Check out this link to see if fireworks might be an issue for you this year.)

Easter and Candy – What to Avoid!

For those who celebrate Easter, you know that your children are probably expecting baskets full of that brightly packaged, sugar covered candy. For months I have seen entire aisles of grocery stores become completely devoted to the Easter candy that so many of our country’s youth love. The pastel candy shells, those hollow chocolate bunnies, and the stickiness of those caramel eggs. They may taste great, but the damage it can do to your teeth or braces can land you a visit to your local orthodontist!
 

What Not to Eat

Most of us love candy, but when you have your braces put on for the first time, your orthodontist typically informs you of the foods you should be avoiding. This Easter, if you absolutely must eat candy, avoid biting down on hard candy. They can easily bend wires and break the metal brackets clean off of your tooth. This will land you back in the orthodontist where the bracket will be reapplied and can even lengthen the amount of time you will need to wear your braces.

Caramels and other sticky candy can also break brackets. Even more so, it can easy get between the brackets and wires which can eventually lead to cavities. Have a cavity filled while you are wearingbraces is no fun.

Immediately after you eat any candy, I encourage you to brush your teeth and floss. This minimizes the risk of cavities and keeps your orthodontist happy. Also when you eat candy, it is better to eat a certain amount at once rather than eating it in small quantities throughout the day. This way, when you brush your teeth you are flushing out all of the sugar rather than leaving traces of it behind. That is, unless you want to brush your teeth every time you eat a single piece of candy.

After the Easter holiday, stop by Salins Ortho for a checkup so you can avoid any complications from those sweet treats!

Smiles of the Rich and Famous

I saw this article online at www.zeel.com and thought it really hit home for adults considering orthodontics, 

 Posted on: June 21, 2011

By: StacyAtZeel

http://www.zeel.com/g/smiles-of-the-rich-famous-celebrity-braces/2011/06/21

Longing for a Hollywood smile? Eva Longoria did too. In the July issue of InStyle magazine, the Cristiada leading lady reveals that she is currently sporting, yes, braces to realign her bottom teeth.

Let’s get one thing straight. The 36-year-old actress isn’t the only celebrity to seek an improved smile through orthodontics. For many adults, the only thing more embarrassing than a dreaded tin grin is a mouthful of crooked teeth, so it’s no wonder that one in every five orthodontic patients has long since graduated from wearing a training bra.

The beauty of present day orthodontics is that there are many ways to straighten your smile. Crowded, gapped and overlapping teeth can be perfected with traditional metal braces or with less noticeable clear brackets. For adults who prefer a more concealed style, lingual braces can be fastened to the backs of the teeth. And for those who want to avoid tooth attachments altogether, Invisalign—removable bite trays that shift the teeth into place—can be a practical solution.

Which treatment is right for you? Take a cue from these beaming celebrities who turned to adult orthodontia to enhance their headshots.

Tom Cruise, Age 39

While taking his kids to the orthodontist, silver screen icon Tom Cruise decided to fix his already dashing smile after discovering that his front teeth were not perfectly centered. Cruise opted for invisible braces, though he removed the orthodontia while filming.

Zeel Expert and New York City orthodontist Elisa Mello appeared on Inside Edition to discuss the actor’s dental treatment (you can watch the video here). Mello estimated that Cruise would need to wear the studs for 12 to 18 months.

Katherine Heigl, Age 28

Katherine Heigl never really wanted to fix her “wonky” teeth, that is, until she got engaged. “I want my teeth straight for my wedding photos,” the blonde beauty said in an interview with E! Online. Heigl chose to wear an Invisalign retainer, which she dubbed “Netflix for your teeth.”

Gwen Stefani, Age 30

Fashion icon and former rock-star Gwen Stefani donned full-blown metal braces on both her top and bottom rows of teeth. No doubt, they were as quirky an accessory as her magenta locks and too-short bangs. Still, she managed to nab herself a husband at the time.

Holly Willoughby, Age 30

A growing baby bump isn’t the only physical change this British anchorwoman and model is publicizing these days. “Brace yourselves, I’ve got braces…eek!” Willoughby tweeted earlier this month. The This Morningtelevision presenter chose barely-there clear brackets connected with a thin white wire.

Cher, Age 30s

Ok, so it was a long time ago. But music legend Cher did in fact wear braces as an adult. Cher observed her teeth shifting while at the dentist for a routine cleaning, and had the braces applied soon after. (Too bad Invisalign wasn’t invented yet.)

Are you wearing a mouthguard?

Wouldn’t you believe it, it’s amost springtime! The spring months, however, bring an increase in outdoor activities and a greater chance of kids damaging their precious mouths and pearly whites. If you play sports, it’s important that you consult Dr. Salins for special precautions, such as wearing a mouth guard. A protective mouth guard is advised for playing spring sports such as baseball, soccer, lacrosse and others. Be sure, however, to avoid mouth guards that custom form to your teeth as these will resist any tooth movements we are trying to achieve.

In case of any accident involving the face, check your mouth and the appliances immediately. If teeth are loosened or the appliances damaged, please schedule an appointment with Dr. Salins. And don’t forget to ask us—  Dr. Salins will provide a mouth guard for any patient in active treatment.

Only by using a mouth guard and other forms of facial protection can kids with and without braces avoid serious sports injuries. Please give us a call if you have any questions about mouth guards or your treatment with  Dr. Salins.

Adjusting to life with braces, from Dr. Salins

When you get braces at Salins Orthodontics there are a few things you’ll have to adjust to get optimal results in the shortest amount of time. If you have any questions about the “do’s and don’ts” of living with braces, feel free to ask Dr. Sheldon Salins or any member of our staff during your next adjustment!

Eating
When you have braces, there are a few types of food that can damage your brackets and bend your wires, leading to more appointments and longer treatment times. By simply avoiding sticky, chewy, crunchy, and hard foods, as well as foods that require biting into like corn on the cob, your orthodontic experience will be much easier.

Cleaning
You’ll never believe the amount of food that can get stuck between your braces when you eat. In addition to causing bad breath and tooth decay, it looks pretty gross, too. It’s so important to brush your teeth after every meal and floss every day, and even though it’s kind of a hassle, it’ll all be worth it in the end.

Sports
Protecting your smile if you play sports is essential when you have braces. Mouth guards help protect your teeth and gums from injury. Dr. Salins can provide a mouth guard for you if you plan on participating in any kind of contact sport!

Bottled Water May Be Behind Tooth Troubles, Dr. Salins Explains

We at Salins Orthodontics want you to know that as more families turn to bottled water and away from the tap, they may be missing out on one important ingredient that most brands of bottled water fail to include: fluoride!

As of 2005, bottled water is second only to soft drinks as the most popular drink in the United States, beating out milk, juice, and – more significantly – tap water. Between 2001 and 2006, the amount of bottled water sold in the U.S. rose an average of 10% per year. And many dental health specialists point to bottled water’s increased popularity as the culprit behind rising rates of cavities.

Because fluoride helps strengthen teeth, it is an important component of maintaining good oral health. The benefits of fluoride were noticed in the early part of the twentieth century, when researchers found communities with low levels of tooth decay. It turned out that these towns had measurable levels (around 1 part per million) of fluoride in their drinking water.

Beginning in the 1940s, communities have fluoridated their water supplies, and dentists have seen a significant decline in cavities ever since. The American Dental Association endorses both community water fluoridation and the use of fluoride-containing products as a safe means of preventing tooth decay. Between tap water and toothpaste, most of us get sufficient amounts of fluoride.

But if your family avoids fluoridated tap water in favor of ever-more-popular bottled water, you could be missing out on the levels of fluoride necessary to make a difference in your oral health.

If bottled water is your water of choice, check the label to make sure that your brand contains fluoride. As of a 2006 decision, the FDA allows bottled water containing .6 to 1.0 milligrams per liter of fluoride to carry a label stating that fluoridated water may reduce the risk of dental cavities or tooth decay. The ADA has backed this decision.

Of course, simply drinking fluoridated water is not a magic ticket to perfect teeth. To keep your choppers in tip-top shape, it’s important to brush and floss daily and avoid sugary sweets, in addition to maintaining your fluoride intake and visiting us at Salins Orthodontics regularly.