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Braces For Pretty Faces Orthodontics is a Proud Sponsor of Children’s Dental Health Month

Each February, the American Dental Association (ADA) sponsors National Children's Dental Health Month to raise awareness about the importance of good oral health. Dr. Stephen Yao supports the ADA in their efforts.Whether you're a member of the dental team, a teacher, or a parent, teaching kids how to develop good habits at an early age will encourage good dental health over a lifetime. As dental professionals at Braces For Pretty Faces Orthodontics, we also encourage parents to begin at an early age scheduling regular dental visits to give your child the best start possible.

Attached are some fun activities you can use to engage kids of all ages regarding dental health. Download Here

February is also National Pet Dental Health Month.

Did you know that human toothpaste can irritate your animal’s stomach? Watch this video on proper oral hygiene for your pet's teeth.

The Skinny on Orthodontics…

Dr. Stephen Yao at Braces For Pretty Faces Orthodontics would like to share with you a few fun facts offered by the American Association of Orthodontists ( AAO ) we think will be of interest.
• The first mechanical treatment for correcting malaligned teeth was suggested by Gaius Plinius Secundus (A.D 23-79).

• Famous orthodontic patients include: Tom Cruise, Kathryn Heigle, Hale Irwin, Cher, Diana Ross, Phyllis Diller, Chelsea Clinton, Whoopi Goldberg, Daisy Fuentes, Fay Dunaway, and Brandi.

• There are nearly 4 million people in orthodontic treatment throughout the United States. One in 5 orthodontic patients are adults.

• The time required to complete orthodontic treatment ranges from 12 to 36 months depending on the nature and severity of the problem.

• Besides alleviating or preventing physical health problems, orthodontics can improve self-esteem as treatment aligns teeth, jaws and lips.

• Of the 160,000 dentists in the United States and Canada, 8,000 are practicing orthodontists who completed and additional 2-3 years post graduate training in straightening teeth and aligning jaws to create optimal function and form. This training is above and beyond general dental training.

• The American Association of Orthodontists is comprised of more than 12,000 members in the United States, Canada and abroad.

• Wires activated by body heat used in today’s braces originally were developed by NASA for use in the space program.

• The cement that attaches the braces to the teeth is now made with a special fluoride-releasing substance.

Feel free to contact our office with any questions about orthodontic care or leave a comment below.

Orthodontic Warning Signs…

The American Association of Orthodontics recommends that parents understand the early warning signs of an orthodontics problem and recommends kids be evaluated by an orthodontist by age 7 – 8. Early evaluation provides both timely detection of problems and a greater opportunity for more effective treatment. Well timed intervention guides growth and development, preventing serious problems later. When orthodontic intervention is not necessary, an orthodontist can carefully monitor growth and development and begin treatment when it is ideal.

There are many different types malocclusions or bite problems that require orthodontic treatment at Braces For Pretty Faces Orthodontics. Below is a list of the most common orthodontic problems seen today in children, teens and adults.

Contact our office to schedule a consultation to determine how we can help you with your orthodontic needs. It is not necessary to have a referral from you general dentist to take advantage of this complimentary service we provide to all our patients.

Overbite: Upper teeth protrude over the lower teeth. Often called "Buck teeth"
Deepbite: The upper teeth cover the lower teeth wearing down the enamel of the lowers
Underbite: The lower teeth cover the upper teeth. This may be the result of a jaw growth discrepancy and/or tooth problem.
Openbite: The upper and lower front teeth do not come together. Often the result of a finger habit, allergies, or enlarged tonsils and adenoids.
Crowding: Jaws are too narrow or teeth are too large causing crowded or misaligned teeth.
Spacing: Teeth are too small or jaws are too large causing space between teeth.
Crossbite: Upper teeth are inside the lower teeth.

Should Parents Worry if Baby Teeth Aren’t Falling Out?

When parents visit Braces For Pretty Faces Orthodontics, it is not uncommon for parents to worry if their child’s baby teeth do not fall out on time. Infants rollover, sit, walk, and talk at different stages of their development. The same is true when your child is losing baby teeth. There are some developmental issues which require professional attention, but in general, what should parents expect when their kids start losing baby teeth?

• The first baby teeth are usually lost at about six years of age. Some kids may lose theirs as early as five or as late as seven, which is still considered normal.
• The average child will have lost eight baby teeth by age eight; four front teeth on top and four front teeth on the bottom.
• Between 8-10 you will normally not see much loss or eruption of teeth. During this two-year “break” interceptive orthodontic treatment may be indicated. This is why the American Association of Orthodontics recommends that all children be evaluated by age 7. This allows Dr. Stepehn Yao to determine if your child’s teeth and jaws are developing correctly and intervene with recommendations or treatment, if indicated.
• Around ten years of age the remaining teeth begin to fall out. The average adolescent loses all their baby teeth before 13. Girls often lose their teeth faster than the boys and sometimes as early as 11. The 12-year or 2^nd molars start to make their appearance during this time.
• Third molars will begin to develop around age 16 and more often than not, need to be removed due to lack of space in the dental arch to accommodate the teeth. X-rays at this age are recommended to determine if there is enough room for third molars before the roots fully develop to make extraction easier if required.

Most parents have questions about delayed tooth loss during the two years between eight and ten when nothing is happening. However, parents need not worry about delayed tooth loss unless:

• There is not enough room for permanent teeth causing crowding. They may not be able to push out the overlying baby teeth.
• Congenitally missing permanent teeth. Baby teeth with no underlying permanent replacements may be retained indefinitely.
• Extra teeth can block the normal eruption of permanent ones. With a simple x-ray, your orthodontist can tell you if there really is a problem or if your child is just developing slowly.

An important service Braces For Pretty Faces provides is monitoring the dental development of your child’s dentition and make recommendations regarding baby teeth to encourage proper tooth eruption and jaw development during growth.

Baby teeth preserve space for permanent teeth until they are developed enough to come in. If the baby teeth come out too early, space can be lost causing crowding of the underlying permanent ones. At the other end, baby teeth that are not lost on time can force the permanent ones to come in crooked creating a more difficult orthodontic condition. If the teeth are crowded, your child may lose two baby teeth naturally to accommodate the eruption of a single larger permanent tooth. If baby teeth are lost prematurely due to an accident or decay, an orthodontist should be consulted to see if a space maintainer is needed.
Contact our office for a complimentary new patient exam to determine if your child’s teeth are developing normally. Feel free to ask questions or make comments in the area below.

Happy Holidays From all of us at Braces For Pretty Faces

Beware of Sports Drinks – They Can Damage Your Teeth

Lollipops are a cavity on a stick and soda is pure sugar in a can. Candy and soda cause tooth decay. You’ve been taught this since grade school. This is not news, is it? Well, what about the fact that sports drinks ruin your teeth, too? Heard that one before?

Dr. Stephen Yao and the team at Braces For Pretty Faces Orthodontics want to make sure you understand sports drinks can damage healthy teeth. Actually, “erode” is more like the term, especially around the brackets while wearing braces. These sort of drinks erode your teeth by “demineralization,” or reducing the minerals in the outer tooth enamel and also the dentin (“dentin” is a yellowish, calcified tissue underneath the tooth enamel). It doesn’t affect the enamel underneath the braces covered by the brackets.

Dental erosion is common. It happens when you lose tooth structure since acids dissolve enamel and dentin. When your teeth are exposed to an acidic substance like a sports drink, soda, or candy, dental erosion is not far behind.

Everyone knows about candy and soda. Sports drinks, on the other hand, are not thrown into this group of tooth killers. And energy drinks and some flavored waters can be just as harmful if they contain citrus flavoring.

Are sports drinks the only source of dental erosion? Actually, there are many factors that contribute to dental erosion. As we age, our teeth naturally lose some enamel over time. Dental hygiene is also a big factor; if you keep your teeth clean and healthy, the acids and plaque are kept to a minimum and your teeth will last longer!

Remineralization, as the word suggests, is the process of building minerals needed for strong teeth. A tooth has biofilm coating for protection. But when your teeth are exposed to acids, your biofilm decreases and your teeth lose their surface minerals.

You are messing with your long term dental health when you drink a sports drink like Gatorade. Here is an online link to the ingredients in Gatorade. Water is the number one ingredient with sugar #2 and citric acid #3. This acid invites growth of acidogenic bacteria and leads to erosion of teeth. In addition to that, citric acid forms complexes with calcium and lowers the effectiveness of the biofilm. That is why sports drinks have been reported to cause three times as much damage to enamel compared to soft drinks. Phosphoric acid, which is a component of soft drinks, is not as harmful as citric acid.

Prevention

The simplest way to prevent sports drinks from damaging your teeth is to avoid them and drink water. For most physical activity, water is sufficient to keep you hydrated and fresh. Also, most sports drinks now offer a low-calorie alternative that has little or no sugar. While they might taste different and lack the “sugar boost” of their counterparts, sports drinks without citric acid and sugar are better for your teeth.

If you do drink soda or sports drinks, no sipping. The number of contacts with the teeth makes the problem worse. DO NOT BRUSH your teeth afterwards; it makes the problem much worse. The enamel is weak from the acid. It takes at least a half hour of saliva contact on the teeth to allow some recovery and repair before the enamel can withstand the harshness of the toothbrush. It is counterintuitive, but brushing after drinking acidic drinks causes the problems to worsen.

There is also a definite relationship between dental erosion and the consumption of acidic (sweet) drinks, as well as obesity and diabetes in both children and adults. Remember: it always pays to be mindful of what you take in to your body! Whether a solid food, candy, soda, or sports drink, take the necessary steps to prevent unwanted conditions in any form that can damage your teeth.

There are many sports drinks and flavored waters sold today. We recommend you take the time to read the labels. Check for sugar content and citric acid in the ingredients. If they are one of the top ingredients on the label we suggest you avoid them. It can save your teeth and improve your dental health over a lifetime.

Spreading Early Holiday Cheer at Braces For Pretty Faces…

It’s time to start spreading the holiday cheer! We love having you as part of our orthodontic family at Braces For Pretty Faces Orthodontics, and we want to send holiday smiles to all of our patients and their families with a couple of poems for the season! Happy Holidays to everyone!

The Night Before Christmas (with my braces)

Twas the night before Christmas, Santa flying all places
Delivering presents to children with braces.

There’s lights on the tree and a wreath on the door
I’m merry as can be when my teeth are not sore!

The cookies so crunchy, the roast beef so chewy,
But I must eat food that is softer and gooey…

My family munched on their chocolates and dips
Well, those only would have gone straight to my hips.

While Santa shouts orders to Blitzen and Vixen,
I’m cleaning my braces — my teeth they’re a-fixin!

This year I’ve been good, gone the extra mile
So Santa, this year I want a new healthy smile!

Goodbye crooked teeth, and spaces too tight;
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good bite!

Ortho, Ortho, Ortho
(to the tune of Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel)

I had a maloclussion
It bugged me every day
The ortho said he'd fix it
And to him I did say,

Oh ortho, ortho, ortho
When do these braces go away?
When will my teeth be straightened?
What can I eat? Oy vey!

And so I wore my braces
Brushed after every meal
I also wore elastics,
for I was no schlameel.

Oh ortho, ortho, ortho
When is my next appointment?
My gums are feeling kinda sore
May I have some ointment?

I couldn't chew the brisket
Or bite the chocolate gelt
At least there were the latkes
In my mouth they did melt!

Oh ortho, ortho, ortho
I simply cannot wait
Til the day these braces leave,
And all my teeth are straight!

So now it's two years later
And I’m grinning in style
As I light my menorah, I think:
I sure love my straighter smile!

Oh ortho, ortho, ortho
When do these braces go away?
When will my teeth be straightened?
What can I eat? Oy vey!

Have a fun and safe holiday season! Remember, one of the best gifts you can give yourself is to take good care of your teeth! Special thanks to Lynn from archwired.com for the original ideas (we’ve tweaked them just a little).

Happy Thanksgiving to All Our Patients and Their Families

Not All kids are Happy Wearing Braces – Good Communication Paves the Way

Not all kids are happy about wearing, especially teens. If teeth are slow erupting, a problem develops during a pubertal growth spurt, permanent teeth don’t erupt properly, or finances were an issue, your child may not be a happy camper. Wearing braces between the ages of 11-14 is the most common age for treatment and normally the age of least resistance in most cases. However, after that, be prepared for opposition.

Your first discussion sets the stage for how your child accepts or rejects the news they require treatment at Braces For Pretty Faces Orthodontics. Allowing your apprehension and fears to surface can impact how your child responds.

Many different types of braces are available that will suit your child's personalized needs and reduce apprehension. Clear braces and Invisalign may be an option. Plus treatment time and discomfort is much less than in years past. But a child’s personal perception of orthodontic treatment can make them believe otherwise. For this reason it is important to be upbeat, positive, and supportive when they receive the news they may need treatment.

Focusing on the pros of undergoing treatment, such as a beautiful smile and improved dental health rather than the discomfort, inconvenience, and negative social stigma provides best results. Proper orientation by parents and our team creates a positive response when informing a child that orthodontic treatment is in their best interest.

At your child’s first visit to Braces For Pretty Faces, we will explain everything they need to know about their problem, why they need braces to improve the situation, and what type of braces are recommended. We do our best to put your child at ease, answer all their questions, and make them feel at home in our office. If you child has questions before the appointment you can’t answer, be honest: “I don’t know that, let’s ask Dr. Stephen Yao during the appointment”.

Wearing braces today is very common and you want your child to be excited about the treatment as well as understanding the importance of the cooperation required to create a beautiful smile. By the end of the appointment, our goal is to make your child jazzed about treatment rather than upset with the prospect of wearing braces. When offering positive feedback throughout the process, your child will be motivated every step of the way, making treatment as painless as possible while creating a good result.

If you have any concerns prior to the first visit that you feel may impact a negative response from your child, contact our office so we can discuss beforehand. Communication is the key to success on all levels. Let’s all work together to make your child’s initiation to orthodontics a good one.

Why Do Many Kids and Adults Need Orthodontic Treatment Today?

At Braces For Pretty Faces Orthodontics some parents ask us… “Why are so many kids and adults wearing braces today?”

Orthodontic Studies report 70 percent of the US population could benefit from having their teeth and jaws realigned with orthodontic treatment. Ancient ancestors had perfect teeth and bites, as evidenced by fossil records. Then, about 10,000 years ago, malocclusions (bad bites) seem to have become more prevalent. Why? Human growth patterns saw teeth and jaws fail to accommodate teeth and jaw development as different ethnic and genetic backgrounds began to live together and populate.

In many cases, a patient’s need for orthodontic treatment arises from inheriting teeth and jaws from one parent that do not fit properly into the teeth and jaw size inherited from the other parent. As a result, crowding or spacing of teeth may occur as well as over or underdeveloped upper and lower jaws that don’t fit together properly in a functional bite.

Over the centuries, these inconsistencies produced the need for orthodontic treatment and are more prevalent today than ever, especially in the United States. The US is the leader of the free world and a melting pot for many different nationalities, mixing genetic backgrounds from many countries throughout the world.

The American Association of Orthodontics recommends that all children be seen by the age of 8 for an orthodontic evaluation. Many adults, whose families couldn’t afford treatment as a child or didn’t want to wear braces, are now considering straightening their teeth to improve their appearance and long term dental health. Orthodontic treatment is quite common now among adults with many new treatment options available that are less visible such as Invisalign, the “braceless” alternative to straight teeth

Feel free to contact our office for a complimentary consultation. Dr. Stephen Yao will inform you whether you or your child could benefit from orthodontic treatment, best treatment recommendations available to correct the individual problem, how long treatment will take, and discuss payment options to work within your budget.

At Braces For Pretty Faces our goal is to help you create the smile you want and deserve for yourself or your child.