board certified orthodontist – Summerville Pediatric Dentistry

IT’S A NEW YEAR!

IT’S A NEW YEAR! We’re so excited for what this year will bring, particularly when we look back at everything we achieved in 2018. That’s why we’re taking this opportunity to give our wonderful patients an update on the goals our team members have made for the new year, as well as their accomplishments from the last!

How Far We Came In 2018

2018 was a year of focus and growth for our office. After the big move of 2017 to our new Pediatric and Teen dental location, both the dental office and the orthodontic office spent 2018 breathing in their new space. We’ve celebrated new milestones and fun giveaways with our patients and office family, incorporated new technologies and fun new treatment options—I’m looking at you GOLD BRACES. We’ve worked hard to make sure your dental and orthodontic experience is always TOP NOTCH. Thank you for all of your patience, your suggestions and your love for our doctors and our amazing team. You, our WONDERFUL patients, have made us all so thankful to be in this profession of serving others.

Our Roadmap For 2019

We are EXCITED to tackle this new year, 2019, with goals for health, mindfulness, presence, but importantly reflection on where we have come from and where we are going. Thinking back to our start over TEN years ago, it is the love our patients that has propelled us forward. Our office goal for 2019 is to continue to grow and surpass your expectations with a single-minded obsession. You have many choices for dental care and we are honored that you have chosen our little office!

Side note — Dr. Katie is also super excited about her new Bullet Journal resolution… #bulletjournal… mind blown. Shout out to Olivia Olson for the suggestion! Bring on that #organizedlife!!!

Check out this video for tips on keeping your resolutions:

What Are Your Goals This Year?

Now that we’ve told you about our goals for the new year, we want to hear about yours! Share your New Year’s resolutions in the comments below or on Facebook, and we look forward to seeing you this year!

Let’s all support each other in making our resolutions a reality!

Halloween, Candy, and YOUR BRACES

Halloween, Candy and YOUR BRACES

WE ALL LOVE EATING our favorite candy from time to time, especially around Halloween. But those treats can get tricky for orthodontic patients, because many of the standard goodies are harmful to braces. So how can you safely enjoy your spooky night of fun and sweets? Just follow our guidelines of what to aim for and what to avoid in the trick-or-treat bowls around your neighborhood.

Braces-Friendly Halloween Treats

The good news is that chocolate is safe! Any type of soft chocolate, from a bar to a peanut butter cup, is perfectly fine to eat with braces. But soft is the keyword there. Hard or large pieces of chocolate could still pose a danger to orthodontic equipment, and you should avoid chocolate with hard pieces of toffee embedded in it.

Cookies and brownies are another safe option for braces-wearers, so make sure you pay a visit to the house that always hands out baked goods this year! Again, softness is key. If someone gives you a hard cookie, give it a good long soak in cold milk before biting into it.

While whole caramel apples are firmly on the banned list, you can take that caramel apple home and chop it into slices. After that, it won’t pose a threat to your braces. Even better, apples are much healthier for your teeth than all that candy, so you can enjoy something both delicious and good for you!

Hard candies are okay, but there’s a catch: no chewing allowed. If you have the patience to be able to suck on it until it dissolves, a hard candy is safe. However, just because they’re safe for braces doesn’t make them great for your teeth, so we still recommend sticking to the other options.

Treats To Trade To Your No-Braces Friends

No matter how much you love them, there are some treats and candies that are definitely off-limits if you have braces. Anything hard, gummy, chewy, or sticky can put brackets and wires at risk. That means no taffy, gummies, caramels, toffee, popcorn, jelly beans, Tootsie Rolls, or Starbursts, and absolutely no gum. Any of these can pop or pull a bracket right off a tooth. It’s also important to avoid candies like M&Ms or Skittles, because their small size makes it easy for them to get into the wrong place and pop a bracket loose.

Check out this video for a reminder about banned foods and why to avoid them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do1VCqfiLgo

If you do end up with a bag full of banned treats, just trade those away to a friend or sibling without braces until your Halloween haul is all orthodontist-approved!

Don’t Forget To Clean Your Teeth!

The most important thing to remember after your night of fun and tasty treats is to take care of your teeth and your braces, because many of the treats that are safe to eat can still lead to tooth decay without proper attention to dental hygiene. So make sure to brush and floss away all traces of that sugary deliciousness. We’ll be checking the next time we see you that you’ve been keeping up with your braces cleaning routine!

Keep making wise choices to keep your braces safe!

What To Do In A Dental Emergency

WHEN WE THINK OF an emergency, we probably don’t imagine it could have something to do with our teeth. However, any chip, crack, or toothache should be treated as a priority, because even if they seem like minor issues, they can lead to much worse (and more expensive) problems down the line.

Know Where To Go

Before an emergency happens, there are steps you can take to prepare yourself and your family. The first is to find a dental practice that is right for you. This way, you’ll know where to turn when something goes wrong unexpectedly, and you won’t have to waste precious time looking up dental practices. You want a dentist who is within easy driving distance, has a good reputation, is within your price range, and who makes you and your family feel comfortable.

Common Dental Emergencies

In addition to knowing where to turn when an emergency happens, you can also prepare for dental emergencies by becoming educated on what you can do on the way to the dentist. Here are the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry’s recommendations for three common dental emergencies:

A Knocked Out Baby Tooth

If a baby tooth is knocked out, contact your dentist immediately. Most likely, even if the tooth was not loose, they will not replant it because it could compromise the developing permanent tooth underneath.

Fracture Of A Tooth

If a tooth is cracked, chipped, or broken, contact your dentist right away because this will need treatment as soon as possible. Rinse out your mouth with water and find any broken fragments of tooth, then place them in cold milk to preserve them and bring them with you to the dentist. Do not ignore a crack or chip! If the dental pulp is exposed, it is in danger of infection unless treated quickly!

Watch this video to learn about bonding, one way a dentist may repair a chipped tooth:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyPxbrnkLMk

A Knocked Out Permanent Tooth

If a permanent tooth is knocked out, head straight to the dentist. In most cases, a knocked out tooth can be saved if the dentist sees you within an hour of the accident. Before you get there, you can help preserve the tooth by replacing it in the socket and holding it in place with clean gauze or a washcloth. If it won’t go back in, store it in cold milk.

A few things you should NOT do if a permanent tooth gets knocked out are letting it dry out, handling it by the root, scrubbing it clean, or using soap, alcohol, or peroxide on it. Doing any of these things will damage the root of the tooth, reducing the chances the dentist will be able to successfully replant it.

We are Ready To Help!

Even if your tooth shows no external damage, a toothache is a sign that something could be wrong on the inside, and that should be seen by a dentist as soon as possible. Now, hopefully you will never have to put any of this preparation to the test, but if you do, you now know where to go! If you have any questions about what else you can do to prepare for a dental emergency, don’t hesitate to ask us.

Your dental health is our top priority!

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please feel free to contact us with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

4 Questions about Invisalign Answered

THE TIME WHEN getting braces meant spending years with a mouth full of metal that hooked to bulky headgear is long past. These days, traditional wire braces are more streamlined and discreet, but the option that has become increasingly popular for orthodontic treatment is the invisible aligner. How can you know if this option is right for you or your teen? Here are a few questions you can ask to find out.

1. What Orthodontic Problems Do Invisible Aligners Correct?
Invisible aligners are great for correcting issues with dental crowding or spacing. However, because they are removable and not anchored to any of your teeth, they can’t do much for problems with the bite or with jaw alignment. For those, Dr. Katie may recommend additional appliances or elastics attached to the aligners to overcome this issue. With a little creative ingenuity and a dedicated patient, Dr. Katie is able to treat a wide variety of cases with aligners.

2. How Long Will Invisible Aligner Treatment Take?
Treatment time with invisible aligners tends to be about the same as with traditional braces. How long it takes depends much more on what kind of issue is being corrected than what type of orthodontic treatment you’re using. Some problems simply take more time to correct, but no matter what, it’s worth it in the end!

3. Do Invisible Aligners Work For Teens?
Invisible aligners are a great option for teens and adults seeking to straighten their smiles. Invisible aligners are barely noticeable and can be removed for GREAT oral hygiene care.

See a Smile Success Story Here!

4. What Should I Expect With My Treatment?
Invisible aligners work in stages. You’ll receive a series of custom designed aligners that each move your teeth closer towards the final goal. Similar to how traditional braces patients come in on a regular basis to have their progress assessed and their braces adjusted, invisible aligner patients will receive their next set of aligner trays each time until they’re done. For either type of treatment, it’s important not to miss those appointments!

Still Have Questions? Just Ask Us!
Anyone who is seriously considering getting orthodontic treatment — invisible aligners or traditional wire braces — surely has more than these four questions to ask, but that’s what we’re here for! Simply schedule an initial consultation appointment with us and together we’ll be able to find out which type of treatment is perfect for you!

We can’t wait to help you get the smile of your dreams!