Invisalign Tips

Patients often ask, "Are there any tips to help movement as I am wearing my aligners"?  The answer is, that while everyone's teeth and dental needs are different, there are certain things you can do to make wearing Invisalign aligners a more rewarding experience.

Here are a few tips we give each patient when they initiate their Invisalign treatment:

• Always follow the instructions that you are given by Dr. Sondhi and Dr. Biggs.
• Continue flossing every day. You should be flossing on a regular basis. It is sometimes assumed that Invisalign will protect the teeth from bacteria, which is completely false. Bacteria can live behind the aligners and affect the health of your teeth and gums, which is why it is very important to continue with regular flossing.
• Follow the 48 hour rule. When you insert a new set of aligners, leave them in as much as possible during the first 48 hours. Your teeth will move more during this time, which means this is when the aligners are most active.
• Research studies suggest tooth movement is more predictable if aligners are worn more than 22 hours a day.
• Wearing aligners may sometimes cause slight discomfort, and regular over-the-counter pain relievers help alleviate this type of discomfort.  

As always, please feel free to contact any one of our Sondhi-Biggs Orthodontics team members with any questions or concerns regarding your treatment.

What's a Water Pik?

Dr. Sondhi, Dr. Biggs and the entire Sondhi-Biggs Orthodontics team understand that flossing is a time consuming and tiresome task at times. We recommend a Water Pik for just that reason.

A Water Pik helps to flush away the food and other bacteria that gets stuck around the brackets and on your teeth. The Water Pik is able to reach areas that you are not able to reach with floss, such as behind the wires engaged in your brackets. People who suffer from gum disease also find Water Piks quite effective because of their ability to flush out bacteria from inside any deep pockets between the teeth and gum tissue.

A Water Pik is braces friendly, and is also very gentle for the gum tissue. The use of a Water Pik is less aggressive, and doesn't cause bleeding that traditional flossing can cause in some patients. But, please remember that using a Water Pik is not a substitute for flossing.  It is simply a tool designed to "help" with flossing and cleaning in difficult to reach areas.

If you have questions about the Water Pik, flossing or any other part of your orthodontic treatment, please feel free to contact any one of our Sondhi-Biggs Orthodontics team members.

Confidence in Your Consultation

Your first visit in our office will  include a personal consultation with our doctors. You will find this visit to be extremely informative. Once you have arrived and checked in, you will be greeted by one of our Patient Coordinators. Because we request that health history forms be filled out and returned to our office prior to your initial consultation, we will have already contacted your general dentist, and obtained the necessary information regarding your history. This form can be sent to you via standard mail when the consultation is scheduled, or you may download it directly from our website for quick and convenient access.

One of the best ways to prepare for an orthodontic consultation is to understand your options. With so many choices available today, orthodontic care is a lot more versatile than in the past. You can start preparing now by seeking out and understanding the options. With a few specific things in mind, you can be totally confident and prepared for your consultation. Feel free to watch the Sondhi-Biggs Initial Consultation video on our website to learn more about our consultation process.

Once your consultation is complete, your options are not exhausted. If questions arise after the consultation, don't be afraid to ask. Our orthodontic team is always ready to help throughout the entire process.

With answers to your questions, and our orthodontic team on your side, you can be confident about any necessary orthodontic treatments. From the initial consultation to the day your braces are removed, your orthodontic treatment at Sondhi-Biggs Orthodontics promises to be a smooth and simple process.

What is Dentofacial Orthopedics?

 

You may have noticed that we specialize in orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics. And while most people we talk to have heard about orthodontics, many are confused by what "dentofacial orthopedics" means. Today, our team thought we would explain the difference.

While orthodontics entails the management of tooth movement, dentofacial orthopedics involves the guidance of jaw growth and facial development. This growth occurs during childhood, and is the reason why children between the ages of 7 and 12 are often the best candidates for receiving dentofacial orthopedic therapy. Dr. Sondhi and Dr. Biggs will examine and monitor your child's growth to determine the right age for starting treatment. During this phase, Dr. Sondhi and Dr. Biggs will use treatments designed to correct your child's jaw growth and make sure that the jaw bones are properly aligned before evaluating for the next phase of treatment, which involves braces to straighten the teeth.

With our younger patients, we know that the jaw bones are still forming, making it easier for our team at Sondhi-Biggs Orthodontics to modify bone growth and tooth movement. Adults, however, are a different story; their bones are no longer growing, and their jaw bones have matured, so it requires different treatment to adjust the bite and move teeth into proper alignment. Adults may also require some jaw surgery.

Because our team at Sondhi-Biggs Orthodontics is skilled in both areas, we are able to diagnose misalignments in the teeth and jaws as well as the facial structure, and can develop a treatment plan that integrates both orthodontic and dentofacial orthopedic treatments.

We hope that helps! To learn more about dentofacial orthopedics, and to find out if this type of treatment is right for your child, please contact our office and schedule and initial consultation for your child. It's never too late to get a great smile, and we can't wait to help you or your child get started.

What's your bottled water missing?

As more people 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! Because fluoride helps strengthen teeth, it is an important component of maintaining good oral health. Our friends at the American Dental Association have endorsed both community water fluoridation and the use of fluoride-containing products as a safe means of preventing tooth decay.

In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have also warned that "bottled water may not have a sufficient amount of fluoride, which is important for preventing tooth decay and promoting oral health." One 2012 study in the Journal of Pediatric Dentistry found that more than 65% of parents using bottled water did not know what levels of fluoride were contained in bottled water.

If bottled water happens to be the beverage of choice for you or your family, check the label to make sure your selected brand contains fluoride.  Of course, simply drinking fluoridated water is not a magic ticket to perfectly healthy teeth. To keep your pearly whites in tip-top shape, it's important to brush and floss daily while avoid sugary sweets, in addition to maintaining your fluoride intake.

Questions about fluoride? Give any of our Sondhi-Biggs Orthodontics team members a call. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Straight teeth are just one of several benefits you get from braces.....

Everyone wants a naturally aligned and beautiful smile, and it is no secret that orthodontic braces can help deliver one. However, there are greater benefits to wearing braces than just having straight teeth. You'll also gain many oral health benefits.


Tooth Decay and Gum Disease

Crooked or crowded teeth may overlap and create tight spaces in between. This can make it very difficult to brush and floss effectively, allowing bacteria and plaque to build up, which eventually leads to tooth decay and gum disease. With orthodontic treatment, your teeth will become properly aligned and spaced, which allows for more effective brushing and flossing.

Difficulties with Speech

Your teeth play an essential role in speech. When they are out of line or lean too far forward or backward, speech patterns can be affected. Braces will readjust the positioning of the teeth to allow for clearer pronunciation.

Bone Erosion

Without the support of the teeth, bone and gum tissues begin to erode. This is also true for poorly aligned teeth that leave gaps and spaces, or place too much pressure on the jawbone due to a misaligned bite. With braces, the bones and tissues are less likely to erode, allowing for continued support for the teeth in their new alignment.

Digestion

Your teeth play an important role in digestion. Before food ever enters your stomach, it has been partially digested during the chewing process. If teeth are severely misaligned, they may not play their role in breaking down food as effectively as they should. With braces, your teeth will be straightened into optimal alignment for eating and chewing.

Our doctors and staff at Sondhi-Biggs Orthodontics will be happy to answer any of your questions about orthodontic treatment. Visit our YouTube channel and watch our "Introduction to Orthodontics" video to learn more.

Indirect Bonding

Many of our patients at Sondhi-Biggs Orthodontics ask us about indirect bonding, a method of applying braces to the teeth in such a manner that an entire set of braces can be applied at once, usually in less than an hour. In many orthodontic offices, braces are placed on each individual tooth, one at a time. The procedure required meticulous, long, painstaking sessions for both patient and doctor, to ensure each bracket was in the correct position, especially in the back of the mouth. Indirect bonding helps provide more accurate placement of braces, and therefore makes the process more precise and efficient .

Indirect Bonding Process

Indirect bonding is a techniques in which molds of the teeth are made and most of the work for the braces is done in the lab. It is a remarkable process that depends on our ability to make particularly accurate models of your teeth. Much detail goes into the accurate measurement and alignment of the model, since your mouth is naturally unique to you.

The braces are placed on the models of the teeth, exactly in the right place, fitted into the trays made on the model, and sealed and cured.

Setting the Braces

When you come to Sondhi-Biggs Orthodontics to have your molds made, your braces are made from the molds of your own teeth. All that remains is a short appointment to fit the trays onto your teeth, align them, and separate the braces from the trays.

Your own teeth will have to undergo some preparatory work in order to accept the braces. This involves preparing the surface of the teeth for the adhesive for the braces, as well as preparing the surfaces of any crowns. You will also have a short period to wait while the adhesive cures.

All the other work that would traditionally have been done in the orthodontist's chair has been done on the models, and by the time the orthodontist sees you for the appointment to place your braces, your braces are precisely aligned to your teeth, Visit our YouTube Channel on our website to view the basics of this process. Indirect Bonding is just another example of how Sondhi-Biggs Orthodontics is Smiles Above the Rest.