How much sugar is in your drink?

Pop is no longer an occasional treat. It has become a daily habit for a growing number of people, especially kids, teens and young adults. A steady diet of soft drinks is the leading cause of tooth decay.

Following are a few tips on how to help reduce the possibility of decay:

• Drink soft drinks in moderation.
• Don't sip for extended periods of time. Ongoing sipping prolongs sugar and acid attacks on your teeth.
• Use a straw to help keep the sugar away from your teeth.
• After drinking, swish your mouth out with water to dilute the sugar.
• Never drink soda or juice before bed because the liquid pools in your mouth, coating your tongue and teeth with sugar and acid.
• Drink water instead of soft drinks. It has no sugar, no acid and no calories.
• Get regular check-ups and cleanings to remove bacteria build-up (plaque) and floss, too.
• Use a fluoride toothpaste to protect your teeth.

Pop contains more sugar than you think. Listed below are a few common drinks and the amount of sugar they contain:

Barq's Root Beer 11 tsp        

Minute Maid Orange Juice 9 tsp

Sprite10 tsp    

Mtn Dew 12 tsp     

  SoBe Energy Citrus 12 tsp    

Minute Maid Lemonade 10 tsp  

Gatorade 5tsp

Coca-Cola Classic 10 tsp

 

The next time you go to take a drink, check the label; you may be surprised. If you have any further questions, please contact any one of our Sondhi-Biggs Orthodontics team members.

"To be or not to be"

Should the consultation be or not be "Free"... that is the Question.

Some orthodontic practices advertise that their consultation is "free". As the old phrase goes, nothing is really free. It's likely that the cost of the consultation is added into the cost of the treatment fee.  Dr. Sondhi and Dr. Biggs are specially trained Orthodontists, and their education and experience is valuable. Our consultation fee is minimal and worth every penny. Would you choose a neurologist or heart surgeon based on a "free" consultation? If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any one of our Sondhi-Biggs Orthodontics team members.

What if my Child is older?

Even if your child is past the age of 7, it is important to have an orthodontic check-up as soon as possible. The fact is that most orthodontic patients begin active treatment between ages 9 and 14. Of course, every child is different and generally speaking, because children are still growing, this age range is optimal for achieving the best possible result from orthodontic treatment.

Orthodontic treatment can be successful at almost any age. In fact, about one in five orthodontic patients today is over age 18. Thanks to today's smaller, less visible, more comfortable brackets, adults are finding braces more appealing. Healthy teeth, bones and gums respond well to orthodontic treatment at almost any age. It's never too late to get a healthy, beautiful smile.

It's not always easy to tell when your child has an orthodontic problem.  Even teeth that look straight might be hiding a dysfunctional bite, which is why it's important to take your child for that initial orthodontic check-up no later than age 7. Here are some examples that may indicate orthodontic attention is necessary:

• Early or late loss of baby teeth.
• Difficulty with chewing or biting
• Breathing through the mouth
• Thumb-sucking
• Crowded, misplaced or blocked-out teeth
• Jaws that appear too far forward or back
• Biting the cheek or biting into the roof of the mouth
• Protruding teeth
• Upper and lower teeth that do not meet together, or meet in an abnormal way
• An unbalanced facial appearance
• Grinding or clenching of the teeth

If any of these issues sound familar regarding your own children, please feel free to contact any one of our Sondhi-Biggs Orthodontics team members to discuss your concerns further.

They come from all over...

 

On March 15-16, Sondhi-Biggs Orthodontics will be hosting one of our in-office courses. Dr. Sondhi will be teaching other doctors from around the world what our office does on a daily basis that makes us "Smiles Above the Rest." For this course, 10 doctors and their staff members will travel a combined total approximately 13,000 miles in order to learn information and treatment mechanics for enhancing in their practices. This two-day course instructs doctors about many of the procedures and office protocols we use on a daily basis.

Is this space normal?

Over the past couple of decades there has been a shift in orthodontic treatment from extracting teeth to expanding the dental arches when crowding is present. Expanders work great, but there are some temporary side effects that can catch parents by surprise. One of those being the opening and eventual closing of a gap between the front teeth.

 

The palate, or roof of the mouth, is made up of two bones joined together in the center by what is called the suture. When a patient is young, this suture is made of stretchable cartilage, and is the area where growth takes place. Expanders take advantage of the still pliable growth plate if they are used before it becomes fused. One sign that the expander has actually moved the two halves of the palate apart is the appearance of a space between the front teeth. The central incisors (2 front teeth) are located on different sides of the growth plate and they spread apart as the palate is expanded. The result is a visible gap between the teeth. This gap is normal and a desired consequence of expansion.

Once the expander has provided the desired amount of expansion, the orthodontist will typically leave it in place for approximately 8-10 weeks, to hold the two halves of the palate apart while new bone develops between them.

During this stabilizing period, the gap created during the expansion tends to close on its own. This happens slowly over time, but it surprises many parents the first time they notice it is smaller or gone altogether. Understandably, many parents call our office worried that the expansion has slipped and that the benefits achieved during the activation have been lost, however, this is not the case.

During palatal expansion, two forces are present on the teeth. The force created by the expander pushes the palate apart and a gap appears between the teeth. At the same time, an opposite force produced by the gum tissues is active on the teeth. Just like other soft tissues in the body, the gums are elastic. As the expander pushes outward, the gum tissue pulls the teeth back together. This can be observed by comparing the size of the gap between the teeth with the amount of expansion visible on the expander. Rarely will the size of the gap between the teeth ever get as large as the distance between the two sides of the expander because the teeth start moving back together even before expansion is complete. In fact, it is not uncommon for the gap between the two front teeth to be completely closed by the time the expander is removed.

Knowing ahead of time that an expander could create a gap between the front teeth and that it will go away on its own is reassuring. If what you see in your mouth or in the mouth of your child does not seem to follow the pattern described above, give any one of our Sondhi-Biggs Orthodontics team members a call and let us know.

What's on your mind?

 

By now, you're probably familiar with our blog writing process: Each week, we write about important orthodontic topics, including the treatment we proudly offer, and other miscellaneous subjects regarding dental and orthodontic well-being.

This week, though, we thought we'd step back and ask you, our amazing patients:what's on your mind? What would you like to know about the ever-changing and exciting field of orthodontics? Is there something you would like us to focus on in our blog? Perhaps you have wanted to ask us something for a while now? This is your opportunity! Let us know by emailing or posting on our Facebook page, or contact any one of our Sondhi-Biggs team members, and we'll try to answer any questions you may have!

American Heart Month!

In the past couple of weeks, we have covered subjects pertaining to children's dental health because February is "National Children's Dental Health Month." It is also American Heart Month, which is a great time to take note of the health of your heart, as cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the world, according to the American Heart Association. Studies have shown a correlation between gum disease and heart disease, so please be careful not to under estimate the importance of good oral health care, especially while undergoing orthodontic treatment.

Visiting your dentist on a regular basis during your orthodontic treatment not only ensures a successful outcome, but can also help prevent gum disease, or at the very least, catch it in early stages. In observation of American Hearth Month, it's also important to keep track of numbers such as blood pressure, cholesterol, and BMI, and seek appropriate treatment if necessary.


If you have any questions about heart health, the importance of visiting your dentist, or your orthodontic treatment, please don't hesitate to contact any of our Sondhi-Biggs Orthodontics team members.