Vacation with Your Braces By Richard J. Moses, III, D.M.D.

Vacation with Your Braces 

By Richard J. Moses, III, D.M.D.

Tis the season for vacations! With only a matter of weeks until school starts and four months until Christmas, it’s time to go on vacation. Aside from vacation, Summer is also the “busy season” for getting your braces. Insiders tip: Do you want to see your orthodontist without the office busting at the seams with patients? If so, schedule your appointment in September after school starts and you will have the opportunity to spend some quality time with your friendly neighborhood orthodontist.

If you and your family are anything like mine, you will not even consider what to do about a potential orthodontic emergency until either you are already in the car on the way to the beach or it actually happens. Never fear, I shall review some of the most common orthodontic emergencies and how to handle them by yourself. You read that correctly, you are able to manage most orthodontic emergencies by yourself or with the help of a caring individual willing to stick their hands into your mouth until you can get to your orthodontist.

If you don't feel comfortable dealing with the emergency or just need some reassurance, call your orthodontist. They will be able to direct you in the appropriate course of action and get you back out to the beach pronto. Keep in mind that most locations in the world also have excellent dentists and orthodontists that are usually very sympathetic to your emergent orthodontic needs while on vacation. Make sure that you do follow up with your orthodontist as soon as possible.

Sore spots and irritations inside your mouth: Before you leave for vacation, take some of the free wax that your orthodontist gave to you along with you on the trip. Orthodontic wax is also available in most pharmacies and grocery stores in the dental isle. Pinch off a small piece and roll it into a pea shape ball. Place this on the offending brace. You can also use a small piece of sugarless chewing gum, chew it up, roll it into a ball or hotdog shape, and place it on the brace. Warm saltwater mouth rinses may also help the area heal.

Poking wire: If the poking wire is twisted and looks like “pig-tail” you may be able to use the eraser end of a pencil to gently push it back into position so that it no longer is poking you. Sometimes the wire “walks” out of the back brace and pokes your cheek. If this happens, try to use the eraser end of a pencil to push the wire flush against the teeth. Placing wax or sugarless chewing gum may also help in this situation. You should make your orthodontist aware of this problem as soon as possible.

Loose brace: Although the brace is no longer on the tooth, it is usually still on the wire. In this situation you should call your orthodontist for the best course of action. You may need to have the brace removed the from the wire by an orthodontist to prevent accidental swallowing or other damage.

Have a great vacation and don't worry about your braces. Murphy’s law states that since you now know what to do in an emergency, you will not have any problems!

Richard J. Moses, III, D.M.D. is a dual trained orthodontist and pediatric dentist at Gettysburg Dental Associates and Just Kids. He specializes in child and adult orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry.

Gettysburg Dental Associates
Eric Seidel, DMD  |  Cleveland Null, DDS
www.GettysburgDentalAssociates.com 
Just Kids at Gettysburg Dental Associates
Stephanie DeFilippo, DDS  |  Kristin Russo, DMD
www.JustKidsGettysburg.com
353 York Street Front
Gettysburg, PA 17325
Phone: (717) 334-8193
Fax: (717) 334-0884
www.gettysburgfamilysmiles.com

Braces and Babies By Richard J. Moses, III, D.M.D.

Braces and Babies

 By Richard J. Moses, III, D.M.D. 

“Kids are getting braces at a younger age than they did when I was a child.” Does this sound familiar? I’ve said it myself! I’ve even wondered in the past why the 8-year-old child sitting in my pediatric dental chair had braces on the only two adult teeth that they had. That was then; now as a trained orthodontist, I am considering when the appropriate time to begin orthodontic therapy on my 6-year old son will be. Six seems mighty young to begin orthodontic therapy on a child! When you consider that there is possible irreversible adverse skeletal growth occurring, it does not seem as far-fetched any more.

Evaluation and guidance of jaw growth is just one thing that a dentist trained in orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics (an orthodontist for short) does for a growing child. Orthodontists are dentists that have 2-3 years of formal specialized training beyond dental school. We can spot subtle jaw imbalances and tooth emergence problems before all the baby teeth have fallen out. Even though your child’s teeth may look beautiful, straight, and white, there may be a developing problem that only an orthodontist would notice.

The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that all children have an orthodontic check-up no later than age 7. Most children don’t need braces at this age, but an orthodontist can evaluate them and develop an appropriate and customized monitoring program for them. If they do need treatment, the orthodontist can determine the most advantageous time for therapy. Waiting until the completion of facial growth may be a disadvantage.

Although a thorough orthodontic evaluation is the safest way to rule out growth and development problems in a child, there are several things that you can look for:

• Baby teeth that have fallen out too soon or too late 
• Prolonged sucking on fingers or thumbs 
• Difficulty with speech • Teeth that are in the wrong places 
• Teeth or jaw that sticks out or protrudes (“bucky”) 
• Difficulty with biting or a bite that does not “look right” 
• Difficulty breathing through the nose or routine mouth breathing 
• Facial imbalance 
• Teeth or jaw that is too far back (“underbite”) 
• Upper and lower front teeth that don’t touch when biting (open bite) 
• Cheek biting (crossbite) or lower front teeth that bite the roof of the mouth (deep bite) 

It’s not a bad idea to have a specialist on your side; although, not everyone needs orthodontic treatment. It’s never too late; so even if your child is older than 7, head over to your orthodontist for a check-up. While you’re there, feel free to ask that burning question that you have about your own teeth! Orthodontics and technology have come a long way since we were kids. Braces (and aligners) are not just for kids anymore; moms and dads are sporting them as well!

Richard J. Moses, III, D.M.D. is a dual trained orthodontist and pediatric dentist at Gettysburg Dental Associates. He specializes in child and adult orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry.

Gettysburg Dental Associates
Eric Seidel, DMD  |  Cleveland Null, DDS
www.GettysburgDentalAssociates.com
Just Kids at Gettysburg Dental Associates
Stephanie DeFilippo, DDS  |  Kristin Russo, DMD
www.JustKidsGettysburg.com
353 York Street Front
Gettysburg, PA 17325
Phone: (717) 334-8193
Fax: (717) 334-0884
www.gettysburgfamilysmiles.com

Occlusion: What's the big deal?!

Occlusion: What's the big deal?! By Eric Seidel, DMD 

The term occlusion is used widely in dentistry. There are differing schools of thought on how to achieve it, what is ideal and why it is the essence of quality dentistry. There is one thing everyone agrees on: if occlusion is ignored if can cause the breakdown of the teeth, gums, bone, TMJ and even the failure of restorations and crowns that we use to protect teeth.

What is occlusion? Essentially, it is how our teeth come together. Malocclusion, or a "bad bite", is when this relationship is flawed and often destructive. The importance of trying to achieve an ideal bite is often ignored as it is easier to look at the mouth as a tooth by tooth system and discuss where a filling is needed here or a crown there, rather than spending the time to evaluate the entire bite system and create a plan that will correct the malocclusion that plagues so many people. One of the first things we do during a new patient or emergency examination is to evaluate the bite. It gives us an instant understanding of what the individual is facing when trying to become dentally healthy. After their initial emergency or chief concern is addressed, we always revisit the topic of occlusion and what we have available to be able to improve our patient's short and long term dental health. These can include equilibration, or readjustment of the existing bite to get both sides to meet more equally, especially during function. Nightguards are a good idea for anyone that shows signs of bruxing (grinding) or clenching and helps offset the damage that can occur to the teeth and gums while sleeping. Amazingly, most patients are unaware of their bruxism but the signs are very easy to recognize and hard to ignore. Invisalign or braces are an even better way to create ideal occlusion. Through an uprighting and repositioning of the teeth we can get them to function the way they were intended. This improves the health of the mouth during function and during rest. However, if a person is a bruxer a nightguard or retainer is still required at the end of treatment.

Choosing to do nothing results in recession, bone loss and broken or cracked teeth, fillings and crowns. TMJ issues can also result from poor occlusion. Whenever a restoration (filling or crown) fails the first thing that should be evaluated before redoing it is what caused it to fail in the first place. Most often is isn't the bagel they bit into or the gum they were chewing. These were simply the "straws that broke the camel's back". The fillings or crowns were weakened from a repeatedly destructive bite and simply broken during very routine use. Dental materials have improved greatly and are also rarely the problem if placed properly and used for their intended applications. It is important to learn from history and decipher what is the root cause of any failure. Much can be learned from these moments if the proper tests and time are taken.

I should have entitled this article "Occlusion: The Biggest Deal". I would encourage you to have your bite evaluated and see the advances that modern dentistry can provide for your long term dental health. You will be pleasantly surprised how simply, easily and painlessly we can make a profound difference in your dental health.

Eric Seidel, D.M.D. is a general dentist at Drs. Null, Seidel and Dental Associates and an Invisalign preferred provider. 

Drs. Null, Seidel & Dental Associates  
353 York Street Front
Gettysburg, PA 17325
(717) 334-8193

Great Ways to Improve Your Smile # 5

Braces
While orthodontic work that begins while a child is growing helps produce optimal results, that doesn’t mean that adults can’t have braces. Thanks to advances in orthodontic treatments, metal brackets are not your only option. Removable aligners, or invisible braces,î or clear plastic brackets can all be used to straighten crooked or crowded teeth.

The above article is from: MouthHealthy.org

Drs. Null, Seidel & Dental Associates  
353 York Street Front
Gettysburg, PA 17325
(717) 334-8193