Orthodontic Elastics

Why, Oh WHY must I wear my orthodontic elastics 24/7?!

WELL – here’s the reason:  The 10 HOUR FORCE THEORY

It says that tooth movement will only happen after a special work area has been set up in your mouth. You can’t see this work area because it is under your gum tissue and all around the roots of your teeth. By wearing rubber bands for about 10 straight hours, the special work area has been fully formed and will allow the teeth to start moving. Once you stop wearing the elastics, your body will eliminate the work area and change everything back to normal.

 If you leave your elastics out for longer than it takes you to eat, you will need to restart the initial 10 hour set up time.  It is a misconception that you can just “build” upon previous hours put in. Patients that wear elastics only “half time” will see almost no progress at all.

So, if you want to get your braces off sooner, you will need maximum tooth movement. And that only happens with elastic wear 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. By doing it the right way, you have full control of your orthodontic treatment. 

Flossing with Braces

Let’s talk about flossing –YES – the dreaded subject. Why is it that even just the word “flossing” brings forth a feeling of automatic fatigue? Perhaps because it is in fact a time consuming practice. However, we believe that if we can fully understand the value and benefit in it, you will see to it that you make it a daily practice. We will also introduce you to the Platypus orthodontic flosser and we are convinced you will become an avid flosser with this wonderful tool!

Now, first things first, did you know that our             

gums hold plaque like a pocket can hold stuff?

When we leave plaque in our gums we are

essentially leaving our “gum pockets” full,

which eventually causes them to detach from the teeth.

Picture a fence post that is

held in place by dirt or cement. If the substance

that is anchoring the post begins to recede,

then eventually that post will become mobile

and eventually come out. Make sense?  

The devastating result with teeth is that once our gum and bone tissue have been dissolved away from the teeth, there is no re-attachment - it is simply gone.  When the gums start to melt away, this causes painful sensitivity  and in severe cases, loss of teeth. This is why flossing is imperative. We must make sure to empty out our gum pockets everyday just like we empty out the trash. There is only so much that can be held before a “breakdown” begins.  Not to mention the red, bubbling, bleeding when you brush, and bad odor when you speak - other side effects.

With braces, flossing is even harder to do because the floss hits the wires. But a special took is available for people with braces. It is called the Platypus orthodontic flossing tool.  

This nifty little tool makes flossing both easier and less time consuming! Check out http://www.platypusco.com/

Why do I like working at Dr. Staples office?

The first reason why I love, love, LOVE to work at Staples Orthodontics is because we are treated kindly and lovingly.  There is a lot of respect amongst each other, which makes for a dynamic team.  I also love the quality of patients we get to work with and how much fun they are.  I must also mention our office "First Aid Kit"  in the break room filled with chocolates for the 3 p.m. crash and the Thursday morning bagels and cream cheese brought in weekly.  Not only is Dr. Staples an excellent orthodontist, the atmosphere at Staples Orthodontics is always friendly, always caring and always fun!    **Jennifer**

Musical Instruments and Braces

Are there major problems with wearing braces and playing musical instruments?  The answer is No, and that is Good News!  Over the years, I have been asked this question numerous times and I have always encouraged my patients to go ahead and musically rock their world. 

In the beginning, your ability to play wind and brass instruments will be affected by the new braces, but eventually your lips and the mouthpiece will get used to each other.  Meanwhile, the music may sound a little funny as your embouchure tries to figure this whole thing out.  Once settled in though, your lip muscles will get back to their usual activity and beautiful music will fill the air.  By placing a small amount of orthodontic wax over the braces on the front teeth, any irritations will be kept under control.  Eventually though, your braces will come off and you will have to go through the adaptation process again, but this time with straight teeth.

As an orthodontist, the last thing I want to see is a compounding of an orthodontic problem with a musical instrument, but frequently, this is unavoidable.  For example, someone with a large overjet (protruding upper front teeth) should probably not play the clarinet or saxophone while undergoing orthodontic correction, but the mouthpiece fits very nicely into this type of mouth and is literally perfect for this musician!  Professionally speaking, for these types of bites I would suggest an instrument such as the oboe, flute or a brass instrument. :(

And once in awhile, we run into people who can't get used to anything, much less braces.  If you are one of those musicians, remember you can always find something in the lowly strings or percussion sections.

J. Staples DDS (First Chair-First Trombone)

Invisalign Problems

"Nobody knows I'm wearing Invisalign"

Despite its popularity, Invisalign treatment has had a mixed track record of not only producing beautiful success stories, but also of being associated with horrendous failures.  This orthodontic appliance system requires a number of critical steps to be accomplished before the finished result can become the desired result.

Problems can be attributed to the aligners themselves, the treating doctor and the patient.  These problems include:
    Patient cooperation - not wearing the aligners the proper amount of time
    The presence of crooked teeth at the end of treatment
    The presence of height discrepancies between adjacent teeth
    The presence of "open bites" or even wrong bites on the back teeth
    Teeth that lean the wrong way
    The inability of the orthodontist to do subtle finishing details

Orthodontists struggle with overcoming these Invisalign problems and will use traditional braces as a fail safe mechanism to produce a properly finished orthodontic result.  In the hands of a general dentist that has no formal orthodontic training, patients are many times left with an unsatisfactory result and the parting remark of "Well, that's the best Invisalign can do".

In order to finish their orthodontic problems properly, about 50% of my Invisalign cases required traditional braces after the aligners.  These patients were understandably frustrated with the progress and effectiveness of Invisalign.  Only after a short period of braces were they finally satisfied with their smiles.

Personally, I don't like working with any orthodontic appliance system that only provides me with a 50% chance of success.  Add to this the patient frustration and you begin to see the point.  I do realize though, that many patients are sold on this system despite the problems.  On mild crowding or spaced teeth, maybe this is the right tool to use, or maybe not.

As a side note, Invisalign is constantly working to overcome or minimize the short-comings of their orthodontic appliance system.  Nevertheless, there is no fix for problems associated with poor patient cooperation or seeking Invisalign services from a dentist that is not an orthodontic specialist.  On the bright side, I do look forward to using an improved version at some time in the future.

J. Staples DDS

Critical Timing for Orthodontic Examinations

Even though the American Association of Orthodontists recommends that a child's first orthodontic exam should take place at age 7, a very critical time for a more detailed look is at age 9.  We all know what crooked teeth look like after they have come into the mouth, but before they erupt, when they are working their way into the mouth, big trouble can be present.

Very often, unerupted permanent teeth want to come in the mouth in surprisingly odd positions. Of particular concern are the canine teeth in the top jaw, often called eye teeth. They are notorious for not only erupting in odd positions, but for the damage they can do. If left unattended, they can literally wipe out the roots of other permanent teeth or possibly erupt in such a bad way that permanent gum tissue damage occurrs.

For the 9 year old child, an orthodontist can take a panorex xray to evaluate the eruption paths of all of the developing permanent teeth and to critically look at the upper eye teeth. Are they erupting in the right direction and is there the proper amount of space for them to come in?  If things don't look good, early orthodontic treatment may be necessary to keep them out of trouble.