Colored Braces?

Believe it or not, most children are really excited to get their braces. What is the first question they ask? Can I have colored braces? The answer to that is a definite YES!

Just in case you didn’t already know, the actual brackets or braces that are placed on the teeth are not colored. The colors are obtained by little elastics that get wrapped around each bracket. Every time your child comes for an appointment they can choose different colors. We have every color under the rainbow. They can choose their team colors, holiday colors, or go with almost any color they can imagine.

Guess what, the colored elastics are just not for the kids. Many of our adults like to go with their inner child! Go wild with colors!

Retainers for Life-You’re Kidding, Right?

Now let me explain. Retainers are important for a lifetime because as we age teeth shift just like other body parts, right? Even people who never had braces and always had straight teeth might see some changes occurring later in life.

At Dr. George’s we recommend full time retainer wear for the first six months after your braces are removed. That means 24 hours a day. You can take them out when you eat and brush your teeth. After the first six months you can go down to night time wear. It is important to keep this up for a year. At that time, it is okay to reduce it down to a couple of nights a week to maintain the alignment. If you want them to remain straight for the rest of your life, keep this simple routine up.

We have many adults who had braces as youngsters and are back in braces now because they didn’t wear their retainers. Your retainer is your guarantee that your teeth will stay straight and your smile beautiful for the rest of your life!

Are Dental X-rays Safe?

First of all let’s talk about how x-rays work. When an x-ray is taken the rays strike the film that is behind the teeth and this creates an image on the film. This not only shows the dentist if you have decay or gum disease but it shows cysts, abscesses and tumors.

The panalipse x-ray that we take at Dr. George’s shows us impacted, missing or extra teeth. It also shows us if your child’s permanent teeth are erupting properly and if there is adequate spacing. Dr. George recommends taking a panalipse at your first visit, before orthodontic treatment begins, during the course of orthodontic treatment and also upon completion of orthodontic treatment in order to monitor tooth eruption and treatment progress. If a tooth is not erupting properly it is better to know this early. Often times some early interceptive care can help guide teeth in the right direction when necessary.

You are exposed to many sources of radiation every day including; sun exposure, minerals in the soil, and from home appliances.  The amount of radiation to which you are exposed during the taking of dental x-rays is extremely small. In comparison, the amount of radiation you are exposed to during a panalipse x-ray is comparable to the amount you would be exposed to during a flight from Seattle to Los Angeles. Without the ability to see inside a tooth and beneath the gums, more disease would go unchecked and more teeth would be lost because proper treatment wasn’t started in time. If some dental problems are found and treated early, dental care is more comfortable and affordable. Dental x-rays are not without risk, but the risk is minuscule compared with the huge diagnostic benefit of keeping your natural teeth healthy and disease free.