Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Play It Safe!

Uptown Orthodontics encourages kids to "play it safe" and consistently wear mouth guards and other protective gear during sports competitions and practices.

Football, soccer, baseball, hockey, basketball, and many other youth sports can all be hard hitting, and we want to ensure that our patients, and their teammates, are properly protected from sports related injuries to the jaw and mouth. Injuries to the mouth and jaw can do a lot of damage and some can result in months of intense treatment to repair. Facial protection is an easy step in preventing trips to the emergency room.

Many kids are not wearing mouth guards during sporting competitions and practices. Parents, coaches and kids need to understand the prevalence of sports injuries and know that many sports injuries can be reduced or prevented by wearing the proper protective gear.

If you have braces we recommend that you use boil and bite mouth guards.  Your teeth will be changing so much that it wouldn't be worth spending the money on custom fitting, professional mouth guards until your orthodontic treatment is complete.

We're proud to do our part to help by hosting mouth guard clinics for the teams we sponsor.  

Myths About Braces

MYTH: Orthodontists should only be seen for the more challenging cases
FACT: Orthodontists are specially trained to handle both simple and complex cases. Furthermore, their training enables them to complete all cases with the most efficient and effective techniques available.

MYTH: My family dentist says he can straighten my teeth for me.
FACT: Not only do Orthodontists attend continuing education courses to keep themselves up-to-date on the available techniques but they also had 2-3 years more schooling than most family dentists.

MYTH: Braces are for kids.
FACT: According to the American Association of Orthodontists, 1 in 5 patients are adults. It's common for adults who decided not to or could not have braces at a younger age to decide that they simply aren't happy with their smile. Teeth can be straightened at any age.

MYTH: Braces are painful and take 2 or more years for the desired results.
FACT: Here at Uptown Orthodontics we use a technique that is less lengthy and less painful than traditional braces. 

MYTH: Braces are ugly and call attention to themselves.
FACT: Some forms of braces used now are nearly invisible.

For more myths and facts please visit the AAO website at;http://www.braces.org/index.cfm