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February has officially arrived! This is a great time to “brush up” on your child’s dental hygiene in honor of National Children’s Dental Health Month! The tips below won’t only benefit the kiddos, however. Parents should take note too!

Dental care for your child begins in infancy. The bacteria in your mouth is dynamic and changes as kids age. Brushing always is important but becomes even more so with each candle you add to the birthday cake.

Getting your child to brush their teeth every day, twice a day can prove challenging and exhausting at times but don’t give up! Just keep telling them to do it. Building a habit takes time, but it ultimately pays off when you teach your child healthy habits that will last the rest of their life. When your child undergoes orthodontic treatment the diligence of their oral hygiene routine becomes even more important. If you don't brush while having braces, it will leave spots.

When it comes to selecting toothpaste for your child I would choose one with minimal amounts of fluoride. Kids aren't great at swallowing so less fluoride actually is better. No more than a pea-size amount of toothpaste is necessary - that is plenty!

One of the most important parts of maintaining a healthy smile is maintaining a healthy diet! Diet becomes particularly important while undergoing orthodontic treatment. Smoothies and veggie-packed soups are great, especially for kids with sore teeth from braces.

As for when to bring your child in for their first appointment, it can vary. For dental visits, it used to be 3 years old, but the American Association of Pediatrics now recommends younger. For ortho, the recommended age is 7 years old. Sounds early, but that is what the AAO recommends! Here is a link where you can learn more: https://www.bethesdaorthodontics.com/early-orthodontic-treatment

If your child is worried or scared about their oral health visits, be mindful about projecting your own anxiety. Try not to refer to your own difficult dental stories! Preparing your child well before their first appointment is highly encouraged, but talking through their worries is better than falling back on past experiences.

And, when in doubt, go the library! There is a great book called "Smile" that explains orthodontia and its benefits. I've had children tell me that it really prepared them to come in for their first appointment. Like the book (it's a graphic novel), my office is colorful and inviting. And we always smile!

If you have any questions or concerns or want to learn more, our team is always happy to discuss them with you—any time of year! We should celebrate children's dental health every month!

When we think braces, we can’t help but think of the brackets on each tooth and the colorful ligature bands that surround them. But actually, the whole point of those brackets and bands is to hold the archwire in place as it gradually moves your teeth to create a better bite and a straighter smile. Let’s learn more about this talented part of your braces!

• Wire We Wearing These, Anyway?

Archwires use gentle, continuous pressure to move your teeth into alignment. That sounds simple, but there is actually a lot going on. Teeth often need more than realigning. Some teeth need to be turned a bit, some tilted. Your teeth need to be better aligned with those next to them, of course, but also need to fit properly with the teeth above or below them. You might have a malocclusion, or bad bite.

How can one wire handle all that? Well, it can’t. That’s why there are different types of wire. We often use thinner, flexible wires at the beginning of treatment, to put gentle pressure on the teeth as they start their movement. Other wires are firmer, and can be helpful in later phases, when each tooth is carefully moved to its specific, ideal spot. Archwires can be round or rectangular, thicker or thinner, springy or stiff, remember their shape or be bendable—all depending on what they need to do.

Whew! This sounds confusing, but we're archwire experts! At every adjustment appointment, we check on the progress of your alignment and choose the exact wire you need to take you to the next stage of your orthodontic journey.

• Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Wire

Now that you have braces, it’s more challenging to make sure that your teeth are clean after eating. We’ll give you advice on how to get rid of the pesky food particles that sometimes get stuck in your braces. First, that’s absolutely not the look you’re going for. But, more than that, bacteria can use these “leftovers” as fuel to create the acids that damage your enamel and cause cavities.

There’s a whole new world of dental products out there waiting to help get your braces clean. Special toothbrush heads work in the spaces between your teeth and the archwire. There are floss threaders that can get dental floss into tight places, and flosses with one stiff end you can guide under the wire so you can direct the floss to where it’s needed. There are even tiny cone-shaped brushes called “interproximal brushes” that can fit under your wires to clean around your brackets and teeth.

Take a care kit to school or work with you so you can keep the tooth surface under your wires and around your brackets free of plaque. After all the hard work you’ve put in with your braces, the last thing you want is cavities once you’ve achieved your beautiful smile!

• Down to the Wire

We said archwires were awesome, but we didn’t say they were perfect! We couldn’t leave without suggestions for handling any wire-related problems that might come up.

One of the most common problems is the irritation caused by the end of a wire that has somehow come loose. You might be able to use a cotton swab to gently push the wire flat against the tooth. If that doesn’t work, orthodontic wax can be used to cover the end of the problem wire and smoothed into place. We’ll provide you with instructions on how to handle these and other minor wire problems at home.

Other problems should be run past us first. If you feel your wire is coming loose, or if a loose end is causing a lot of pain and irritation, call our Washington D.C. office. We’ll give you instructions on how to help, and make an appointment if necessary for a professional fix.

In fact, call us anytime you have questions about your braces. We’re here to help you understand each phase of the orthodontic process as you move step by step on the path to a healthy bite and a beautiful smile. And what’s more awesome than that?

Time.

There really does not seem to be enough of it these days and, with all due respect to the fathers who come through my office door (and there are a lot of them!), balancing work from home and school from home is taking the harshest toll on mothers.

Consider this telling statistic: in December 2020, the American economy lost a net 140,000 jobs. Men actually gained 16,000 jobs, but women lost 156,000. Last fall, Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer, and founder of the LeanIn.Org, Sheryl Sandberg urged companies to be more flexible – or risk losing their top female talent.

I hear the stress in the voices of the mothers who come into my office, whether they hold jobs outside of being wife and parent or not. This crisis has taken a toll.

The medical community can make things just a tiny bit easier by embracing digital technologies that allow us to check in and follow up with our patients virtually.

Both of my offices use Dental Monitoring by DentalMind, for example. With the app on iOS and Android, patients capture their treatment progress, communicate them to my office, and receive any necessary instructions or changes directly from me. This technology allows me and my patients to maintain consistent contact between appointments in a safe, seamless, and time-saving way.

I also offer virtual consults. Patients take a few snaps of their smiles and, based on these photos alone, I can come up with a preliminary treatment plan. We will meet face to face as a next step, but there is no reason not to use technology to get things started.

Digital technologies also are super convenient in a pinch.

A couple of weeks ago, my front desk fielded a call from a mom in Middleburg, Va. who was supposed to bring her teenage son in that day for an in-person consult. Even under normal circumstances, Middleburg is quite a drive to the Washington, D.C. area and, on this particular day, everyone was just running behind.

I could hear the relief in mom’s voice when I told her the consult could be done digitally. After all, why do we carry around high-resolution cameras and computers in our purses if we can’t use them to save ourselves a few minutes? I hope that mom was reassured, too, that if she chose our office for her son, many of our follow-ups could be completed from her own living room.

Smartphones also can be incredibly helpful when assessing emergency situations with your dentist or orthodontist. A friend of mine who is a pediatric dentist evaluated a young patient on a Friday night who fallen (err, jumped) off a couch and landed on a set of drums. (Ouch!) Teeth were broken, but the dentist also clearly could see that stiches were needed. While mom still was not happy with the stage dive, at least her dentist-by-iPhone gave her a clear path forward and at least some reassurance.

Telehealth not only saves time, it saves money. According to an April 2020 article in U.S. News & World Report, for medical visits, “The national median cost for a video-based virtual visit is $50, compared to $85 for low-severity treatment at a doctor’s office, $130 for an urgent care facility visit, and $740 for an emergency room visit.”

One more benefit?

Telehealth also is good for the environment. When researchers from the University of California at Davis studied the use of telehealth in the Golden State, they found “telemedicine utilization saved the air almost 2,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, 50 metric tons of carbon monoxide, 3.7 metric tons of nitrogen oxides and 5.5 metric tons of volatile organic compounds.”

Digital health: good for the planet … easy on your schedule.

So, take an easy breath next time you’re worried about making time for your appointment. Give us a call, and we’ll determine if we can do it virtually instead.

The Valentine shopping list is traditional and simple: Flowers. Candy. But if your Valentine is in braces this year, suddenly your choices become more complicated. No need to worry! We have some sweet suggestions that are both braces-friendly and Valentine-approved.

First, let’s look at some options where Cupid’s arrow has missed the mark.

• Caramels—these sticky treats are difficult to clean from orthodontic work, and sticky, chewy foods can even cause damage to wires and brackets.
• Chocolate covered nuts—hard foods such as nuts can break or bend wires and brackets.
• Assorted chocolates—a confectionary minefield! There are bound to be some caramels and nuts in there somewhere, hiding beneath an innocent coat of chocolate, just waiting to ruin your Valentine’s evening.
• Other candies such as taffy, licorice, hard candy? No, no, and no. Remember, anything sticky, chewy, or hard is on the “Loves Me Not” list.

So, which chocolate treats won’t break hearts or braces?

• Soft truffles—if it’s not Valentine’s Day without a be-ribboned box of chocolates, choose soft truffles to fill it.
• Chocolate mousse—the perfect end to a romantic dinner.
• Chocolate covered strawberries—it’s a special occasion treat that won’t mistreat braces.
• Rich chocolate cake—always a delightful indulgence, and even better if it’s in the shape of a heart.

If your Valentine is not a chocolate fan, there are other sweet treats that are delicious alternatives.

• Cheesecake can be topped with (pitted!) cherries to celebrate in holiday-appropriate color.
• Soft heart-shaped cookies will be even more romantic with decorative icing—add your initials for a personal touch.
• Select an array of frozen yogurt, ice cream, or gelato in different shades of pink.
• Macarons also come in a variety of pink and red shades—but make sure this confection is on your Valentine’s braces-friendly list!

Of course, you can celebrate the day without sugary tributes. A single flower, watching your favorite movie together or, best of all, a heartfelt card or letter are all wonderful ways to show you care. But if it’s just not the same holiday without a sweet treat, try some of our suggestions. Your Valentine will appreciate your thoughtfulness.