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If you’re heading back to classes in the next few weeks, you’re probably getting your gear together now. So let’s talk about some of the items you can pack to make orthodontic care easier during school hours.

• Dental-Healthy Food

Watching what foods you eat is especially important now. If you’re carrying your lunch or snacks in your pack, you want to be sure that they’re approved for braces and aligners.

If you wear braces, avoid foods which are sticky, chewy, or crunchy. They can stick to your teeth (making it easier for cavities to develop) or cause damage to your brackets and wires (making repairs necessary). Your orthodontist will give you a list of braces-friendly foods.

If you have clear aligners, even though you’ll remove them to eat, that sticky rule still applies. You don’t want food trapped in your aligners if you can’t brush right after eating, because that food is also food for the oral bacteria which cause cavities.

Bringing a water bottle with you is a great idea if it’s hard to brush after eating. Rinsing with water is a good way to get rid of loose food particles, and staying hydrated helps maintain normal saliva production—which also helps wash away food debris.

• Toothbrush, Toothpaste, and Floss

It’s best to clean your teeth after every snack and meal if at all possible. A travel-sized brush, toothpaste, and dental floss or picks designed for braces will help you get rid of any unwanted dental leftovers. And a small mirror can help you discover any lingering food particles.

It’s especially important now to practice careful hygiene, so be sure to wash your hands before and after cleaning your teeth or appliances.

• Your Aligner or Retainer Case

Whenever you take off your retainer or aligners to eat, you should always have your case handy. Cases make sure your appliances stay off germy desk and table surfaces—or worse, floors—and protect them from breakage. A case is also a good way to make sure your retainer doesn’t accidentally end up in a trash bin after lunch.

Again, before and after you handle your braces, aligners, or retainer, be sure to wash your hands carefully.

• Dental Wax & Extra Bands

Sometimes a wire comes loose or a bracket irritates the inside of your cheeks or mouth. In this case, dental wax is a great way to protect yourself from irritation and injury. And if a band is lost or breaks, it’s always good to have a spare (or two) handy. As always, handwashing rules apply!

• Your Mouth Guard

If your afterschool activities involve contact sports, a mouthguard is always a good idea, and especially when you wear braces. Dr. Quas, Dr. Wiater and Dr. Kang can create a custom guard which will protect your teeth, your delicate mouth tissue, and your braces from many impact injuries.

• Your Orthodontist’s Phone Number

One important item that takes up almost no space in your backpack, locker, or phone is the phone number for our Bend, Redmond, Prineville, La Pine or Sisters OR office. If your braces are damaged, or if your aligner or retainer is lost or broken, we will let you know what to do until you can safely visit the office in person.

Talk to our team about how to care for your braces or aligners while you’re at school, and talk to your school about how you can manage your dental care safely during school hours.

Did you know that there’s a World Orthodontic Health Day in May? Or that National Orthodontic Health Month takes place in October? You may not have circled these days on the calendar—in fact, this might be the first time you’ve heard about them! But celebrating these special days is just one way that orthodontists share the health benefits of orthodontic treatment with us.

That’s because orthodontic treatment is about more than creating a beautiful smile. With the help of Dr. Quas, Dr. Wiater and Dr. Kang, you might also be creating:

• Healthier Teeth and Gums

When your teeth are aligned, it’s easier to prevent tooth decay and gum disease. Crowded, crooked, or overlapping teeth make it harder to brush and floss as effectively. Plaque that builds up in those hard-to-reach places on the tooth enamel helps create cavities. And over time, built-up plaque turns into tartar, a leading cause of receding gums and gum disease. Straight, properly spaced teeth make efficient brushing and flossing a breeze!

• A Comfortable, Functional Bite

A malocclusion, or bad bite, occurs when the teeth and jaws don’t align properly. In a healthy bite, teeth aren’t crowded, twisted, or spaced too widely apart. The top teeth should slightly overlap the lower teeth. And the ridges of your upper molars should fit smoothly with the grooves of the lower molars.

If your bite is off, you’ve probably noticed chewing pain, headaches, or jaw pain. Over time, malocclusions can lead to worn enamel, cracked teeth, and tooth grinding, and have been linked to mouth breathing, which dries out the mouth and isn’t good for your dental health. Braces or aligners, with other appliances if needed, can not only correct a malocclusion, but prevent the very uncomfortable side effects of a bad bite.

• Improved Facial Symmetry

Malocclusions affect facial symmetry. Underbites occur when the lower jaw is too large, while small lower jaws can cause serious overbites. Bite problems can mean overjets (also called “buck teeth”), or open bites (where the front teeth don’t touch when the mouth is closed). Crossbites result in one or more upper teeth fitting inside the lower teeth. These conditions can affect both facial balance and profile.

With the use of braces and appliances like palatal expanders, Herbst® appliances, or headgear, Dr. Quas, Dr. Wiater and Dr. Kang can guide jawbone development while a child’s bones are still growing. For older patients, we can design a treatment plan to align teeth, correct malocclusion, and improve facial symmetry.

• Psychological Benefits

We can’t forget the invisible benefit of orthodontic treatment: a happy, comfortable smile is a great confidence-booster! If you’re reluctant to share your smile with the world, a visit to Dr. Quas, Dr. Wiater and Dr. Kang can let you know just what to expect from treatment, and just how it can improve your life.

Because it’s so important to both our dental health and our overall well-being, we’re happy to celebrate orthodontic health on special days throughout the year. And let’s also celebrate the fact that there’s no calendar deadline when it comes to scheduling a healthier smile! Whether it’s early treatment for younger children to guide jaw growth, or the common orthodontic treatment window during the teen years, or adult treatment to create the smile you’ve always wanted, help is available at our Bend, Redmond, Prineville, La Pine or Sisters OR office whenever you’re ready to set the date!

You might have been one of the lucky few born with perfectly straight teeth and a healthy bite. You might have spent months in orthodontic treatment as a teenager to achieve perfectly straight teeth and a healthy bite. But now that you’re growing older, you might be unhappily surprised to discover that your smile isn’t aging as gracefully as you are.  What’s changed?

That’s a trick question, because our bodies never stop changing, growing, and adapting. And these constant adjustments include the changes taking place in your teeth and mouth. You might begin to notice subtle differences in your smile when you’re in your thirties or forties. After young adulthood, several factors come into play which can cause shifting teeth and a misaligned bite:

• Teeth naturally shift.

Shifting can be a result of the normal changes time brings. The periodontal ligaments which attach our teeth firmly to the jawbone lose some of their strength; the jawbones which hold our teeth in place lose some of their density and begin to narrow. Our teeth also have a natural tendency to move toward the front of the mouth, a phenomenon called “mesial drift.”

Add all of these elements together, and your once straight teeth start to crowd together and even overlap—especially the front bottom teeth.

• Stressful habits stress your teeth.

If you habitually grind or clench your teeth, you’re putting pressure on them. Just like the gentle pressure of braces and aligners can shift teeth into alignment, the more uncontrolled force of grinding can push teeth out of alignment.  

• Losing a tooth affects surrounding teeth.

Nature abhors a vacuum, and so does your smile. If you lose a tooth, your other teeth will automatically start to drift into the space left open by the missing tooth.

• A neglected retainer is gathering dust in a drawer somewhere.

You might have spent time as a teenager in orthodontic treatment, with a beautiful smile to show for all your hard work. And, back in the day, your orthodontist no doubt let you know that you needed to keep wearing your retainer at night once your treatment was completed.

If that’s one healthy habit you abandoned as you got older, don’t be surprised if your teeth start to migrate back to their old, less-than-perfect positions.

Between normal biological changes and the wear and tear of daily life, you might find one day that your smile isn’t that same beaming smile you’re used to seeing in the mirror. And it’s not just an aesthetic concern.

Crooked teeth are harder to clean, and built-up plaque means more decay and gum disease. Shifting teeth can cause malocclusions, or bite problems, which can bring you jaw pain, headaches, and chipped or cracked teeth.

If your smile has changed over time, it’s time to give Dr. Quas, Dr. Wiater and Dr. Kang a call. There are many discreet options which can return your smile to you, including:

• Clear aligners—comfortable, removable, and often unnoticeable.
• Traditional braces—brackets are smaller than ever, and you can choose ceramic brackets which are color-matched to blend in with your enamel.
• Lingual braces—these braces are attached to the inside of the teeth, for complete invisibility.

And what if you’ve never been as confident in your smile as you wanted to be? There’s good news here as well—it’s never too late to see an orthodontist. Make an appointment at our Bend, Redmond, Prineville, La Pine or Sisters OR office to discover how you can make sure your smile looks just as young as you feel!

You might have been one of the lucky few born with perfectly straight teeth and a healthy bite. You might have spent months in orthodontic treatment as a teenager to achieve perfectly straight teeth and a healthy bite. But now that you’re growing older, you might be unhappily surprised to discover that your smile isn’t aging as gracefully as you are.  What’s changed?

That’s a trick question, because our bodies never stop changing, growing, and adapting. And these constant adjustments include the changes taking place in your teeth and mouth. You might begin to notice subtle differences in your smile when you’re in your thirties or forties. After young adulthood, several factors come into play which can cause shifting teeth and a misaligned bite:

• Teeth naturally shift.

Shifting can be a result of the normal changes time brings. The periodontal ligaments which attach our teeth firmly to the jawbone lose some of their strength; the jawbones which hold our teeth in place lose some of their density and begin to narrow. Our teeth also have a natural tendency to move toward the front of the mouth, a phenomenon called “mesial drift.”

Add all of these elements together, and your once straight teeth start to crowd together and even overlap—especially the front bottom teeth.

• Stressful habits stress your teeth.

If you habitually grind or clench your teeth, you’re putting pressure on them. Just like the gentle pressure of braces and aligners can shift teeth into alignment, the more uncontrolled force of grinding can push teeth out of alignment.  

• Losing a tooth affects surrounding teeth.

Nature abhors a vacuum, and so does your smile. If you lose a tooth, your other teeth will automatically start to drift into the space left open by the missing tooth.

• A neglected retainer is gathering dust in a drawer somewhere.

You might have spent time as a teenager in orthodontic treatment, with a beautiful smile to show for all your hard work. And, back in the day, your orthodontist no doubt let you know that you needed to keep wearing your retainer at night once your treatment was completed.

If that’s one healthy habit you abandoned as you got older, don’t be surprised if your teeth start to migrate back to their old, less-than-perfect positions.

Between normal biological changes and the wear and tear of daily life, you might find one day that your smile isn’t that same beaming smile you’re used to seeing in the mirror. And it’s not just an aesthetic concern.

Crooked teeth are harder to clean, and built-up plaque means more decay and gum disease. Shifting teeth can cause malocclusions, or bite problems, which can bring you jaw pain, headaches, and chipped or cracked teeth.

If your smile has changed over time, it’s time to give Dr. Quas, Dr. Wiater and Dr. Kang a call. There are many discreet options which can return your smile to you, including:

• Clear aligners—comfortable, removable, and often unnoticeable.
• Traditional braces—brackets are smaller than ever, and you can choose ceramic brackets which are color-matched to blend in with your enamel.
• Lingual braces—these braces are attached to the inside of the teeth, for complete invisibility.

And what if you’ve never been as confident in your smile as you wanted to be? There’s good news here as well—it’s never too late to see an orthodontist. Make an appointment at our Bend, Redmond, Prineville, La Pine or Sisters OR office to discover how you can make sure your smile looks just as young as you feel!