DFC Blog

The Advantages of Invisalign in South Weymouth, MA

For the longest time, if you wanted to straighten out your teeth, you were looking at potentially spending years with metal braces in your mouth. Thankfully, the dental world has continued to evolve, and today you can fix those crooked or misaligned teeth with easy-to-use, see-through aligners.

Invisalign in South Weymouth, MA, is the orthodontic solution that more orthodontists and patients turn to when looking to improve their smile. Many advantages come with these removable, clear aligners that make them the best choice, including:

  • Virtually Invisible

     One of the most immediate benefits of wearing clear aligners is that, unlike metal braces, most people won’t even be able to notice you are wearing them. This removes much of the stigma that can come with getting braces.

  • No Diet Restrictions

    You must be very careful about what you eat with metal braces. This isn’t the case with Invisalign. Just remove your aligner and eat or drink whatever you want. Just make sure you brush your teeth right after eating to prevent cavities and stains.

  • Faster Treatment Time

     Metal braces can take up to five years to correct your teeth. With Invisalign, you can end up with the straight smile you are after in less than one and a half years.

Why Invisalign Is Right for Your Child

Straightening teeth or closing gaps is a big undertaking, especially for young patients, so you will want to consider your treatment options carefully. However, clear aligners like Invisalign have been gaining well-deserved popularity among youth and their parents. The following are some reasons why you should ask your local orthodontist about Invisalign in South Weymouth, MA:

  • It Is Practically Invisible

    These days, more and more children go to the orthodontist, but wearing braces can still be embarrassing. Wearing visible brackets makes many kids and teenagers feel self-conscious and reluctant to smile in photos. That is why so many patients prefer clear, plastic aligners like Invisalign that are practically invisible.

  • It Is a Shorter Treatment with Fewer Appointments

    You and your kids are already busy enough without adding long years of frequent orthodontist appointments to your schedules. With Invisalign, you typically get a shorter treatment period with fewer appointments throughout.

  • It Is Removable

    Most orthodontic treatments come with food restrictions like nothing chewy, no popcorn, and so on, which kids struggle to follow. Since Invisalign is removable, your child can eat anything as long as they take the aligners out first. This feature also makes it easier for patients to practice good oral hygiene habits. Plus, it won’t interfere with extracurricular activities like sports or playing wind instruments.

    This entry was posted in Uncategorized on August 8, 2022, by acw22admin.

The Benefits of Choosing Invisalign

Invisalign in South Weymouth, MA, is one of the latest and best ways to straighten teeth. These invisible aligners are custom fit to help your teeth slowly shift back into place. For many patients, Invisalign is a preferred treatment compared to traditional metal braces. Here are just some of the different reasons why more and more orthodontists are recommending Invisalign to their patients:

  • More Comfortable

    Traditional metal brackets feature sharp edges that can dig and cut into your lips and cheeks, leaving sores that are difficult to heal. On the other hand, these removable aligners have smooth edges made with high-quality resin. That means you won’t have to worry about any jagged metal digging into your mouth.

  • Allows for Better Dental Hygiene

    While you must wear your aligners for at least 22 hours a day to see progress, they are still removable. That means you are able to perform all of your regular oral hygiene daily—including brushing, flossing, and swishing with mouthwash.

  • Fixes Many Dental Problems

    Crooked teeth can cause more issues than just making you self-conscious about your smile. Widely spaced or crowded teeth can raise your risk of developing gum disease, irregular tooth erosion, cavities, and tooth loss. Straightening your teeth can help reduce many of these threats to your oral health.

  • Boosts Self-Confidence

    Since these aligners are made from a transparent resin that perfectly fits your teeth, they are practically invisible in your mouth. That means you don’t have to feel nearly as self-conscious as you might if you straighten your teeth with metal braces.

  • Shorter Treatment Period

    Traditional braces usually require frequent visits to the orthodontist and can take two years or more to give you the results you desire. Invisalign is different. You will have to visit your orthodontist less often, and the treatment time is usually only 12 months.

  • Eat & Drink Anything You Want

    You are limited to what you can eat and drink with traditional braces. However, with Invisalign, you can enjoy all your favorites without any worries. Just take out your removable aligner and place them safely in their travel container to avoid contamination. Eat or drink what you want, brush your teeth or rinse your mouth with water, and then put your aligners back in.

    This entry was posted in Uncategorized on July 11, 2022, by acw22admin.

The Benefits & Advantages of Invisalign – South Weymouth, MA

Everyone deserves to feel confident when they smile. However, many individuals are self-conscious about laughing or smiling due to crooked teeth. Additionally, some patients with traditional braces still feel anxious as a result of the metal brackets covering their teeth. Fortunately, there’s an alternative that allows you to show your teeth with confidence. Take a minute to learn about the benefits and advantages of Invisalign in South Weymouth, MA.

  • Easy Eating

    Unlike regular braces, you don’t need to adjust your eating habits at all with Invisalign. You can still eat all your favorite hard and crunchy foods. Just be sure to remove the Invisalign tray before eating.

  • Low Visibility

    Because Invisalign trays are clear, no one will notice that you’re in the middle of correcting the alignment of your teeth. It’s the discreet way to achieve the smile of your dreams.

  • Shorter Treatments

    No one wants to have braces for a long time. However, some treatments can last up to five years. Fortunately, the use of Invisalign trays can shorten your treatment period by as much as half.

  • Less Travel

    Traditional braces require countless trips to the orthodontist’s office for regular adjustments. As an Invisalign patient, you’ll spend more time doing what you love instead of traveling to appointments.

  • Simpler Cleaning

    Let’s face it: it’s not easy or fun to take care of your teeth with braces on. With Invisalign, you can perform your regular brushing and flossing routine without needing to work around all that metal.

    Contact Dentistry For Children for more information about Invisalign treatment.

The Top 5 Benefits of Choosing Invisalign®

People who are self-conscious about their teeth will often cover their mouths when they smile or laugh. Put those days behind you with corrective treatments that give you a smile you always wanted without the hassle of braces. In South Weyburn, MA, Invisalign® has transformed how countless children and adults feel about their teeth. Clear aligners fit your mouth perfectly to straighten your teeth over time.

There are several benefits to choosing Invisalign over traditional braces:

  • Eat What You Want

    The trays are invisible, so you don’t have to worry that someone will notice you’re getting your teeth corrected.

  • Duration of Treatment

    Braces can take a long time to straighten your teeth, even up to five years. It’s possible to cut that time by less than half with Invisalign.

  • Saves Time

    Braces need regular adjustments. Invisalign requires fewer trips to the orthodontist and frees you up to do the things you want instead of sitting in a dentist’s chair.

  • Improves Dental Health

    Enjoy better dental health. Straight teeth and gums make a difference to your oral health because you can clean them properly.

    Don’t let the stigma of braces stop you from getting your teeth straightened; reach out to your local orthodontist, and ask about Invisalign.

Orthodontist for Kids in Abington, MA

Getting braces can often be stressful for your kids, especially because of the fear of being teased. Fortunately, braces and other orthodontic procedures are much more common than ever before, and with the help of reputable places like Dentistry for Children, they can rest easy knowing that they have the help of a seasoned orthodontist for kids in Abington, MA. Beginning their journey to straighter teeth has never been easier or more seamless!

Health Benefits of Braces

Whether they get classic braces or Invisalign, progressing towards a gleaming smile will help improve self-confidence and promote better oral care. When teeth are correctly aligned, it’s much easier to clean and access your gums and between your teeth when you floss and brush. This means there are few chances of developing cavities and other tooth problems. Here is a list of the top six long-term health benefits of braces:

  • Gum Disease Prevention
  • Tooth Decay Prevention
  • Bone Erosion Prevention
  • Reduced Risk of Damaged Teeth
  • Enhanced Digestive Health

This isn’t to say that braces are a full-proof way of never getting any of these dental problems, but it greatly reduces the possibility of developing them. Good orthodontal and dental care go hand-in-hand, meaning you need to make sure you’re following all oral hygienic processes during and after your braces have been removed.

Dentistry for Children offers orthodontists for kids in Braintree, MA, and Weymouth, MA, so more patients can get the dental care they need. Contact Dentistry for Children for more information about their orthodontal services.

The hidden dangers of sports drinks

Sports Drinks

What do Powerade, Gatorade, Vitamin Water, Lemonade, Energy drinks, Snapple, and Sprite have in common?

They are all cavity-causing if one consumes these popular drinks in large quantities.

Most people intrinsically realize that soda is bad for their teeth. The average middle school student (or at least my kid) has done the baby tooth in a cup of soda experiment, so in general most of us recognize that carbonated sugar water is highly acidic and can lead to one’s tooth slowly dissolving away.

A recent article in the Journal of the American Dental Association explores this even further, investigating the pH of hundreds of beverages. pH as one may recall from chemistry class, is a measure of acidity or alkalinity of a solution. Low pH (less than 4.0) can lead to the destruction of tooth structure even in the absence of cavity causing bacteria. In short – acidity in drinks is not healthy for your teeth.

It might come as a surprise to a lot of people that there the vast majority of commercially available drinks such as sports drinks, vitamin waters, and ‘healthy’ fruit juices have very low pH’s.

The most acidic beverages tested (all with a pH less than 2.4) were lemon juice, RC Cola, Coca-Cola Classic, Coca-Cola Cherry and Pepsi.

And the least ‘acidic’ beverage tested? Municipal water from Birmingham, Alabama which at a pH of 7.2 proves that when it comes to healthy teeth, water is the way to go.

For those of you interested in some additional reading, here is the link article from the actual American Dental Association article. It details the tested pH levels of most drinks available at your local store. Take a look and see where your favorite drink fits.

X-Rays, Flying and Colorado

“I don’t want my child to have any x-rays!”

“I think my child is getting too many x-rays and I’m worried about radiation”

These are just a few of the comments that we hear on a daily basis at our practice. Parents are extremely concerned about the amount of radiation that their child is being exposed to, and instead of running from these important questions , our practice welcomes them and we spend a lot of time discussing their concerns.

Parents, like most individuals, have heard about the dangers of excessive exposure to radiation. They have most certainly heard about the high levels of exposure when taking a chest x-ray, CAT scan, or MRI. They have probably also heard that radiation exposure accumulates over a lifetime; hence, the more one is exposed, the greater the amount of lifetime accumulation.

Tooth X-Rays
Digital X-Rays

The simplest explanation I usually give parents is that the amount of radiation a bite-wing x-rays  emits is extremely , extremely low – about 20 times less than that of a chest x-ray and 1000x less than a CT scan.  One of the more important things to consider is that we are all exposed to radiation from natural sources all the time.  The average person in the U.S. receives an effective dose of 3 mSv (millisieverts is the scientific unit for radiation dose) from naturally occurring radioactive materials and cosmic radiation.

Radiation Type   

Daily background radiation 

Single Digital Bitewing      

Digital Panorex      

Cross Country Flight 

Chest X-ray 

Chest CT                 

Head CT             

 Radiation Amount

  0.008 mSv

 0.005 mSv

 0.01 mSv

 0.03 mSv

 0.1 mSv

 7 mSv

2 mSv

To put things in perspective, a single typical dental x-ray is less than a day of usual background radiation, and a panoramic x-ray is 3 times less than flying a plane cross country. One chest CT is the equivalent of 1400 dental x-rays. In fact, if one lived in higher altitudes such as in Colorado, you are exposed to 50% (1.5 mSv) more background radiation than those of us at sea level (that’s the equivalent of 300 dental x-rays for those of you keeping count). Click here for more information.

The takeaway from this data and the multitude of studies done on x-ray safety is one should not worry about the amount of exposure one gets from dental x-rays.  As shown, the amount of exposure is low, and the estimated additional risk of developing cancer as a result is negligible.

Cartoon Airplane
Dental Decay

All things in life are about considering the cost: benefit ratio. The cost of not taking a dental x-ray is the inability to diagnose disease (dental caries) Lemieux-Dental-Decay and allowing it to progress to a point where one is put at risk of pain, localized and systemic infection, and extensive treatment which could have been avoided. The cost of taking an x-ray is…..well, as we have seen, is less than a day outside. One should note that people who live in Colorado get 50% more background radiation than those of us in Boston, and are deemed some of the healthiest people in the United States, with cancer rates not being any higher.

Certainly, if you do have concerns about the need to take x-rays, I would encourage you to speak with us.  There is a recommended schedule for taking x-rays – the key word here is recommended. There are certainly reasonable cases to be made for not taking x-rays routinely (ie. low caries risk, exfoliating baby teeth) which should be made on a case to case basis.

The “magic” liquid that makes cavities go away

Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF)

What if you, as a parent who has a very young child with a cavity, is told that instead of a 30 minute long appointment consisting of the dreaded shot, drilling, and no small amount of drama, that we could very simply, in less than a minute paint a magic substance on your child’s cavity, and voila, cavity is taken care?

Well, what if we told you that such a substance has been used in Japan for the past 80 years, can apparently basically ‘freeze’ cavities in place eliminating the need for placing a filling, and that the cost of such treatment is fairly low.  Sounds good doesn’t it?

That magic substance is Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF).  It is a colorless liquid consisting of 24-28% silver and 5% fluoride. The FDA recently approved this for use as a cavity varnish placed on enamel to reduce tooth sensitivity.  Though it hasn’t been technically approved for use in the treatment of cavities, some dentists have started using SDF ‘off-label’ (which is allowed) for management of the aforementioned cavities.

As we alluded to in the introduction, the dentist simply dries the tooth with the cavity, swabs a small amount of the SDF liquid on the tooth, allows it to dry (1-2 minutes), and you’re done – the cavity is arrested (which means it kills the bacteria causing the cavity, hardens dentin, and promotes re-mineralization or hardening of the surrounding enamel).

Of course, as with any treatment option, there are some downsides to this treatment.  The most significant is that any tooth treated with SDF will turn black in color.  To be completely fair, only the cavity turns black, but when we say black, we mean BLACK. Not a slight discoloration, or graying. Black.

Cavity

It also requires multiple applications for complete success, cannot be used in individuals who have silver allergies, can cause irritation to gum tissue, and has a slight metallic taste when first applied.

While SDF has been used for decades in not only Japan, but also Brazil, Peru, Australia, Thailand, and a slew of other Asian countries, studies looking at its efficacy, and safety in the U.S. are limited. To date, there have only been 14 reputable studies on SDF; 7 of which have been completed, 5 that are recruiting, and 2 that have not yet begun recruiting.

Despite its drawbacks, there is probably a place for SDF in dentistry.  Patients who are unable to tolerate extensively or any dental treatment such as the very young, very old, and/or medically compromised seem like candidates who would benefit from this very noninvasive treatment.  However, it needs to be understood, that this is not a cure for cavities – it is simply managing a disease process until such time that more definitive treatment (ie. filling, crown) can be completed. Furthermore, more research needs to be done on issues of effectiveness, long-term safety, and treatment protocols.

For patients for whom it is indicated, Dentistry For Children now provides Silver Diamine Fluoride treatment.

 

Don’t brush your teeth after eating oranges?

Dentists are fond of reminding our patients of the importance of brushing on a regular basis, at least twice a day. A completely unscientific, random polling of the staff here at Dentistry For Children reveals that most of us brush immediately after waking up, and immediately before going to sleep. However, some of us brush after each meal, and that includes lunch.

Oranges

This got us to wondering if there is ever a bad time to brush your teeth?

The American Dental Association recommends brushing twice a day and leaves it at that. Brushing at night before bedtime is especially important since it removes all of the plaque and food debris that has built up over the course of the day. Leaving any food or sugars on your teeth overnight, when they are especially susceptible to acid produced by cavity causing bacteria, is a big No No.

It’s often suggested that one brushes after eating, which on the surface makes a lot of sense since one wants to remove any sticky substances that could remain on your teeth. However, studies have shown that you should wait 30 minutes before brushing after drinking soda, sports drinks or orange juice, and after eating very acidic foods (ie. tomato sauce). The combination of the acid with brushing can actually cause your teeth to lose enamel. Also, waiting to brush may allow the protective agents in saliva to help repair and rebuild tooth enamel damaged by acidity.

If you’re interested, here’s a link to an informative article:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/21/really-never-brush-your-teeth-immediately-after-a-meal/

Bottom line? Never brush immediately after an acidic meal or drink. Always wait at least 30 minutes.

Why Sealants Matter

I happened across a great article in the New York Times (readers of this blog may have come to the realization that I’m an avid reader of this publication) that sang the praises of the dental sealant. It still comes as a shock to me to hear of members of my own profession who still don’t place sealants on a routine basis. At our practice, most of our patients have sealants placed; the rare instances when we elect not to place them are for patients with extremely shallow grooves, easily cleaned teeth, and a history of no cavities. Otherwise, we are HUGE believers in the value of sealants.

Consider this – most members of the Silent Generation, and even Boomers have a mouthful of fillings, crowns, implants, partial dentures and even full dentures. One of the unheralded medical discoveries of the past century, was that of fluoride, and it’s role in the prevention of dental cavities. In fact the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) named the fluoridation of drinking water as one of the Ten Great Public Health Achievements in the 20th Century. And its impact has been seen in the substantial decline in dental disease in both the USA and around the world.

10 Great Public Health Achievements

However, there are still pockets of resistance in certain population groups (ie. low income communities, individuals with poor access to dental care) where dental caries is still prevalent. Surveys by the CDC show that 21% of children between 6 and 11, and 58% of adolescents have had cavities. So there is still work to be done in decreasing caries especially among the younger members of our population.

That’s where sealants come in. Sealants are a plastic-like tooth-colored coating that is easily applied, fills in all the grooves and pits of a tooth where food tends to stick, is cost-effective, and has been shown in countless studies to prevent cavities. Where fluoride works well in preventing what’s known as smooth surface (parts of the teeth that are smooth such as in between teeth) caries, it is less effective for preventing caries in the pits and fissures of teeth. It is these areas that are found to disproportionately develop cavities in the teeth of adolescents. And that’s exactly where sealants do their anti-cavity work.

Tooth

I won’t bore you with the numbers, but the takeaway from the Cochrane study (which looked at 34 well designed sealant studies involving 6000 plus children/adolescents) is that in a population of cavity-free children with a 40% chance of getting a cavity in the next two years without sealants, application of sealants would reduce the rate to just 6%. (For those interested in more scholarly evidence, click here.) Admittedly not zero, which is every dentist’s goal but pretty darn close.

If Evidence-based dentistry is the use of current scientific evidence to guide decision making in dentistry, one should clearly be a believer in the important role sealants play in reducing cavities.

We believe!

Habit/Crib Appliances

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines the tongue as “the soft, movable part in the mouth that is used for tasting and eating food and in human beings for speaking”. While this is true, what the definition leaves out is the fact that the tongue is made up mostly of muscle. This explains why it is so effective in moving food through the oral cavity, and why when one receives lidocaine (‘novocaine’) during a dental procedure, your tongue feels like it’s paralyzed.

Open Bite Before

One of the clearest examples of the power of the tongue is in individuals who have enlarged tongues, hyperactive tongues, or a condition known as tongue thrust. Over time, as the tongue pushes on the teeth (mostly the front teeth), the teeth are displaced and are gradually moved forward and tipped out, resulting in a malocclusion known as an ‘open bite.’ If the tongue thrust habit persists, the open bite can become quite significant, making it a challenge to correct, even with braces.

Open Bite After

When we identify a patient with a tongue thrust, we typically recommend placement of a habit appliance. This appliance, called a crib appliance, affectionately described as a ‘hockey mask’ by our patients, is cemented onto a patient’s back molars. The ‘crib’ portion of the appliance is made up of a smooth cage like attachment which prevents the tongue from pushing directly against the palate and the backsides of the upper front teeth,thereby eliminating the undesired pressure contributing to the open bite. And since the lips are a muscle in and of themselves, over time, lip and cheek pressure can reduce the open bite, and improve a patient’s bite.

The crib appliance is typically kept in the mouth for a year to break the tongue thrust habit. After an initial short period of adjustment to the appliance, most patients adapt easily, and have no problems whatsoever with eating and speech. And despite it’s cage-like appearance, most patients are not put off by it’s look.

Photo of crib placement

In some cases where patients are also sucking their thumb, spurs are added to the appliance which act as a deterrent for thumb placement.

Diagram of Crib Placement

While the crib appliance is effective in stopping the tongue thrust habit, oftentimes one will need full braces to close the bite and improve one’s smile completely. However, if left untreated for too long, even braces may not correct one’s bite completely. Hence, early intervention is recommended.