I love to smile

I love to smile!!! Today I heard once again "the most common phrase" that I hear from my "retention patients (when they have completed orthodontic treatment) "they look so good I love to smile now." Samara even said that I could show her smile pictures to you on my blog.

(The before picture is on the right side. The after picture is on the left side.)

Mouthguards for Sports Decrease Dental Injuries

"Dental injuries are the most common type of orofacial injury sustained during participation in sports." They include chipped and fractured teeth, loosened teeth, and teeth that are knocked out totally from the mouth. Most of the time the injured teeth are the top front teeth. This is why many states are requiring all students participating in school related sports to wear mouth guards on their upper teeth. A mouthguard reduces the injuries to teeth and supporting structures, as well as decreases the incidences of lip lacerations. At Okun Orthodontics we now fabricate pressure- formed mouthguards, which are the gold standard of mouthguards today.

There are three types of mouthguards. Type 1: Stock mouthguards: These are inexpensive and fit well over braces. Unfortunately they offer only a low level of protection since they often fall out at impact, or are removed by the athlete because they interfere with speech. Type 2: "Boil and Bite": These are also inexpensive, and bulky. The "customizing procedure" of heating and biting into the guard tends to leave thin spots that are not very protective. Type 3: Customized: these require a trip to the dentist. Most customized guards are still the older vaccum-formed type that distort over time, and have manufacturing limitations to the thickness of the material. The newest technique pressure forms 2 layers of material with precise adaptation for maximum protection. These guards have excellent retention and interfere much less with speech. If you wear braces and participate in a high impact sport, consider making a customized sportsguard for each season (every 3 months) to not interfere with tooth movement. If you are still losing baby teeth you will also need to replace your guard frequently.

At Okun Orthodontics, we have recently purchased a Drufomat positive-pressure thermoforming machine to fabricate custom mouthguards in our office. We are the first dental office in Westchester to have its own machine! Currently we have blue, black, neon green, and red/white/blue material in stock, and can order new colors as requested. Sign up your whole team to make mouthguards at the same time and we'll give you a volume discount!

Even Rabbits Need Braces

Yesterday my patients were out dressed like cartoon characters and animals (for Halloween). Just last week my patient's stuffed rabbit was in my office dressed like a patient. This tender touch was just what was needed to alleviate her fear of getting braces.

Happy Halloween

Halloween is nearing the end, and all our children will be enjoying their candy tonight. Here are some hints to preserve their teeth:

- Sticky candy will break braces and aggravate TMJ problems. If you are wearing braces or have TMJ/facial pain DO NOT EAT chewing gum, gummy bears, taffy, jelly beans, and other sticky candies. If the candy is hard to bite through, break it into very small pieces before eating it.

- Avoid eating candy that sits on your teeth a long time. A Kit Kat Bar or a Hershey's Kiss will do less damage than a lolly pop or sucking candy.

- Rinsing your mouth with water after eating candy will decrease the risk of white spots and cavities.

- Rinsing with fluoride rinse before bed daily (especially important if candy was eaten that day) will help reverse the damage that candy does to your teeth.

I hate paying for parking

Today I drove past a church in White Plains which was adjacent to a municipal parking lot. The sign on the entrance to the parking lot said that fees were applicable 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In other words, if you come to church on Sunday morning you need to pay to park your car.
Last week I went to Rye to make a bank deposit. The muni-meter's minimum time allotment was one hour. I needed to pay for one hour of parking to run in and out of the bank in less than 10 minutes.
Have you ever noticed how many municipalities now charge for parking? You need to pay for parking to go to the library or the doctor's office in White Plains, and to go window shopping in Mamaroneck or Rye. Some stores like Walmart or Whole Foods in White Plains offer you free parking if you make a minimum purchase. In other words it's not really free.
In Rye Ridge Plaza (in Rye Brook, NY) the parking really is free to the customers. You can go to the doctors' office, make a bank deposit, eat at a restaurant, or go shopping- and really not pay for parking- even if you purchase nothing.
This is one reason why I chose to locate my office in Rye Ridge Plaza. At Okun Orthodontics you will always find a free parking spot in close proximity to the office, and also be walking distance from the bank, supermarket, hardware store, numerous clothing stores, pharmacy, jewelry store, and several restaurants. Okun Orthodontics is also easily accessible to Route 287 (Cross Westchester Expressway exit 10) and the Hutchinson River Parkway (Ridge Street, exit 29 in NY). Come visit me in Rye Ridge Plaza to see for yourself.