We have had many false fire-alarms in our building of the Rye Ridge Plaza (from staff people cooking lunch in the office microwave), so when I drove into work yesterday and saw all of the fire activity in the shopping plaza, I just had to  ask the firemen if it was real this time.  Unfortunately it was.  There was an electrical fire in the building across the parking lot from us, and the stores in that row will be shut for at least 3 days.  Thanks to the Rye Brook Fire and Police Departments who take every alarm seriously and were here in full force to help!

Parasailing and Orthodontics: Choosing a safe professional

Dr. Okun went parasailing last month, the same day as that awful parasailing accident off the coast of Florida. (In the crash, the rope connecting the parachute to the boat broke from high winds, and the girls crashed into a building, ultimately landing in a parking lot.) The difference between the parasailing trips was the experience and safety awareness of the people who ran each activity. Dr. Okun went with Parasailing Adventures, a company that emphasized safety. Their web site stated: "We are members of WSIA (Water Sports Industry Association,) are PAPO certified, and employ a 100% drug free crew." When the winds were too high on the day of Dr. Okun’s reservation, Parasailing Adventures called her to cancel her trip and recommended that she come another time.

Dr. Okun practices orthodontics with the same safety philosophy. She recommends against treatment which she feels won’t accomplish the treatment goals or might attain an adverse result. She tells growing patients when the timing is not ideal, so that their parents can reschedule at a more appropriate time for treatment. The goal is always to attain the most esthetic, most functional alignment of the teeth and jaws for each patient, in the least amount of time that is reasonable for treatment.

When Dr. Okun went up with the parachute she couldn’t stop smiling, and she hopes that her patients will have such a wonderful experience that they can’t stop smiling either.

Taylor's School Paper about Dr. Okun

school paper entitled “Dr. Okun” By Taylor R. age 10

 

You may thing YOU have the best orthodontist, but you thought wrong.  I think I have the best orthodontist.  She can fix anything (in my mouth).  She has strategies.  She is smart and organized and guides me.  I have the best orthodontist.

 

Dr. Okun always tells me to breathe through my nose before she does anything in my mouth.  And she tells me to go out of the room and tells my mom and dad things for me so I don’t freak.  Sometimes she gives me things to focus on so that I don’t fidget or focus on what hurts.  For example, she gives me colored rubber bands to choose from in order to take my mind off what she is doing.  When she first pulled out the drawer with the colors I looked at them with amazement.  There must have been 1,000,000 colors!! And she lets me pick from all of them.  And another strategy is she tells me to look at the fish hanging from her ceiling or the picture of the ocean to help me relax.  Dr. Okun’s strategies help me get through all the appointments.

 

Before she does anything in my mouth, besides telling me to breathe, she always goes through everything step by step.  She also makes sure I know everything she is going to do.  For example when I got my palatal expander on and off she told me everything she was going to do.  And one thing she does that I really like is that she doesn’t dive right in.  She waits so there isn’t as much pressure.  Particularly when she tightened my palatal expander for the first time she had to do it a few times so she waited between turns.  Dr Okun is smart and organized and prepares me for procedures.

 

Dr. Okun guides me to make good decisions that are right for me.  For example she makes sure I don’t have any pain, like when I had a sliding wire that kept poking me and she told me how to slide it back.  She tells me what to do if something goes wrong like if something breaks or bends.  She fixes it as fast as she can.  One other thing she does is she makes sure I have everything I need.  For example, once I needed rubber bands for my cross bite.  She made sure I had enough.  Dr. Okun helps me make decisions about my braces.

 

“It’s a process,” that’s what my orthodontist always says to me.  I have learned to be braver and get through everything.  All of this is thanks to Dr. Okun.