Graduation 2009 and the Best Smile Award from Okun Orthodontics

June is almost over and so are this spring’s graduations. Many of our patients graduated from Middle School and High School, including Dr. Okun’s children. It gives us great pleasure to see the beautiful smiles we helped to create in yearbooks and at graduation ceremonies.

We’ve always said that “a beautiful smile can change your self image.” So many times we’ve seen new patients talk with their hands in front of their mouths because they are afraid for people to see their teeth. After wearing braces, they feel so good about themselves that they walk down the street smiling. A smile is contagious. Everyone they smile at smiles back, reinforcing that good feeling.

Dr. Okun’s patients are known for sharing their smiles. In fact, this year two of the three student’s winning the “Best Smile Award” in the Westchester Hebrew High School Yearbook were patient’s of Dr. Okun! Thank you to Sarah E. and Eddie G. for sharing those beautiful smiles every day!

Tracey from Okun Orthodontics Is A Grandma!!

Tracey from Dr. Okun's Office is now a grandma! Welcome to the family Jaylynn! Here's what she had to say about the new baby boy in her life.

I’m so excited I don’t even know what to say. I have like no words to express my excitement. My daughter Katt had a baby boy on Sunday. Jaylynn Miguel is so adorable and tiny.

I spent five days in the hospital with Katt before Jaylynn was born. He was five weeks early but is doing great. He was 19 inches long and five pounds 9.8 ounces and growing fast. He looks like he has nuts in his cheeks they are so pudgy and he is very alert, always turning his head toward the voice in the room.

This was an unexpected vacation from work and I have a lot to catch up on now that I’m back. Don’t worry; I’ll be quick to get those insurance forms in order!
I’m a grandma for the first time!!!! WOW! (I’m too young for that, but whatever, I’m taking it as it comes. So its ok.)

Tracey
Office Manger, Okun Orthodontics

Dr. Okun and Her Family Do Great Community Work with Bikkur Cholim of Rockland County

"Bikkur Cholim" is a phrase that means "visiting the sick." All of us, sometime during our lives, will be put in the position of visiting someone we know who is sick. Some of us choose to visit lots of people who are sick, to see if we can help them with anything, or just to visit and make them feel better because they have someone to keep them company.

When Orthodox Jews arrange to visit someone who is sick on the Sabbath, they find a place that is walking distance from the sick person to stay for the duration of the Sabbath (Friday evening until Saturday night), and arrange in advance for food. This is because we don't travel, cook, or spend money on the Sabbath (unless it is a life or death situation.) Sometimes we don't have the luxury of planning in advance.

Bikkur Cholim of Rockland County is a Charitable Organization that rents three rooms on the property of Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, NY for Orthodox Jews to stay if they have someone to visit at this hospital. One room has beds and a bathroom for women (complete with a pack and play for babies), one room has beds and a bathroom for men, and one room has a table and chairs, refrigerator, and warming drawer. This organization also provides food. The organization has volunteers from Rockland County who purchase food (both catered foods- like chicken and cakes, and supermarket foods- like yogurt and fruit) and drop it off at the "kitchen" room on Fridays. The student volunteers from Westchester Hebrew High School in Mamaroneck come on Friday afternoon to put the food away- some in the refrigerator, and some on the hot plate. The volunteers from the Young Israel of White Plains come on Saturday night to clean up. (I, Dr. Judith Okun, am a Saturday night volunteer.) There is a cleaning service that washes the linens and towels during the week.

Every second to fourth Saturday my family goes to Valhalla to throw out any spoiled foods and take the trash to the garbage bins in the parking lot. Any food which is going to spoil within the week we take with us back to White Plains. There is a battered women's shelter behind Grace Church that takes contributions 24 hours a day, and accepts food that is not sealed in a package. We bring them cake, juice, milk, chicken soup, salads, and even "kugels" (potato or noodle pudding.) This way the leftover food can benefit even more people and not go to waste.

Sometimes when we arrive at the hospital we find the rooms empty. Sometimes the guests are still there. We have met many grateful recipients of this charity. Last Saturday night the guest was a young woman and her son. Her son was hit by a car on Friday afternoon right before the Sabbath. His leg was treated at the hospital and then he was released. It was already after sunset on Friday night, and now that the emergency was over they could not travel back home. The woman could not thank us enough that they had a clean and comfortable place to stay, and that there was good food to eat, food that was fit for honoring the Sabbath. We tried to explain that all of this was provided by Bikkur Cholim of Rockland County, and she should extend her "thank you" there, but she saw us as representatives of the whole "process" and kept thanking us. It's hard to accept the thanks, when our part in the process is so small, but its wonderful that this service is here for those that need it!

--Dr. Judith Okun, of Okun Orthodontics

Okun Orthodontics Is Greening Their Practice

At Okun Orthodontics, we care about making the world a better, happier place, and we know that you do too. We want to take this opportunity to share the many approaches we take to ensure that we have a healthy and safe environment both in our practice and outside in the world.

One of the biggest things we do is to take only digital x-rays. Digital x-rays are healthier for you and better for the environment. They are healthier for you because of their low radiation. They are healthier for the environment because they do not require toxic developing and fixing chemicals. In addition, they have several advantages for you. The images are available instantly on our computer- there is no wait time for processing! Also, you and your general dentist can view your images online through the log-in feature on our web site and we can easily print out copies of your x-rays for you to take to your dentist if he/she does not have internet access or does not have an e-mail address.

We also avoid chemicals as much as possible in our sterilization and cleaning procedures. Instead of chemicals, we use heat sterilizers, so we achieve the same effect but without introducing toxins. To clean our floors and counters, we strictly use green all-purpose cleaners.

Another great thing about greening our practice is that it is great for people with allergies. We take every precaution to prevent allergies in our office. We ask that you inform us of any chemical sensitivities and allergies so that we know when we need to avoid Nickel in the brackets and arch-wires of your braces. Also, the elastic ties that we use at Okun Orthodontics are not latex or silicone; they are polyurethane.

Whenever possible, we use fragrance-free products so that we do not pollute our indoor air. (Also, none of our staff wears perfume.) We have a HEPA air filter which we consistently run it to make sure our air remains clean and pure. Instead of latex or nitrile (which are both common allergens), we use vinyl latex-free gloves.

So, next time you visit Okun Orthodontics, you can breathe deep knowing that you are not only getting the best orthodontic treatment around, but you are visiting a truly green and environmentally friendly practice.

Swine Flu Awareness in New York State

I recently attended the NYS mandated Infection Control lecture. The following text was in one of the handouts from the New York State Department of Health:

"It is important to note that ordinary seasonal flu, which has symptoms similar to swine flu, is still active in New York State. Precautionary measures for both seasonal flu and swine flu include:

-Washing your hands often with soap and warm water. Alcohol-based hand cleansers are also effective.

-Avoiding people who are ill.

-Staying home from work or school if you are sick.

-Using a tissue when you cough, sneeze or spit, and dispose of the tissue in a covered trash bin.

-Keeping hands away from your face. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.

-Cleaning shared space more often such as phone receivers, keyboards, steering wheels and office equipment.

-Refraining from sharing personal items such as forks, spoons, toothbrushes and towels.

--Dr. Okun

Another Satisfied Patient from Okun Orthodontics

From our great staff to our state-of-the-art technology, patients love coming to Okun Orthodontics. Read this letter from a very happy patient!

Dear Dr. Okun

I am writing to thank you and commend you for your care over the past two years. As you know, I have suffered with jaw pain for years which after a particularly stressful time in my life led to a very painful “locking” of my jaw. I was unable to open my mouth and getting routine x-rays at my dentist’s office was extremely painful.

After being referred to you by my dentist, I was immediately impressed by your professionalism and thoroughness. Your explanations every step of the way put my mind at ease. I was fitted for a biteplate to wear daily to ease the pressure on my jaw. I went from wearing the device all day to wearing it only at night.

While there is no “cure” for my ailment, the biteplate has helped with the management of the jaw pain. Another thing that helped was the energy medicine that you recommended. The goal of the medicine is to “decrease the pain and spasm of the muscles in the face and jaw”. While I must admit I was skeptical at first by this “alternative medicine”, after sitting at the machine I would feel my jaw relax and sometimes a headache I was suffering from would even ease. I did not realize how well the medicine made me feel until I came back for a follow up appointment months later and did not think I needed the energy medicine. I did try it again however, and I was amazed at the difference it made, my face even looked more relaxed when I left.

I would just like to thank you again for your patience, care and for helping me to manage my jaw pain.

Sincerely,
M.H.

Patient Appreciation Letter to Dr. Judith Okun

Read this letter from a happy patient to Dr. Judith Okun!

Dear Dr. Okun,

I am writing to thank you for suggesting that I bring my children to you for “electric medicine” treatments following their wisdom tooth extractions. It clearly worked like a charm to alleviate a great deal of the swelling, pain and discomfort that they had to endure. Although my oldest two children had all four teeth extracted at the same time, they came directly to your office for treatment and experienced minimal swelling and discomfort for a few days.

I was still a little skeptical that the treatments actually worked until my youngest daughter had her teeth pulled recently. The first tooth was pulled in August and I was unable to bring her to your office from the surgeon’s. The swelling and pain from this one tooth was extreme and lasted more than a week. After the other three teeth were pulled this past December we took no chances and came directly to your office. She used the “electric medicine” for the prescribed time and had no swelling on one side and minimal swelling on the other. Within a few days she was completely comfortable with no signs of the surgery.

We are all now firm believers in this method that noticeably speeds the healing process. My children used it whenever you adjusted their braces over the years and I can confirm that this “medicine” really worked. They never complained about pressure from their braces and the treatments definitely healed cuts in their mouths right before our eyes.

I am no longer skeptical in the least because this last success was not one that could be explained away by the power of suggestion. We saw and felt the results. I cannot thank you enough for all your wonderful work and sage advice.


Sincerely,

J.T.

A Layperson's View of a Beautiful Smile as Relayed to Dr. Okun

I’ve known Barbara* for years. She never really had an awful smile. She was a cute girl. She had her orthodontics in high school and got her retainers. I didn’t see her much after high school until yesterday. I was wearing my retainers and was smiling big. I love my smile both with and without my retainers. Barbara was covering her mouth. I thought she was covering her mouth because of my retainer.

As I was walking, I didn’t cover my mouth because I wasn’t shy about wearing my retainers. I saw her teeth when I hugged her and was really shocked. They were awful. The teeth were crooked and her mouth was dirty. You could tell that she just let them go. Right now, in this day and age, your smile is everything. It’s going to get you your job and get you noticed. You want to have a beautiful smile. A beautiful smile goes a long way.

I spoke to one of Barbara’s friends. She told me that Barbara didn’t comply with her orthodontics, and didn’t wear her retainers. I couldn’t believe it. Why would anyone spend money on a beautiful smile and not do what she needed to do to keep it. No matter what you have to do, you have to do it. Your smile is everything.

If you’re just standing at a party looking at two people, would you go to the person with the smile, or the person who was not smiling, who had their mouth closed? Of course you’d go to the person who was smiling. That’s what’s going to stand out.

My sister-in-law had this really huge gap in the front of her mouth. Now she’s wearing braces. She wears her elastics and everything. I can see her teeth moving every day. She’s going to get the surgery (frenectomy) to help the space stay closed. She’s going to be a model, and will do everything she needs to do to get that pretty smile. She has a pretty smile and she knows its worth it. And honestly, what is two years to have something for the rest of your life. It’s not a lot of time to correct something.

*name has been changed to protect the identity of the individual

If you care about your smile and want to receive the highest quality service in a state-of-the-art practice, give Dr. Okun a call. She'd love to have a consultation and let you know what you can do to keep smiling.