As you settle in to your family’s new school year and routine, you may be considering a visit to the orthodontist. Generally, the American Association of Orthodontists recommend that patients see an orthodontist by age 7 for monitoring of growth and development of the face and teeth. Whether it is your first time or your 2nd or 3rd child, it may be helpful to know the ABC’s of orthodontics!
A – Appliances: orthodontic appliances are tools used to help straighten your teeth. These can be braces, aligners (Invisalign), expanders and other devices that work to create a harmonious smile.
B – Bonding: a very important concept in orthodontics & dentistry in general. This helps to hold the brackets on the teeth and if you get Invisalign, this is how we create the attachments to move the teeth more predictably.
C – Crooked Teeth: the most common reason why patients seek orthodontic treatment. We use light continuous forces to guide teeth into ideal alignment to create a smile to be proud of!
D – Duration of Treatment: the timeline varies from patient to patient. The biggest thing is knowing that you are in good hands & the time will fly by.
E – Elastics: Also known as rubber bands, are used to create an ideal bite and can be used with Invisalign as well as braces.
F – Food to Avoid: The neat thing about aligners is you can eat whatever you want while in treatment, you just need to remember to put the tray back in after eating! Braces on the other hand come with a list of sticky, chewy & hard foods that you need to avoid while in treatment.
G – Growth modification: Using braces or appliances to modify and correct the growth during specific times of development to create facial harmony; think headgear or the latest appliance!
H – Hygiene: brushing & flossing are of the utmost importance while in treatment. Not taking care of your teeth creates inflammation which actually can slow down treatment.
I – Impressions: Luckily these are a thing of the past at Katie Pizzo Orthodontics – we use a digital scanner so you don’t have to deal with the gooey impressions anymore!
J – Jaws: As an orthodontic specialist, we study the facial & jaw harmony in addition to the position of the teeth, so during your initial visit we will discuss the facial balance & jaw positions.
K – Katie Pizzo: A little bit about me! My husband & I met in dental school and we have lived in Greenville for a little over 3 years with our 6 year old labradoodle, Farley, who is also a certified therapy dog, and she will be a part time employee in the office! If you wanted to get to know more about me, follow along on Instagram at @katiepizzoorthodontics or check out our website, www.katiepizzoortho.com.
L – Late 2024 on Laurens Road: Hoping to see some of y’all as I prepare to open the doors to my brand new practice at the end of this year! We will be located at 1251 Laurens Road, near Palmetto Fine Foods! Feel free to drive by & check out the construction progress!
Keep an eye out for M-Z in an upcoming issue of North Main Neighbors magazine!
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