Why do I have spaces now that I am in treatment? The early stages of orthodontic treatment are the leveling/alignment phases. What this means, is that general lining up of teeth and alleviation of crowding is occurring. As the braces and wires move the teeth, often little spaces will develop between teeth as they are being pushed and moved around one another. This is completely normal! Some space does need to be created for teeth to have space to move. I remember being a pati

As I have mentioned before, the AAO recommends that children be examined by an orthodontist starting at the age of 7. For young kids that need early Phase I intervention for one reason or another, this is great. But what about the majority of the kids who don’t need anything right now? In our office we have a complimentary Junior Observation program. Children who do not need a Phase I intervention are followed on a regular basis- often times yearly or every 6 months depending

Baby teeth (primary teeth) are meant to come out on their own. So then why would an orthodontist recommend extracting baby teeth? There are a variety of reasons why it might be recommended to extract a baby tooth. I generally leave it up to the patient’s pediatric dentist or family dentist to extract a tooth based upon decay. But, if there is a space issue, or if the adult tooth underneath is not developing straight and appears to be at an angle, it can be highly recommend

A question I get a lot is “I (or my child) just had x-rays taken at the dentist, why do I also need x-rays taken for orthodontics?” This is a valid question. In years past there was a lot of concern about the dose of radiation received from x-ray machines. As a result, it put patients and parents on high alert about receiving x-rays. The great news is that with the advent of digital radiography we can now enjoy significantly lower doses of radiation than ever before. One pano

How long should I wear retainers? Not that many years ago, the recommendation for wearing retainers was to wear them for a few months after orthodontic treatment and that was about it. Well, we know a lot more now than even 10 or 20 years ago and the new recommendation is to anticipate Retainer for Life. We all know that skin sags down and wrinkles form over time. Much in the same way, teeth have a tendency to shift forward and inwards over the course of a person’s lifetime.

TMJ Up to ¾ of Americans may experience at least one sign of a temporomandibular joint problem. Yes, that many! These signs can be anything from soreness of the jaw, popping, clicking, locking of the jaw, or migraine headaches. Does this mean that these symptoms need treatment? No. Experts in the field of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery from Mass General Hospital affilitated with Harvard School of Dental Medicine in Boston have indicated that only about 5% of patients with sym