Why do I need a braces adjustment so often?

When you have braces, your wires will need to be replaced with new ones regularly. It is the slow, steady pressure placed on your teeth that move them into their desired positions, so these adjustments are a vital aspect of your treatment. We have set out a specific treatment plan to achieve your optimal results, and keeping up with your appointments will allow your treatment to be completed in the predicted amount of time.

Scheduling your adjustments sooner than planned may result in more pain and discomfort, because your teeth haven’t been allowed to settle into their new positions properly. Skipping appointments or scheduling them farther apart will result in a much longer treatment time. Visiting our office regularly will also allow us to answer any questions you may have, check for damaged appliances, and monitor your progress.

Am I Too Old for Braces?

Orthodontic treatment for adults is becoming more and more common. In fact, the number of adults getting braces has actually climbed 24 percent since 1996! More adults than ever are realizing that orthodontic treatment is not just for kids, and can help improve the aesthetics and health of a smile of any age! In society where appearance matters and can help make the difference between getting a job or a promotion, adults are choosing wisely to invest in orthodontic treatment.
Some of the most common reasons our adult patients come to us considering orthodontic treatment include:
• Teeth that are crowded or spaced apart, sometimes as a result of tooth decay or gum disease
• Pain or pressure from crooked teeth or a misaligned jaw
• A bad bite or malocclusion, causing teeth to fit together incorrectly
Most of all though, adult patients come to our office seeking a healthier mouth and a more confident smile! Orthodontic treatment at our office can be successful at any age, and adults especially can appreciate the benefits of a beautiful smile.
As an adult patient, we recognize that you have different needs than our younger patients, and we will work with you to ensure you receive the most appropriate treatment and that your needs are met with understanding and respect from us.
If you’ve been thinking about getting that perfect smile, we would love to have you visit for a consultation. We understand you have a busy schedule, and will work with you to find a time that is convenient for you. Please visit our website or give our office a call to schedule your appointment today!

St. Patrick’s Day Fun Facts!

Our team wants to know: Will you be wearing your green this Saturday? Whether Irish or not, millions of people around the world celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with toasts, parades and “the wearing of the green.” Here are some fun facts about St. Patty’s Day we know you will enjoy:
• St. Patrick’s Day is observed on March 17th because that is the feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It is also a worldwide celebration of Irish culture and history.
• The name “lephrechaun” has several origins. It could be from the Irish Gaelic word “leipreachan,” which means “a kind of aqueous sprite.” Or, it could be from “leath bhrogan,” which simply means “shoemaker.”
• Some American towns have Irish names. They include: Shamrock Lakes, Indiana; Shamrock, Oklahoma; Shamrock, Texas; Dublin, California and Dublin, Ohio and Mount Gay-Shamrock, West Virginia
• Despite what you may have heard, St. Patrick never banished snakes from Ireland. In fact, no snakes exist or ever existed in Ireland. Ireland is surrounded by icy ocean waters, much too cold to allow snakes to migrate from Britain or anywhere else.
• St. Patrick’s Day was first celebrated in America in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1737. Approximately 34 million Americans claim Irish ancestry. That’s almost nine times the population of Ireland, which has 4.1 million people.
If you have something special planned for St. Patrick’s Day, let us know by posting a comment on our Facebook page.

Connect with us on Facebook!

We will be rolling out our new Facebook Timeline page soon and would love for you to check it out! You’ll find all the useful information that was there before, but now in a fun, new layout. When you Like us on Facebook, you’ll be able to check out photos of our office, find out about new events and contests, or you can even leave a note about how much you enjoyed your visit at our office. We love hearing your feedback to make our practice serve you and your family even better. To make life even easier, if you “Like” us on Facebook, you’ll automatically receive updates from our office right on your own news feed!
See you on Facebook!

What causes crooked teeth?

There are several reasons why some people's teeth grow in crooked, overlapping, or twisted. Some people's mouths are too small for their teeth, which crowds the teeth and causes them to shift. In other cases, a person's upper and lower jaws aren't the same size or are malformed. Most often, crooked teeth are inherited traits just as the color of your eyes or hair. Other causes of crooked teeth are early loss of baby or adult teeth, undue pressure on the teeth and gums, misalignment of jaw after facial injury, or common oral health problems in children such as thumb sucking, tongue thrusting, or prolonged use of a bottle or pacifier.

Having crooked teeth isn’t just a cosmetic issue; it can lead to serious health problems as well. Crooked teeth can:

• interfere with proper chewing
• make keeping teeth clean more of a challenge, increasing the risk of tooth decay, cavities, and gingivitis
• strain the teeth, jaws, and muscles, increasing the risk of breaking a tooth

There are several orthodontic procedures that can help correct crooked teeth, and at Memorial Smiles we have many services that we can customize to meet your needs. We want you to be proud to show off your smile!

"Hey Dr. Magness! What's the deal with retainers?"

If you recently completed treatment at Memorial Smiles, we’d like to congratulate you! Now that your braces have been removed, Drs. Marc and Bonham Magness will provide—or have provided you—with retainers. After braces are removed, teeth can shift out of position if they are not stabilized. Retainers provide that stabilization. They are designed to hold teeth in their corrected, ideal positions until the bones and gums adapt to the treatment changes. Wearing retainers exactly as instructed by Drs. Marc and Bonham Magness is the best insurance that the treatment improvements last for a lifetime.

To learn more about the advantages of wearing retainers after your orthodontic treatment at Memorial Smiles, please read this helpful article about retainers from KidsHealth or give us a call!

Making Braces Fit into Your Life

When you get braces at Memorial Smiles there are a few things you’ll have to adjust to get optimal results in the shortest amount of time. If you have any questions about the “do’s and don’ts” of living with braces, feel free to ask Dr. Magness or any member of our staff during your next adjustment!
Eating
When you have braces, there are a few types of food that can damage your brackets and bend your wires, leading to more appointments and longer treatment times. By simply avoiding sticky, chewy, crunchy, and hard foods, as well as foods that require biting into like corn on the cob, your orthodontic experience will be much easier.
Cleaning
You’ll never believe the amount of food that can get stuck between your braces when you eat. In addition to causing bad breath and tooth decay, it looks pretty gross, too. It’s so important to brush your teeth after every meal and floss every day, and even though it’s kind of a hassle, it’ll all be worth it in the end.
Sports
Protecting your smile if you play sports is essential when you have braces. Mouthguards help protect your teeth and gums from injury. Dr. Magness can create a custom mouthguard just for you if you plan on participating in any kind of contact sport or you can purchase an adjustable mouthguard at the front desk and the doctors will be happy to mold it to your mouth.