Month: July 2018

Have you had to have impressions made of your teeth? It’s one of the first steps taken when getting braces or other restorative dental treatment. The impression is a negative imprint of hard teeth that gives an orthodontist a birds-eye view of the current position of your teeth, so he or she can determine the best treatment plan.

The problem is that the material used is universally understood to be “yucky.” In fact, impressions may be one of the worst parts of braces application… but not at Wright Orthodontics. At our practice we use the iTero® Scanner in place of traditional impressions.

More Accurate Picture

With the iTero® Scanner, not only does an orthodontist get a full picture of the patient’s mouth and teeth, but he or she sees a 3D picture of how the mouth and jaws fit with the entire facial structure.

Reduced Patient Stress

The process of taking traditional impressions is stressful to some patients. If the impression isn’t taken correctly, it must be repeated. With the iTero® Scanner, the digital impressions are taken quickly and accurately, which reduces the stress of being at the dentist or orthodontist.

Much Less Time to Complete

Digital impressions like those taken with the iTero® Scanner take much less time to complete than when using traditional dental impressions. In fact, most often the impressions are taken within about five minutes.

Immediate Results

Because the iTero® Scanner takes impressions digitally, the results are instant, which leads to faster treatment times during appointments.

Less Possibility for Errors

Traditional impressions leave more room for error than digital impressions. Small distortions from the impressions may cause the restoration or orthodontics to be poor fitting. With the iTero® Scanner, trained staff members can see the images immediately and retake them if they are not satisfied with what they see. Furthermore, they can enlarge the image on the screen to get an even better visual of what they want to see.

Dr. Marc S. Wright uses the iTero® Scanner on patients receiving orthodontic treatment with Invisalign® so that he can provide the most accurate images of teeth for the clear aligner trays. If you are interested in finding out more about orthodontics or Invisalign®, contact us today to schedule a consultation.

It happens. The brackets on braces sometimes break for various reasons whether brushing too hard or eating the wrong foods. And it never fails — it always seems to happen at the most inopportune moments like the weekend or at night. Don’t panic – we have you covered. There are steps you can take to “fix” a broken bracket until you are able to get in touch with us for an appointment.

Assess the Situation

Look at the bracket and make sure the wire is not poking into your gum (more on this below). If the wire is in place, use a cotton swab to press the bracket into place and use orthodontic wax to hold it there until you can get your child to see us. For brackets that have broken, try and remove it from the wire and bring it to the orthodontist to reapply.

Check Out the Wires

If a bracket in the back has broken, the wire may poke into the gums, which can be painful and cause bleeding. The wires are easy to snip and can be cut back by adults to lessen discomfort. If the wires are too short to cut, use orthodontic wax or a pencil eraser to cover the wire until you can seek care.

Call Our Offices

Call us as soon as possible to let us know what has happened so we can assess the situation over the phone. If it is not too serious, we’ll schedule an appointment the next business day to repair the brackets and continue treatment. For serious issues or breaks, we may ask you to meet the doctor at the office as soon as possible to prevent further injury to your mouth.

Be Careful

It is important to take good care of your braces until you can be seen the following day. Be careful about what you eat sticking to soft foods to avoid further damage. Gargling with salt water is also a good idea to help any abrasions from the brackets or wires heal quickly.

Proper Care = Fewer Issues

Braces are affixed to the teeth with strong adhesive, but there are always exceptions. Doing everything you can to care for your orthodontics is the best way to prevent broken brackets. Follow the instructions we provide to care for your orthodontics and be sure to keep your appointments. We encourage our patients to reach out to Dr. Marc S. Wright with any questions. Contact our office to get your questions answered by a professional.