The Importance of Retainers, from Dr. Goldknopf

If you recently completed treatment at The Brace Place, we’d like to congratulate you! Now that your braces have been removed, Dr. Goldknopf will provide—or has 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 Dr. Goldknopf is the best insurance that the treatment improvements last for a lifetime.

Here are some things to remember when you receive your retainers:

* Wear your retainers full time, until the doctor instructs otherwise. Wearing your retainers at night ensures that your pearly whites won’t relapse.
* Take your retainers out when eating...and always put retainers in their case! (Most appliances are lost in school lunch rooms or restaurants.)
* Clean retainers thoroughly once a day with a toothbrush and only a small amount of toothpaste. Use warm but not hot water.
* When retainers are not in your mouth they should ALWAYS be in a retainer case.
* Retainers are breakable, so treat them with care. If retainers are lost or broken, give us a call immediately.
* Remove retainers when swimming or during any sporting activity in which the retainers could fall out and get broken or lost (cheerleading, basketball, etc.) or when you should be wearing a mouth guard (football, soccer, etc.).

We hope this helps! You can always contact our team if you have any questions!

What's the difference between a Dentist and an Orthodontist?

"Dentists, Orthodontists, they're all the same right?" At The Brace Place, we hear our patients asking this question as they wonder about the difference between an orthodontist and a dentist. Before becoming an orthodontist Dr. Joshua Goldknopf started out in dental school and earned a DDS (dental degree), just like your dentist. After dental school however, Dr. Goldknopf decided he wanted to learn more about orthodontics, which is one of nine specialties within the dental field. So he stayed in school for a few more years and became an expert in orthodontics, which focuses on tooth and jaw alignment and bite problems like overbites and under bites.

Other dental specialties you may have heard of include endodontic (focusing on the soft tissue inside your teeth), periodontic (focusing on the gums and other tissues surrounding your teeth) and prosthodontic (focusing on restoring and replacing damaged teeth).

Isn't it nice to know there's a dental expert here to help you through any type of treatment your teeth, jaw and gums might need?

Give us a call to schedule your next visit!

National Children’s Dental Health Month is here!

Each February for the past 61years, the American Dental Association (ADA) has sponsored National Children's Dental Health Month to raise awareness about the importance of oral health. Developing good habits at an early age and scheduling regular dental visits helps children get a good start on a lifetime of healthy teeth and gums.

For kids wearing braces, brushing and flossing can become more difficult, requiring extra time and vigilance to remove food particles that accumulate on and between the teeth and in braces. New options for braces such as Invisalign Teen, which is removable, make it easier for kids to maintain good oral health during orthodontic treatment.

If the health of your teeth is ignored during treatment with braces, the results can be significantly compromised. Dr. Joshua Goldknopf is available and happy to explain why effective brushing and flossing is one of the most critical actions needed from patients during orthodontic treatment. Have you visited us lately? Give us a call and schedule an appointment!

December 2010 Stocking Winner!

The Brace Place would like to send out a BIG congratulations to our patient, Emily Martinez, for being the December 2010 Stocking Winner! She took home a stocking full of gift cards from local businesses.