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The Importance of Early Orthodontic Treatment in Your Child

As mothers and fathers you look at your children and see if they are developing normally.  Every parent knows that his or her child is special and adorable.  There are some characteristics of children that you may think why he/she looks the way they do.  Why is their jaw smaller then our neighbor’s children?  Why do they walk with their head tilted forward, they snore at night or grind their teeth.  This is all part of growth and development of the child and you should discuss this with your dentist or orthodontist to make sure that we are on track.  We can catch the children in their growth spurt and correct some deficiencies while they are happening and not when it is too late.

Today’s parents do not accept the answers given by some dentist and orthodontists about “just waiting” when they see that their children have crowded teeth, protruding teeth and spaces between the teeth.  Sometimes parents are told that “no treatment is indicated at this time.  The malocclusion should be observed and corrected when the child is older and the permanent teeth have erupted.”  The trouble with this is that once the permanent teeth have erupted we have missed the window of opportunity to take advantage of the natural growth in an individual.  Sometimes when we have missed this window of opportunity we are at a disadvantage to try and straighten the teeth.  We may have the room for all the teeth and we may not, we may have to remove teeth at that time or we may have to even do surgery.  Malocclusions when left untreated worsen over time and those that are trained in a preventive philosophy see waiting as inappropriate in most cases.

The Burlington Growth Study, Toronto, Canada stated that 75% of children at the age of 12 have some form of malocclusion.  Meaning that most of the children in our society have teeth that are out of place in some way.  Since most of the growth and development in the face is completed by age 12 we want to correct the discrepancies early through functional-orthopedic appliances first and fixed braces second, which is known as a two phase treatment.  We can straighten teeth at any age but we can start as early as 4, but the average age is between 9 and 10.

Phase 1 (Orthopedic phase):

                Thumb sucking, digital habits, anterior and lateral tongue thrusts, airway problems including mouth breathing, snoring and jaw joint problems (TMJ) must be corrected early with functional appliances.  Skeletal problems such as constricted maxillary and mandibular arches, prognathic (large jaw or pushed forward) or retrognathic (small jaw or pushed back) mandibles are best treated as early as possible with functional appliances in the mixed dentition.

Phase 2 (Orthodontic phase):

                Strictly dental problems related to the teeth can be corrected with fixed braces.  Crooked teeth, minor crowding and rotated teeth, leveling and aligning of the teeth, settling the occlusion, minor open and closed bite corrections all associated with the permanent dentition.

The benefits of early treatment:

 We can correct the majority of malocclusions without extractions of permanent teeth and surgery is not indicated to reposition the jaws, we can influence jaw growth in a positive manor, harmonize the width of the dental arches, improve eruption patterns, lower the risk of trauma to protruded upper incisors, correct harmful oral habits, improve aesthetics and self-esteem, simplify and/or shorten treatment time for later orthodontic correction, reduce the likelihood of impacted permanent teeth,  improve speech problems, preserve/gain space for the erupting permanent teeth, improve breathing and airway problems.

The wait and see approach does not even seem like an option when you look at the benefits of starting treatment early.  Prevention is the key in most medicines and this is no different.  Please talk with your dentist or orthodontist about early correction of dental problems and if you don’t get the answers you are looking for then look for someone that is going to provide you with the solution you seek. 

With the race quickly approaching on Oct. 2nd we have settled on a meeting place. We are going to be meeting on the corner of Chopper Circle and 11th.  Please look for us in the parking lot with this builing in it.  We will be meeting around 7:45 A.M. and the race starts at 8:00 A.M.

With t

Here is some information taken from the American Dental Association website on why dental radiographs are taken. 

According to the American Dental Association website: 

“Dental X-ray examinations provide valuable information that your dentist could not collect otherwise. With the help of radiographs your dentist can look at what is happening beneath the visible oral tissues. They pose a far smaller risk than many undetected and untreated dental problems.

What are the benefits of a dental radiograph examination?

Many diseases of the teeth and surrounding tissues cannot be seen when your dentist examines your mouth. An X-ray examination may reveal:

Small areas of decay between the teeth or below existing restorations (fillings);

Infections in the bone;

Periodontal (gum) disease;

Abscesses or cysts;

Developmental abnormalities;

Some types of tumors

Finding and treating dental problems at an early stage can save time, money and unnecessary discomfort. It can detect damage to oral structures not visible during a regular exam. If you have a hidden tumor, radiographs may even help save your life.”

We recommend that our patients receive a minimum radiographic evaluation through a series of six films once a year and a full mouth series every five years to evaluate and anticipate the various problems listed above.  In reviewing some patient records of this practice, it is typical that the patients were not receiving a thorough radiographic evaluation in which some major problems were left undiscovered until it was beyond the point of repair.  We would like to avoid this from happening in your mouth. 

We take radiographs from different angles to evaluate different surfaces of the tooth and surrounding tissue.  Since a radiograph is a two-dimensional picture of a three-dimensional object, multiple angles are needed to give an accurate diagnosis.   

The hygienist may notice significant changing in the level of the bone since the last series of radiographs were completed and evaluate for periodontal disease.  These anatomical areas around the teeth need to be monitored for changes and that is only accomplished through radiographic review.  We would like to see improvement in the bone level and not destruction and loss of bone height.

We are looking out for the best interest in your long-term health and care when we suggest a radiographic evaluation.  We also understand each individuals needs and requirements for their own health objectives are going to be different.  Under the Dental Board regulations of the State of Colorado I am required to do a thorough diagnosis on all patients of the practice, which includes radiographic evaluation at the fore mentioned intervals.  We are not permitted to treat anyone without upholding these standards.

My goal is to prevent an unnecessary treatment before it poses a serious problem or compromises your health in any way.  I appreciate your interest in your oral health and am always happy to educate my patients in any way that I can.  Please feel free to contact me with any other questions.

Sincerely,

Dr. John Montoya 

~

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We should really be using the term dental benefits and not dental insurance. Dental insurance is a plan with a set-spending limit that is renewed every year.  You are paying a monthly premium to receive the benefit of using their services.  Most of the limits that are set by dental insurance companies have not changed since the 1970’s.  The average yearly allowance for most plans is $1,500.00.  This is unlike medical insurance in which the sicker you get the more they pay or auto insurance where the more damage to your car the more they pay. Once you have used the allotted amount set aside for your plan within the year your benefits have finished.  They will no longer pay for your care until the yearly renewal rolls over and your maximum benefit for the year starts over. 

Please know the limitations of your plan by talking with your HR department. Your employer on your behalf has negotiated your plan.  The employer can add and subtract services to make the plan more affordable for the employer and the employee.  Just a few examples of things that could be added or subtracted from your coverage would be orthodontics, implants and occlusal guards.  If you are not happy with the plan that is offered by your employer then you should talk with your HR department to see if there are other options like a health savings account.

Most plans allow you to see any dentist that you want and are not restricted to the ones designated on a list.  Some plans do not give you a choice and you have to see ones that they pick for you.  Whether you get to pick the doctors office or it is picked for you that office is limited by the yearly amount that you are allotted. That fact never changes. Every office is going to maximize the insurance benefits that you signed up for.  All insurances are going to cover a portion of your dental treatment that is allowed by the plan.  Unfortunately, dental insurance is not going to cover all of your needs in a given year if your treatment involves any significant work and most of the cost if going to be out of pocket.

Think of insurance as a gift card and if you don’t use it by the end of the year it goes away.  Please make sure that you are using your dental benefits because you are paying for them and they do not roll over from year to year.  Get your treatment completed because it will help with the investment of your health.  You should talk with your treating dental office and see what is available to make treatment affordable.  You may be able to spread treatment out over months or years.  They may have payment plans or relationships with outside financing companies.  They may offer cash discounts for services paid upfront or in advance.

We are here to help make health care affordable for all of our patients and we will work with you to find a solution.  We will maximize your benefits for you and help you know the limitations of your plan.  Please call our office if you have any questions and start scheduling your appointments before the end of the year if you have unused benefits that will exp

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We have a colleague that made a service trip to provide dental care in India this summer.  Our office was fortunate enough to supply some instruments for the cause.  It is always wonderful when someone can give back in our profession and we are so proud of Shawna and her team for their service.  We look forward to hearing all the wonderful stories and experiences that she had.  Here is the thank you letter that she sent out to everyone that contributed.

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We eat with them!  Most of the time when people retire they tend to get together with their friends and social circles that end up revolving around food.  Let’s do coffee.  How about happy hour? Brunch anyone?

You want your teeth to be functional and healthy for a lifetime.  Unfortunately most people don’t plan for their dental health when they retire.  Most of the time when we are getting older we add medications to our regimen.  Some medications change the condition of our mouths and leave us more susceptible to gum disease.  People with gum disease should be seeing their dentist a minimum of three times a year if they have great home care and the majority would be seeing their dentist four times a year.

The other factor that people don’t account for is the aging fillings that are in their mouths.  Some people have very old and large silver fillings that eventually break the tooth and would require crowns.  Schedule a consultation with your dentist a few years before you are going to retire and come up with a plan to restore your mouth to a healthy and functioning state over time.  This can be done by addressing all your needs at once or a little at a time.  This way when you retire you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you will most like avoiding a broken tooth while you are out with your friends having an everything bagel and cup of coffee.

You can work towards a goal of having all your final treatment done before you retire to spread the investment out along the way.  You will also have an oral health plan to keep your teeth and gums healthy and free from disease.  Call your dentist today and set up your consultation.

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Custom Mouth Guards Save Teeth

Contact sports are the number one reason for facial injuries, but parents are still amazed when it happens to their child.  This should be a major concern of any parent who has a child playing a sport.  No parent wants to see their child with a tooth knocked loose, fractured or actually get pushed right through the lips.  We as dentists see oral trauma from sports all the time in which the majority of them could have been prevented every year with one simple device, a professional sports mouth guard. 

There are some sports where we see the least amount of oral trauma, like football and hockey, because these are the sports where mouth guards are usually worn.  Oral injuries occur in sports all across the spectrum - from falls and elbows during basketball, baseball, soccer, skiing, wrestling and other contact sports.

Most parents get the ‘one size fits all’ mouth guards found in most sporting goods stores and they soon find out that they don’t fit very well.  First off they are uncomfortable and the athlete has to hold there teeth together to keep them in place.  How in the world can anyone run around on a basketball court or a soccer field, trying to breathe trough an open mouth, yet keep their teeth together to hold in the mouth guard.  This is why the athletes tend not to wear these types of mouth guards during sports.  When the athletes go without mouth guards, the injuries start happening.

The reason that parents don’t get custom made professional sports mouth guards for their child athletes is because they are usually expensive – about $350 each.  They are also just like shoes, kids can and will outgrow them in just one season of one sport.  What family can pay that fee a couple times a year for each child?

Dr. John Montoya, who practices in Boulder, made the decision that he wanted to ‘give back’ to his patients and his community.  “Doing something for kids was my primary goal”, states Dr. Montoya.  I went out and got all the laboratory equipment to make the mouth guards in our office, so that we could avoid the high charges by the dental laboratories. This now allows me to provide these mouth guards to our patients at no charge as my way of helping out.

These custom made professional sports guards fit snuggly on the teeth and you have to virtually pull it off to remove it.  With these custom made professional sports guards the athletes can run and breathe through an open mouth without fear of the mouth guard falling out.  They can even talk and yell to other teammates and coaches with the mouth guards in.  Please feel free to contact our office to get more information about custom made professional sports guards at no charge for your young athlete.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure®

Susan G. Komen fought breast cancer with her heart, body and soul. Throughout her diagnosis, treatments, and endless days in the hospital, she spent her time thinking of ways to make life better for other women battling breast cancer instead of worrying about her own situation. That concern for others continued even as Susan neared the end of her fight. Moved by Susan’s compassion for others and committed to making a difference, Nancy G. Brinker promised her sister that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. Dedicated to breast cancer only, Susan G. Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest private funder of breast cancer research and community health programs. With more than $1.9 billion invested to date, Komen for the Cure is moving ahead with its commitment to invest $2 billion by the year 2017. Every major advance in the fight against breast cancer has been touched by

Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Susan G. Komen has helped train more than 400 breast cancer researchers and funded more than 1,800 research projects over the past 26 years.

Denver Metropolitan Affiliate of Susan G.

Komen for the Cure®

One year after the first Komen Denver Race for the Cure in 1993, the Komen Denver Affiliate was formed to carry out the promise of our National organization — to save lives, empowerpeople, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. The Affiliate continually strives to meet this promise through our core activities — education, fundraising, advocacy and grant making. We are proud to have invested over $28 million into our service area to date, and $11 million in national breast cancer research. Our current funding cycle April 1, 2011- March 31, 2012 boasts 26 projects to 21 local nonprofit organizations totaling $2.9 million. The 26 projects were selected by our independent Community Review Panel as those that will have the greatest impact in serving underinsured or uninsured individuals in our service area. For more information on these projects go to www.komendenver.org/race , select the Grants tab; see how the efforts of our Team Captains, fundraisers and donors have made a positive impact in the fight against breast cancer. THANK YOU!

Race Facts

When:

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Pepsi Center

What:

Races and Times for 2011

_ 7:00 am 5K Inspiration Run (self timed event)

_ 8:00 am 5K Celebration Walk

_ 9:00 am Family Fun 1 Mile Walk

_ 10:15 am Survivor Celebration Ceremony

_ Sleep in for the Cure®

Sleep in for the Cure is a great way to get involved without getting out of bed or for family &

friends who are out of town to join your team. For those who can’t make it down to the Race

but want to support the program, this is perfect for them.

FREE T-SHIRT AND BIB MAILING FOR TEAM MEMBERS REGISTERING

ONLINE BEFORE SEPTEMBER 23 AT 5:00 P.M.

Team members are to register online at www.komendenver.org/race.  Look for our team name Dr. John Montoya.  We will have more information for you as the race gets closer.  Thank you for your support. 

As we move forward with our blog, we hope to promote dental awareness as a vital part of your healthy lifestyle. Here you will find a variety of articles and topics including dental news, advancements in dental technology and treatment, practical dental health advice and updates from the Boulder Dental Designs.

We hope you find our blog to be helpful, engaging and informational to ensure your best dental health.  

As always, feel free to contact us with any dental questions or concerns.

--The Boulder Dental Designs Team

... from universities, journals, and other research organizations

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In the Mouth, Smoking Zaps Healthy Bacteria

ScienceDaily (Feb. 15, 2012)— According to a new study, smoking causes the body to turn against its own helpful bacteria, leaving smokers more vulnerable to disease.

See Also:                   

Health & Medicine

• Dentistry
• Smoking
• Staying Healthy

Plants & Animals

• Bacteria
• Microbes and More
• Extreme Survival

Reference

• Periodontal disease
• Halitosis
• Bronchitis
• Transmission (medicine)

Despite the daily disturbance of brushing and flossing, the mouth of a healthy person contains a stable ecosystem of healthy bacteria. New research shows that the mouth of a smoker is a much more chaotic, diverse ecosystem -- and is much more susceptible to invasion by harmful bacteria.

As a group, smokers suffer from higher rates of oral diseases -- especially gum disease -- than do nonsmokers, which is a challenge for dentists, according to Purnima Kumar, assistant professor of periodontology at Ohio State University. She and her colleagues are involved in a multi-study investigation of the role the body's microbial communities play in preventing oral disease.

"The smoker's mouth kicks out the good bacteria, and the pathogens are called in," said Kumar. "So they're allowed to proliferate much more quickly than they would in a non-smoking environment."

The results suggest that dentists may have to offer more aggressive treatment for smokers and would have good reason to suggest quitting smoking, Kumar said.

"A few hours after you're born, bacteria start forming communities called biofilms in your mouth," said Kumar. "Your body learns to live with them, because for most people, healthy biofilms keep the bad bacteria away."

She likens a healthy biofilm to a lush, green lawn of grass. "When you change the dynamics of what goes into the lawn, like too much water or too little fertilizer," she said, "you get some of the grass dying, and weeds moving in." For smokers, the "weeds" are problem bacteria known to cause disease.

In a new study, Kumar's team looked at how these bacterial ecosystems regrow after being wiped away. For 15 healthy nonsmokers and 15 healthy smokers, the researchers took samples of oral biofilms one, two, four and seven days after professional cleaning.

The researchers were looking for two things when they swabbed subjects' gums. First, they wanted to see which bacteria were present by analyzing DNA signatures found in dental plaque. They also monitored whether the subjects' bodies were treating the bacteria as a threat. If so, the swab would show higher levels of cytokines, compounds the body produces to fight infection.

The results of the study were published in the journal Infection and Immunity.

"When you compare a smoker and nonsmoker, there's a distinct difference," said Kumar. "The first thing you notice is that the basic 'lawn,' which would normally contain thriving populations made of a just few types of helpful bacteria, is absent in smokers."

The team found that for nonsmokers, bacterial communities regain a similar balance of species to the communities that were scraped away during cleaning. Disease-associated bacteria are largely absent, and low levels of cytokines show that the body is not treating the helpful biofilms as a threat.

"By contrast," said Kumar, "smokers start getting colonized by pathogens -- bacteria that we know are harmful -- within 24 hours. It takes longer for smokers to form a stable microbial community, and when they do, it's a pathogen-rich community."

Smokers also have higher levels of cytokines, indicating that the body is mounting defenses against infection. Clinically, this immune response takes the form of red, swollen gums -- called gingivitis -- that can lead to the irreversible bone loss of periodontitis.

In smokers, however, the body is not just trying to fight off harmful bacteria. The types of cytokines in smokers' gum swabs showed the researchers that smokers' bodies were treating even healthy bacteria as threatening.

Although they do not yet understand the mechanisms behind these results, Kumar and her team suspect that smoking is confusing the normal communication that goes on between healthy bacterial communities and their human hosts.

Practically speaking, these findings have clear implications for patient care, according to Kumar.

"It has to drive how we treat the smoking population," she said. "They need a more aggressive form of treatment, because even after a professional cleaning, they're still at a very high risk for getting these pathogens back in their mouths right away.

"Dentists don't often talk to their patients about smoking cessation," she continued. "These results show that dentists should take a really active role in helping patients to get the support they need to quit."

For Kumar, who is a practicing periodontist as well as a teaching professor, doing research has changed how she treats her patients. "I tell them about our studies, about the bacteria and the host response, and I say, 'Hey -- I'm really scared for you.' Patients have been more willing to listen, and two actually quit."

Kumar's collaborators include Chad Matthews and Vinayak Joshi of Ohio State's College of Dentistry as well as Marko de Jager and Marcelo Aspiras of Philips Oral Healthcare. The research was sponsored by a grant from Philips Oral Healthcare.