There are many different types malocclusions or bite problems that require orthodontic treatment at Get It Straight Orthodontics. Below is  list of the most common orthodontic problems seen today in children, teens and adults.

Contact our office to schedule a consultation to determine how we can help you with your orthodontic  needs.  It is not necessary to have a referral from you general dentist to take advantage of this complimentary service we provide to all our patients.

Overbite:  Upper teeth protrude over the lower teeth. Often called "Buck teeth"
Deepbite: The upper teeth cover the lower teeth wearing down the enamel of the lowers
Underbite: The lower teeth cover the upper teeth. This may be the result of a jaw growth discrepancy and/or tooth problem.
Openbite: The upper and lower front teeth do not come together.  Often the result of a finger habit, allergies, or enlarged tonsils and adenoids.
Crowding: Jaws are too narrow or teeth are too large causing crowded or malaligned teeth.
Spacing:  Teeth are too small or jaws are too large causing space between teeth.
Crossbite: Upper teeth are inside the lower teeth.

To become a candidate, interested patients must complete or have complete for them, a Smile for a Lifetime Foundation application that is available on our website.  If you know someone who qualifies for this program.  Please encourage them to visit our website for more information.

If you have any comments or questions about our program, please use the contact box below.

• The first baby teeth are usually lost at about six years of age. Some kids may lose theirs as early as five or as late as seven, which is still considered normal.
• The average child will have lost eight baby teeth by age eight; four front teeth on top and four front teeth on the bottom.
• Between 8-10 you will normally not see much loss or eruption of teeth. During this two-year “break” interceptive orthodontic treatment may be indicated.  This is why the American Association of Orthodontics recommends that all children be evaluated by age 7. This allows Dr Giangreco, Dr Preston, and Dr Casatta to determine if your child’s teeth and jaws are developing correctly and intervene with recommendations or treatment, if indicated.
• Around ten years of age the remaining teeth begin to fall out. The average adolescent loses all their baby teeth before 13.  Girls often lose their teeth faster than the boys and sometimes as early as 11.  The 12-year or 2^nd molars start to make their appearance during this time.
• Third molars will begin to develop around age 16 and more often than not, need to be removed due to lack of space in the dental arch to accommodate the teeth.  X-rays at this age are recommended to determine if there is enough room for third molars before the roots fully develop to make extraction easier if required.

Most parents have questions about delayed tooth loss during the two years between eight and ten when nothing is happening. However, parents need not worry about delayed tooth loss unless:

• There is not enough room for permanent teeth causing crowding. They may not be able to push out the overlying baby teeth.
• Congenitally missing permanent teeth. Baby teeth with no underlying permanent replacements may be retained indefinitely.
• Extra teeth can block the normal eruption of permanent ones. With a simple x-ray, your orthodontist can tell you if there really is a problem or if your child is just developing slowly.

An important service Get It Straight Orthodontics provides is monitoring the dental development of your child’s dentition and make recommendations regarding baby teeth to encourage proper tooth eruption and jaw development during growth.

Baby teeth preserve space for permanent teeth until they are developed enough to come in. If the baby teeth come out too early, space can be lost causing crowding of the underlying permanent ones. At the other end, baby teeth that are not lost on time can force the permanent ones to come in crooked creating a more difficult orthodontic condition. If the teeth are crowded, your child may lose two baby teeth naturally to accommodate the eruption of a single larger permanent tooth. If baby teeth are lost prematurely due to an accident or decay, an orthodontist should be consulted to see if a space maintainer is needed. 

Contact our office for a complimentary new patient exam to determine if your child’s teeth are developing normally. Feel free to ask questions or make comments in the area below.

The Doctors and the Team at Get It Straight Orthodontics want to make sure you understand sports drinks can damage healthy teeth. Actually, “erode” is more like the term, especially around the brackets while wearing braces. These sort of drinks erode your teeth by “demineralization,” or reducing the minerals in the outer tooth enamel and also the dentin (“dentin” is a yellowish, calcified tissue underneath the tooth enamel). It doesn’t affect the enamel underneath the braces covered by the brackets.

Dental erosion is common. It happens when you lose tooth structure since acids dissolve enamel and dentin. When your teeth are exposed to an acidic substance like a sports drink, soda, or candy, dental erosion is not far behind.

Everyone knows about candy and soda. Sports drinks, on the other hand, are not thrown into this group of tooth killers. And energy drinks and some flavored waters can be just as harmful if they contain citrus flavoring.

Are sports drinks the only source of dental erosion? Actually, there are many factors that contribute to dental erosion. As we age, our teeth naturally lose some enamel over time. Dental hygiene is also a big factor; if you keep your teeth clean and healthy, the acids and plaque are kept to a minimum and your teeth will last longer!

Remineralization, as the word suggests, is the process of building minerals needed for strong teeth. A tooth has biofilm coating for protection. But when your teeth are exposed to acids, your biofilm decreases and your teeth lose their surface minerals.

You are messing with your long term dental health when you drink a sports drink like Gatorade. Here is an online link to the ingredients in Gatorade. Water is the number one ingredient with sugar #2 and citric acid #3. This acid invites growth of acidogenic bacteria and leads to erosion of teeth. In addition to that, citric acid forms complexes with calcium and lowers the effectiveness of the biofilm. That is why sports drinks have been reported to cause three times as much damage to enamel compared to soft drinks. Phosphoric acid, which is a component of soft drinks, is not as harmful as citric acid.

Prevention

The simplest way to prevent sports drinks from damaging your teeth is to avoid them and drink water. For most physical activity, water is sufficient to keep you hydrated and fresh. Also, most sports drinks now offer a low-calorie alternative that has little or no sugar. While they might taste different and lack the “sugar boost” of their counterparts, sports drinks without citric acid and sugar are better for your teeth.

If you do drink soda or sports drinks, no sipping. The number of contacts with the teeth makes the problem worse. DO NOT BRUSH your teeth afterwards; it makes the problem much worse. The enamel is weak from the acid. It takes at least a half hour of saliva contact on the teeth to allow some recovery and repair before the enamel can withstand the harshness of the toothbrush. It is counterintuitive, but brushing after drinking acidic drinks causes the problems to worsen.

There is also a definite relationship between dental erosion and the consumption of acidic (sweet) drinks, as well as obesity and diabetes in both children and adults. Remember: it always pays to be mindful of what you take in to your body! Whether a solid food, candy, soda, or sports drink, take the necessary steps to prevent unwanted conditions in any form that can damage your teeth.

There are many sports drinks and flavored waters sold today. We recommend you take the time to read the labels. Check for sugar content and citric acid in the ingredients. If they are one of the top ingredients on the label we suggest you avoid them. It can save your teeth and improve your dental health over a lifetime.

Your first discussion sets the stage for how your child accepts or rejects the news they require treatment at Get It Straight.  Allowing your apprehension and fears to surface can impact how your child responds.

Many different types of braces are available that will suit your child's personalized needs and reduce apprehension.  Clear braces and Invisalign may be an option. Plus treatment time and discomfort is much less than in years past. But a child’s personal perception of orthodontic treatment can make them believe otherwise. For this reason it is important to be upbeat, positive, and supportive when they receive the news they may need treatment. 

Focusing on the pros of undergoing treatment, such as a beautiful smile and improved dental health rather than the discomfort, inconvenience, and negative social stigma provides best results.  Proper orientation by parents and our team creates a positive response when informing a child that orthodontic treatment is in their best interest.

At your child’s first visit to Get It Straight Orthodontics, we will explain everything they need to know about their problem, why they need braces to improve the situation, and what type of braces are recommended. We do our best to put your child at ease, answer all their questions, and make them feel at home in our office. If you child has questions before the appointment you can’t answer, be honest: “I don’t know that, let’s ask the orthodontist during the appointment”.

Wearing braces today is very common and you want your child to be excited about the treatment as well as understanding the importance of the cooperation required to create a beautiful smile.  By the end of the appointment, our goal is to make your child jazzed about treatment rather than upset with the prospect of wearing braces.  When offering positive feedback throughout the process, your child will be motivated every step of the way, making treatment as painless as possible while creating a good result.

If you have any concerns prior to the first visit that you feel may impact a negative response from your child, contact our office so we can discuss beforehand.  Communication is the key to success on all levels.  Let’s all work together to make your child’s initiation to orthodontics a good one.

Orthodontic Studies report 70 percent of the US population could benefit from having their teeth and jaws realigned with orthodontic treatment. Ancient ancestors had perfect teeth and bites, as evidenced by fossil records. Then, about 10,000 years ago, malocclusions (bad bites) seem to have become more prevalent. Why? Human growth patterns saw teeth and jaws fail to accommodate teeth and jaw development as different ethnic and genetic backgrounds began to live together and populate.

In many cases, a patient’s need for orthodontic treatment arises from inheriting teeth and jaws from one parent that do not fit properly into the teeth and jaw size inherited from the other parent. As a result, crowding or spacing of teeth may occur as well as over or underdeveloped upper and lower jaws that don’t fit together properly in a functional bite.

Over the centuries, these inconsistencies produced the need for orthodontic treatment and are more prevalent today than ever, especially in the United States.  The US is the leader of the free world and a melting pot for many different nationalities, mixing genetic backgrounds from many countries throughout the world.

The American Association of Orthodontics recommends that all children be seen by the age of 8 for an orthodontic evaluation. Many adults, whose families couldn’t afford treatment as a child or didn’t want to wear braces, are now considering straightening their teeth to improve their appearance and long term dental health. Orthodontic treatment is quite common now among adults with many new treatment options available that are less visible such as Invisalign, the “braceless” alternative to straight teeth

Feel free to contact our office for a complimentary consultation.  Drs Giangreco, Preston, Cassata, and Cortese will inform you whether you or your child could benefit from orthodontic treatment, best treatment recommendations available to correct the individual problem, how long treatment will take, and discuss payment options to work within your budget.

At Get It Straight our goal is to help you create the smile you want and deserve for yourself or your child.

Every year, the entire Get It Straight Team is  proactive in educating parents and patients of the potential problems that can occur if orthodontic patients don’t watch what they eat during this fun time of year.

October is National Orthodontic Health Month. We support the American Association of Orthodontics in their efforts to make patients aware of foods they need to avoid, especially with Halloween goodies.

Watch this video Sponsored by the American Association of Orthodontics Offering Halloween Brace Tips

Dont worry… you still can have a few treats, just orthodontic friendly treats. Click here to download a Do’s and Don’ts Treat List offered by the AAO. As a reminder, print it off and post in on your refrigerator for all to see.

Follow the list and save  a few candies you can eat and give away the treats that will harm your braces.  A few sweets can be OK occasionally, whether wearing braces or not, as long as you brush and floss after eating.

The team at [practice name] wants everyone to enjoy the holiday. However, we also want you to protect the investment you and your family has made in helping us create a beautiful smile that lasts a lifetime.

Click here to find Brace Friendly Recipes offered by the AAO.

Click Here for Tips for Trick – or -Treaters.

Why everyone should wear a mouth guard while playing contact sports. This could be you if you don't.

A mouth guard protects not only teeth, but your lips and cheeks while wearing braces. A mouth guard is your best protection against serious sports injuries. The next time you’re in for a visit at we encourage you to ask us for a mouth guard!  A mouth guard is your insurance policy to safeguard your long term dental health. Sports injuries can require major dental expense throughout your life.

It only takes a second to pop one in to prevent loss or damage to teeth. Even though they may be uncomfortable to wear and tough to talk with, it is nothing compared to the discomfort you would experience in an accident… so make sure you play it safe.

The American Association of Orthodontics created this video with Mia Hamm, Olympic Soccer Star! See what she has to say about wearing a mouth guard.

We hope this is a safe and productive school year for all our students! Let us know if you have any questions about sports safety while wearing braces. Leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you.

Some parents at Get It Straight Orthodontics ask if stopping a child’s nail biting habit is another positive effect of orthodontic treatment.  Since nail biting can be harmful to braces by breaking brackets and bending wires that delays treatment, the doctors feel that finding ways to curtail the habit is in our patient’s best interest.

Here are a few facts about nail biting… technically called “Onychophagia”.

• About 30 percent of children aged 7-10 bite their nails
• About 45 percent of teenagers bite their nails
• About 25 percent of young adults bite their nails
• Only about five percent of older adults bite their nails

Nail biting is considered to be a stress induced habit that peaks during the teenage years and usually is overcome as an adult.  Besides the fact it can damage braces during treatment if the habit persists, it can be harmful in different ways:

• Your fingers are pretty much involved in almost everything you do and they are a walking germ fest.  Your fingernails are twice as dirty as your fingers.  When you bite your nails… do you need to read more?
• If nail biting is severe and involves the cuticles and breaks the skin, the germs transfer from the mouth to the open wound and can cause infection.
• It is also a poor reflection on a person’s image. No one likes to watch a person bite their nails, especially a teenager or adult.  Bitten nails are far from attractive in comparison to manicured nails, especially in the business world.
• Teeth are not meant to chew all the time. Nail biting tends to keep your teeth in constant motion, which can wear them down faster than a non-nail biter's. It places stress on front teeth, can weaken them, and may contribute to the teeth becoming crooked  or misaligned.

The good news is many orthodontic patients report that they are unable to continue their habit while wearing braces, which leads to breaking the habit.  As your bite changes during treatment, their teeth no longer come together correctly.  After a couple years of braces, patients usually lose the urge to bite their nails and generally overcome the problem.

Whether you have braces or starting orthodontic treatment, breaking the habit of nail biting is a good choice.   It is healthier not to bite your nails and we suggest you keep them trimmed well during treatment.

• Jaws grow asymmetrically 
• Underdeveloped upper jaw due to heredity, finger habits, and breathing problems
• Premature loss of baby or permanent teeth
• Congenitally missing permanent teeth
• Impacted teeth that fail to assume the correction position in the arch

In a lateral crossbite, the top teeth on one side close either outside or across the bottom teeth.  This happens because the lower jaw shifts from side to side when the mouth is closing in an attempt to correct for the mismatch of the upper jaw and the lower jaw.  This shift creates a misalignment of the teeth and may result in TMJ (temporomandibular joint dysfunction) of jaw pain.

Another problem with a crossbite has to do with the damage it does to the teeth themselves.  Since the teeth are coming into contact with one another at an unnatural angle, the enamel on the teeth is gradually worn off.  Enamel is the outer layer of the teeth and serves as the protection against tooth decay.  As enamel is scraped away by a crossbite, permanent damage to the teeth becomes more and more likely.  This situation gets even worse when combined with regular sugar intake, which also destroys tooth enamel.  The end result can be a need for massive dental reconstruction, which is both costly over a lifetime and unpleasant.

Luckily, a crossbite can be fixed with orthodontic treatment.  Braces and special appliances can gradually bring the teeth back into alignment.  However, the enamel on your teeth cannot be replaced. If the mouth is restored to its naturally intended symmetry, all of the problems just described can be avoided if treated before it becomes a problem. 

If you think your teeth or your child’s are out of alignment in any way, it pays to talk to an orthodontist about solutions.  Contact our office to schedule a complimentary consultation with one of our orthodontists at Get It Straight Orthodontics.  Take a lesson from nature—there is beauty in symmetry!

If you have questions or comments regarding orthdontic treatment and crossbites, please leave a comment below.  We would like to hear from you.