Thursday, January 28, 2010

Operation Help Haiti at Green Orthodontics

In light of the recent devastating earthquake in Haiti, Dr. Green and our team at Green Orthodontics are collecting donations to send to help the Haitians in their time of need. Here's how it works: Make a donation through us from now until February 26, and we will match your donation up to $500. All contributions will be sent to the American Red Cross and directed to help victims of the Haitian earthquake.

If you have any questions on how to donate, please stop by or call one of our offices.

Dr. Green and our entire team appreciate your kind donation. Together we can reach our goal and make a difference!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Tooth retainer specials at Green Orthodontics!



Our retainer deals are awesome! Dr. Green offers half off retainers to his patients who lose them. All we require is for our patients to bring several canned or non-perishable items to our office for the deal. Last year over 600 pounds of goods were donated to Harvest Hope Food Bank. Dr. Green honored our referring doctors by making a donation to Harvest Hope in their name. Dr. Green truly enjoys helping others in our community!

If you have any questions, please feel free to call Green Orthodontics, and enjoy the rest of your week!

Friday, January 22, 2010

Harrison R., winner of our "Name that Movie" contest!

Hooray for Harrison R. (pictured on the left with Dr. Green), winner of our "Name that Movie" contest. He guessed all the songs correctly and won a portable DVD player! Make sure you check out our latest contest the next time you come to Green Orthodontics!

Have a great weekend!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Top Ten Tips for Keeping Your Braces Clean

Keeping your teeth clean is more important than ever when you have braces. Food bits have more spots than usual to hide in your mouth, so you must be diligent in order to avoid bad breath, swollen gums, discolored teeth and cavities. If you remove plaque regularly during treatment, you'll experience better results and shorter treatment time. Keep plaque at bay with these top ten tips:

One tooth at a time. When you brush, take time with each individual tooth – at least 10 seconds each – and pay careful attention to the spots where your teeth touch your braces.
It’s all about the angles. Brush the tops of your teeth and braces with your brush angled down toward where they meet. Brush the bottoms of your teeth and braces with your brush angled up.
The tooth, the whole tooth, nothing but the tooth. While the front surface of your teeth may seem like the most logical to clean, it’s equally important to clean the inner surface of your teeth (tongue side) as well as the chewing surface. And be sure to clean along your gum line – a key spot for plaque buildup.
Step 1: eat, step 2: clean. While you’re in treatment, it’s important to brush after every meal. Bits of food can easily get caught between braces and teeth, and these food bits interact with bacteria in your mouth to cause decay. The longer food is in contact with your teeth, the greater opportunity for plaque to form. If you are eating somewhere that you can’t brush, thoroughly rinse your mouth with water.
Like a Boy Scout, always be prepared. The easiest way to be sure you can brush after every meal is to get in the habit of taking a toothbrush, toothpaste and floss with you wherever you go. Designate a special container just for your teeth-cleaning tools and keep it in your purse, backpack, or laptop case.
Remove the moving parts. If you have elastic bands or headgear, remove these parts before you brush or floss.
Fluoride is your friend. Fluoride helps prevent cavities. Be sure to brush with fluoride toothpaste, and rinse with fluoride mouthwash.
Pointy brushes reach tiny places. Interproximal brushes (sometimes called proxa brushes or interdental brushes) are cone-shaped and come in very handy for reaching spots around your braces that standard brushes can’t.
Find the floss for you. Regular floss works for some patients, but others find it easier to work with a floss threader, which helps you get the floss into tight places. Other patients like an all-in-one product called Superfloss, which comes with a stiff end for easy threading, a spongy section for cleaning wide spaces, and regular floss for narrow spaces.
Make time for the pros. It’s your job to take care of the everyday cleaning. But make sure to visit your dentist regularly while in treatment, to get the deep, thorough cleaning that only a professional can provide.

Hope this helps!

-Dr. Green

Friday, January 8, 2010

A patient thank-you letter for Green Orthodontics!

Dr. Green and our team just love giving our patients new and beautiful smiles! Recently, our office received a thank you letter from Jon R., one of our patients from last year.

Here is what he wrote:

"Dear Nettles,

I wanted to send my heartfelt gratitude to you and your caring staff for the wonderful gift that you provided me this year.

Not only did you give me back my smile confidence and dental health, your generosity gave me the push to quit smoking. My family and I can't thank you enough for the gift of health! That is just one way that can show you how much your gift touched me.

Please pass on to your staff a BIG thank you for the time and attention that was shown to me and wish them a very HAPPY HOLIDAY season.

Sincerely,

Jon R."