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Usually patients in orthodontic treatment already have their permanent teeth – they are pre-teens, teens and adults. But in some cases we have to start treatment earlier, even before the patient’s permanent teeth come in. We call this “two-phase treatment.”

When we have patients with clear developmental problems at an early age, it’s best to start work when they are young, before the problems get bigger and more difficult to treat. Examples include an upper or lower jaw that is not growing correctly, or a mouth growing in a way that doesn’t leave enough room for all the permanent teeth to come in, or what we call a “severe malocclusion” (the orthodontic word for “bad bite” which means the jaws don’t fit together correctly).

In these cases we will start early and do one round of treatment – phase one – while the patient still has “baby teeth.” Phase one usually does not involve braces, but can include a different type of appliance that helps the jaw grow into place properly. We’ll follow up with phase two usually a few years later, when permanent teeth are in place. Generally phase two involves standard braces.

In order to catch any early problems, we recommend that children have an orthodontic check-up no later than age seven (and so does the American Association of Orthodontics). However, if your dentist or pediatrician sees any sign that early treatment might be necessary, he or she may recommend your child visit our office even sooner.

Office Contests
Office Myspace Contest

For the 1st quarter of 2008, the office created an official myspace account (www.myspace.com/drzachehrmantrout). We held a contest for the 1st quarter of 2008, the rules of which were as follows:

1. Create a myspace account and request Dr. Ehrmantrout to be your friend
2. Place Dr. Ehrmantrout in your "top 8" friends
3. Link Dr. Ehrmantrout's Youtube video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EfKIEMEspg) to your myspace web site

We then randomly drew from a hat 1 winner who received an ipod Nano or Nintendo DS (their choice).

We currently have a second contest going, with the same criteria. The winner will be chosen on September 15th, with the prize being an ipod shuffle.

Cheyenne, the winner of our April, 2008 Myspace Ipod Nano contest.

I came across this story and had to share:

Omaha orthodontist Dr. Clarke Stevens tries to run a fun practice.

He keeps videos running in his office. He holds contests. One day, he noticed an 8-year-old patient's little heart necklace. "I thought, 'You know, it would be cute if she had hearts on her teeth'."

So he found a manufacturer to make brackets for braces in shapes. He started in 2001 with hearts and stars. Then he added soccer balls, footballs, flowers and diamonds to the patented WildSmiles Braces lineup.

They're popular with kids, he said, but some adults opt for them, too. Women in their 40s have chosen them. Two 50-year-old guys picked footballs.

The company now sells the braces around the world — they're big in South America — and has representatives in Dubai, London, Australia and Spain, Stevens said. About 460 doctors now use WildSmiles, which he said are made in the United States.

Shaped brackets might add $35 to an orthodontist's costs, he said, but most don't pass that on to patients.