Embracing a New Era
In an assessment of 235 patients, factors influencing patients' satisfaction with their dental appearance and the treatments they desired to improve dental aesthetics were evaluated. Of them, 53 % were not satisfied with their smile listing the three most common concerns to be the color of their teeth, the alignment or crowding of their teeth and protrusion of the upper teeth. Patients expect their general dentists to do more than simply maintain their oral health; they expect them to improve the esthetics of their smile and overall dental appearance. At Gerety Orthodontic Seminars, we treat more than teeth and take into consideration the patient’s primary concerns when offering our services. A complete treatment plan may include orthodontic treatment, but that is not always the single element in correcting the patients’ chief complaint. Here are some tips to consider when treatment planning for a complete esthetic smile.
Avoid patient dissatisfaction with the best treatments results following these simple tips.
Treatment plans for mal-aligned teeth varies greatly from patient to patient. Our advice at Gerety Orthodontic Seminars is to gather all the necessary information to make an informed treatment option. This information includes but is not limited to: radiographs, photographs, current health history, study models, full mouth intra oral examination and myofunctional screening. The orthodontic treatment plan is also dictated by the age of the patient and the amount of time they are willing to spend to make the correction. For adult patients we offer clear brackets with fixed treatment or Invisalign with removable trays as an option. We normally offer several options for treatment and let the patient decide what is best for their individual situation.
The complaint of protrusion of the upper teeth is more common in children than adults but is not limited to children. In our practice we find a lot of parents who have put their children’s needs ahead of their own and later in life decide to seek options for treatment. Orthodontic treatment for children with an overjet is much different than treatment for an adult. In a growing individual, we have many orthodontic options depending on the cause of the overjet. With adult patients, the treatment is more limited to addressing the position of the teeth to align the jaws rather than an option of allowing the jaws to align by retarding the upper arch and advancing the lower. Gerety Orthodontic Seminars trains you in many different orthodontic treatment methods to allow you to offer options for your patients.
Tooth whitening offers a quick, non-invasive way to enhance your smile. Whitening (or bleaching) treatments are available to satisfy every budget, time frame and personality. Whether in the form of professionally administered one-hour whitening sessions in your office, or home-use bleaching kits purchased at the drugstore, or professional bleaching trays made in your office, solutions abound.
Virtually everyone who opts for a teeth whitening solution sees moderate to substantial improvement in the brightness and whiteness of their smile. That said, it’s not a permanent solution to discoloration and requires maintenance or “touch-ups” for a prolonged effect. This is why we offer a complimentary bleaching service to all of our patients following orthodontic treatment. It is a simple procedure using the impressions that are taken as part of post treatment records. The impressions are poured a second time for the models that will be used to make the bleach trays. The bleach trays are made in the office using an OmniVac machine. The patient is given the trays and bleaching material as part of the orthodontic treatment.