During this unprecedented time of social distancing and quarantine you may be wondering what do about the Invisalign clear aligners you are wearing for your orthodontic treatment if you can’t see your orthodontist for regular appointments.  Depending on how each orthodontist decides to manage this and how long this period of lockdown lasts, different approaches may be appropriate.  However, it may be helpful to consider some of following until more normal appointments can be resumed.

Keep wearing your aligners as instructed.  Many patients in aligners have several weeks and even months of aligners to wear and if worn properly, treatment can continue moving forward without any delays.  Depending on how many aligners your orthodontist has given you, you may need to pick up more from your orthodontic office.  If you are done with all of your aligners, your treatment MAY be complete or you may be ready for a revision scan for the purpose of creating additional aligners to finish your treatment.  Until your orthodontist can see you in the office to assess this and take a scan of your teeth you may have to hold for a time in your last aligner.  If this is the case, keep wearing your last set of aligners but consider wearing them only about 8-12 hours per day instead of the usual 22 hours.  This will help extend the life of these aligners until you can be seen again.  It is critical to continue to wear a set of aligners until more aligners can be delivered, otherwise your teeth WILL relapse, and significant delays in your treatment progress can occur.  You should always keep the previous stage or two of aligners and if necessary go back to these until new ones can be made.

Keep your aligners clean and take good care of them.  It goes without saying that you will want to continue practicing good oral hygiene including twice daily brushing and flossing, but cleaning the aligners themselves will help keep you and your teeth healthy.  Bacteria and viruses will accumulate on the aligners.  Brushing them with regular toothpaste for two minutes will usually suffice but additional soaking in an aligner cleaning product or even white vinegar can also help.  As always, you should wash your hands before you handle your aligners but also after if you have had your fingers in your mouth to prevent the spread of germs. Take care when removing the aligners using good technique to avoid breaking them.  In general it is best to start dislodging the aligners from the tongue side and carefully peeling the aligner off, trying flex it as little as possible.

Keep wearing your elastics.  Some patients also wear elastics with their aligners and continuing to wear them as instructed will keep treatment moving forward.  If you do run out of aligners before you can be seen and you need to move to 8-12 hours of aligner wear you will then need to wear your elastics the same amount of time.

Hopefully these tips will help keep you, your aligners and your teeth safe until it’s time to see your orthodontist again!

Now that you’re a teenager, you have a lot more responsibility and independence. Choosing high school classes and electives. Getting a driver’s license. Landing your first job. And those new responsibilities extend to your dental health as well!

• Braces

If you’ve just gotten braces, you might feel a bit overwhelmed. Learning how to brush and floss effectively, attaching rubber bands several times a day, keeping track of your hours if you’re wearing clear aligners—it can seem like a lot. But you can do it! With time and practice, caring for your braces will become just another part of your daily routine. Dr. Curtis Dunn and our team are here to make sure you have all the information and tools you need to succeed. The most important thing to remember is that the better you follow our instructions, the quicker and more effective your orthodontic treatment will be.

• Retainers

If you’ve successfully completed your orthodontic treatment, dealing with your retainer should be a piece of cake! We will give you clear instructions on how long each day you should wear your retainer. Sticking to this schedule is really important–if you don’t wear the appliance as directed, you can undo some of the progress you’ve worked so hard to make. And when you’re not wearing your retainer, be sure it has a safe life outside your mouth. Keep it in a protective case, and keep it someplace where the puppy/the washing machine/the cafeteria trash bin won’t find it.

• Mouthguards

If you have a mouthguard for sports or athletic activities, wear it! Whether you have an over-the-counter device or a custom fabricated guard, it won’t do you any good hiding in your locker. A mouthguard cuts down on tooth and facial injuries caused by falls, physical contact, or other accidents that might happen in your active life. And if you wear braces, ask about a mouthguard designed to fit around them. These custom devices protect your braces and your mouth.

Finally, remember that sticking with your dental routine—two minutes of brushing morning and night and thorough flossing each day—will keep your gums and teeth healthy throughout your teen years. And, if you have any questions about your dental health in general, or a specific dental concern, give our Woodbury or Cottage Grove office a call! We’re here to work with you for a lifetime of beautiful smiles.

Many developing orthodontic problems can be intercepted and corrected if diagnosed and treated at an early age. Dr. Curtis Dunn and our team at Dunn Ortho recommend children have their first orthodontic evaluation no later than age seven, or younger if the front four permanent teeth have replaced the baby teeth. Early treatment, also known as interceptive treatment or Phase I treatment, provides both timely detection of problems and greater opportunity for more effective treatment. Early intervention guides growth and development, preventing serious problems later.

If your child is showing these signs, it may be time to think about early orthodontic treatment:

• Early or late loss of baby teeth (your child should typically start losing teeth around age five or six, and will have all their permanent teeth in around age 12 to 13)
• Difficulty chewing and/or biting
• Mouth breathing
• Sucking his or her thumb
• Speech impediment
• Protruding teeth (the top teeth and the bottom teeth extend away from each other)
• Crowded front teeth
• Teeth that don’t come together in a normal manner or even at all

Early intervention will greatly reduce the severity of your child’s case, and therefore reduce the length of treatment time and cost for a second phase of treatment when all of his or her permanent teeth have erupted. An evaluation at our Woodbury or Cottage Grove office will determine if your child’s dental and skeletal growth is proceeding properly or if interceptive treatment is needed. Many times, a more severe problem can be corrected using sophisticated removable appliances instead of traditional orthodontic treatment.

To schedule a consultation for your child to visit with Dr. Curtis Dunn, please give us a call! We will provide your child with an initial exam, and discuss with you the best steps to take toward caring for your child’s smile.