National Childhood Injury Prevention Month

This month, our staff at Yang Orthodontics want you to be extra, extra careful with your braces and appliances. After all, September marks the start of fall sports, which means an increased risk to mouth injuries. September also happens to be National Childhood Injury Prevention Month, and Dr. Yang and team thought it would be a good idea to share a few sobering facts about sports and facial injuries, courtesy of our friends at the American Association of Orthodontists.
*More than half of the seven million sports and recreation-related injuries that occur each year are sustained by youth between ages 5 and 24. Collision and contact sports have higher injury rates—baseball, soccer, basketball and football account for about 80% of all sports-related emergency room visits, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
*Sixty-seven percent of parents say their child does not wear a mouth guard, yet, 70 percent say their biggest fear when their child plays is that they will get hurt.
*Of the parents whose children do not wear a mouth guard, 84 percent say it’s because the league or coach does not require it, according to the AAO.
*The average high school baseball pitcher can throw a fast ball between 75-to-85 miles per hour. That compares to being hit in the mouth by a speeding car!
We hope this helps you remember to wear a mouth guard and other forms of protective gear when participating in fall sports! We encourage you to give our convenient Redwood City, CA office a call if you have any questions! 

School Spirit Month

Earn Extra Ortho Bucks!!!

September's Theme is School Spirit!

Show your school spirit by wearing your school colors or shirt with your school's name or any way you can think of to show your school spirit & you will earn an extra Ortho Buck. Remember, parents can participate & earn extra Ortho Bucks for you!

The deadline is nearing to submit your photos for the Where in the World is Yang Orthodontics contest. Please e-mail your photos by September 15. We can't wait to see where you've been!

Tricia C. won our Netflix contest. Tricia referred a friend to our office & we put her name in a drawing to win Netflix for her family for one year! Congratulations!

Earn Extra Ortho Bucks!!

It's August & the theme for this month is Hawaiian! Come to your appointment wearing your Hawaiian gear & earn an extra Ortho Buck!

Parents & siblings can earn extra Ortho Bucks for the patients, too. Wear a lei or a Hawaiian shirt or a hula skirt when you come in for your August appointment.

Earn Extra Ortho Bucks!!

Participate in our theme months

and earn extra Ortho Bucks!

July's Theme is Patriotic Month

Wear Red, White & Blue to your appointments,

or just stop by wearing the appropriate attire

and earn an extra Ortho Buck.

(Parents can join in the fun and earn extra

Buck for their kids!)

The theme for August is Hawaiian Month.

Wear a lei, or a Hawaiian shirt or a hula skirt!

Family Fun Day!

 You are invited to...

Family Fun Day

July 23, 2011

Red Morton Park

(near the intersection of Valota Road and Roosevelt in Redwood City)

12:00 to 4:00 pm

Bring your friends and baby brother

Bring your sister, dad and mother

Dr. Yang will entertain us

with his balloon twisting prowess

There will be games & food galore

Contests, prizes and much more

We look forward to a day of fun!

Please RSVP if you can come

Prizes to include an iTouch!

and a Spa Package

*Must be present to win raffle prizes

   

Have You Seen Our New Website?

Check out

www.orthodontistrwc.com 

New Contest!!

Scavenger Hunt/Where in the World is Yang Orthodontics?

1st Place: $100 Gift Card  (your choice...Best Buy, Target or Amazon)

2nd Place: $15 iTunes Card

3rd Place: 2 Movie Tickets

Each entry will score points for each task completed correctly.

Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 entries with the highest scores.***

There are 2 parts to the contest:

The online Scavenger Hunt section

The Where in the World is Yang Orthodontics? section

The answers to our scavenger hunt section can be found on our website

http://www.orthodontistrwc.com/

Please e-mail Scavenger Hunt answers to info@orthodontistrwc.com

Please e-mail Where in the World pictures. Include your name & which task you have completed. All tasks must have their own picture. If you are not present in the picture with your Yang Orthodontics cinch sack, the picture will not count and you will not get the points. (Please e-mail all pictures at one time.)

You must be a current patient (either undergoing full treatment, Phase 1, Phase 2 or in observation status) of Yang Orthodontics in order to receive any prizes.

Please note that by emailing or sending your pictures to Yang Orthodontics, you are giving us permission to post these pictures and/or utilize them for marketing purposes.

**Winners will be determined by points. If there is a tie for either 1st, 2nd or 3rd place, winning names will be determined by a drawing.

Contest Deadline: September 15, 2011

Win a Spin!!

Win a spin on our Yang Orthodontics Wheel!

1. Refer a friend, if they start treatment you get a spin.
2. Start treatment & get a spin.
3. Redeem 40 Ortho Bucks for a spin.

Current prizes:

• Noah's & Burger King - $10 gift certificate
• Cold Stone, Jamba Juice, iTunes, Starbucks, Subway & Barnes & Noble - $15 gift certificate
• Target - $20 gift certificate
• Best Buy - $25 gift certificate
• Dinner & Movie for 2
• Santa Cruz Boardwalk -1 pass for unlimeted rides
• Great America - 1 ticket

Prizes will  change from time to time...so stay tuned!

Theme Months!

 Earn extra Ortho Bucks. Participate in our theme months & win an Ortho Buck!

• The theme for June is Sports Month. Wear a sports jersey or a baseball hat or something that reflects your favorite sport & earn an Ortho Buck!
• July is Patriotic Month. Wear Red, White & Blue for an extra Ortho Buck.
• August is Hawaiian Month. Wear a lei or a Hawaiian shirt or a Hula skirt & join in the fun!

Spring 2011 Newsletter

Theme Months:
In our continued effort to improve and exceed our patient experience while at our office, Yang Orthodontics is introducing theme months. This is a chance to earn extra Ortho Bucks. The rules are easy! Simply come to your appointment or just come by to visit dressed appropriately according to the monthly theme and you will receive an extra Ortho Buck. We will begin in June with a Sports theme. Wear your favorite jersey, soccer uniform or a baseball cap. July will be Patriotic Month. Dress in your favorite Red, White & Blue's. August will be Hawaiian Month. Wear a lei or a Hawaiian shirt or even a hula skirt! Parents, you can participate too & earn an extra Ortho Buck for your child.

Office Renovations:

Your comfort is important to us. We received comments about the comfort of our waiting room and heeded your advice and have recently made some changes. New paint, new flooring in the reception area and tooth brushing area and new carpeting. We now have a complimentary coffee bar with Yang Orthodontics water bottles along with a television showing educational & fun videos. We hope that you enjoy these enhancements!

Patient Survey:
We want to thank you all for taking the time to complete our recently distributed survey. You took the time to complete it and it is our responsibility to review the comments and evaluate the opportunity to remedy or reward situations. We can only become better at our profession by listening to our patients. Remember the dip in the driveway? Well, with our continued nagging of our landlord, the City of Redwood City has greatly improved the grading. We also recognize that parking is a problem. We acknowledge this and are limited to the number of spaces we have and the size of the lot. We are always brainstorming about ways to resolve this issue & welcome your suggestions and innovative ideas too. Some of you mentioned the outdated office and the need to update the reception area. As we mentioned earlier we addressed this concern & gave the office a new look. I, Dr. Yang, would also like to thank all of you for your kind comments regarding my Orthodontic Team. They are awesome & valuable resources in making this practice the success it has been and will continue to be. Congratulations to Sally who celebrates 20 years with our office this year!

We are introducing a new, exciting and fun Yang Orthodontics Prize Wheel.When new patient starts a treatment they will have the chance to spin the wheel and win cool prizes. Additionally, those parents, patients and guardians who refer business to Yang Orthodontics, you too will have the opportunity to spin the Yang Orthodontics Prize Wheel as our way to say THANK YOU! Our business does not exist without the support & confidence of you. Another way to spin on our Prize Wheel is to collect a certain number of Ortho Bucks. Stay tuned for details!

Community Outreach:
Yang Orthodontics is thrilled to become actively involved within the local community. We are proud supporters of the local little league & softball league through team sponsorship. The kids are all having fun & we enjoy seeing our name on their uniforms. We recently gave Juventus Soccer of Redwood City nearly 700 water bottles for all their players. We also donated water bottles to the John Gill School. We have also begun a partnership with the Redwood City Educational Foundation. This is an exciting & innovative relationship providing us the opportunity to support the local schools. For any new patient that starts a treatment with our practice we will make up to a $150 donation to the Foundation. We recognize the tough economic times and severe cutbacks our schools are having and want to do our part to support them so please spread the word. We will have more to say about this relationship over the next few weeks so please stay tuned for details.

Upcoming Contests:

Watch for upcoming details about our Website Scavenger Contest, Where in the World is Yang Orthodontics Contest, and Independence Day Trivia Contest! Win Netflix for an entire year! Your name is entered into our drawing EVERY time you refer someone for a Complimentary Orthodontic Exam, so the more people you refer the greater your chances are that you will win the Netflix Prize. We will enter names into our drawing through August 31st.

 Save the Date:

Join us for our 2nd Annual Family Fun Day! Saturday, July 23 from noon to 4 tpm at Red Morton Park. We promise a day of fun, food, games & prizes!

I'm 29, Am I too old for braces?

Great question, and you are absolutely not "too old" for braces! At Yang Orthodontics, nobody is “too old” for braces! In fact, we read a fascinating statistic recently: adults getting braces has actually jumped 24 percent since 1996! Also, one of every five patients in orthodontic treatment nowadays is over the age of 21. Of course, braces help make your teeth stay strong, healthy and become perfectly-aligned. But we’d like you to know orthodontic treatment with Dr. Stephen Yang can be successful at any age, and adults especially appreciate the benefits of a beautiful smile.
In fact, we are proud to offer an adult-friendly option for straightening teeth called Invisalign, which uses a series of invisible, removable and comfortable aligners that no one can tell you're wearing. So, you can smile more during treatment as well as after.
If you’ve been thinking about getting that perfect smile, we would love to have you visit for a consultation at our Redwood City, CA office. Please give us a call at (650) 366-5758 to set one up and have a wonderful rest of the week!

What is the right age to bring a child for an orthodontic evaluation?

Great question! Many parents ask us that question, actually. Many parents in Redwood City, CA  assume they must wait until their child has all of his or her permanent teeth to visit Dr. Stephen Yang for a complimentary consultation, only to discover treatment would have been much easier if started earlier. Did you know the American Association of Orthodontists recommends that every child have an orthodontic check-up no later than age seven?

Yes – seven.

At that point, enough permanent teeth have arrived for Dr. Yang to make a determination about whether any problems are present. Also, by age seven, the first molars have come in, providing an opportunity for the Doctor to check for malocclusion, or what we call “bad bite.” Also, the incisors have begun to come in, and problems such as crowding, deep bites and open bites can be detected.
Orthodontic evaluation at an early age provides one of two positive outcomes: For some, early identification of problems will lead to easier or shorter orthodontic treatment in the future. For others, a healthy prognosis will provide immediate peace of mind.

Early evaluation, of course, may signal a need for early treatment. For some children, early treatment can prevent physical and emotional trauma. Aside from spurring on years of harmful teasing, misaligned teeth are also prone to injury and are detrimental to good oral hygiene. So, if your child is nearing his or her seventh birthday, give us a call at 650-366-5758 to schedule an appointment that is free of charge.

Who Invented the Toothbrush?

    Who invented the toothbrush and when was it invented?    

  Various Peoples. 1938 (modern).

The toothbrush as we know it today was not invented until 1938. However, early forms of the toothbrush have been in existence since 3000 BC. Ancient civilizations used a "chew stick," which was a thin twig with a frayed end. These 'chew sticks' were rubbed against the teeth.
The bristle toothbrush, similar to the type used today, was not invented until 1498 in China. The bristles were actually the stiff, coarse hairs taken from the back of a hog's neck and attached to handles made of bone or bamboo.
Boar bristles were used until 1938, when nylon bristles were introduced by Dupont de Nemours. The first nylon toothbrush was called Doctor West's Miracle Toothbrush. Later, Americans were influenced by the disciplined hygiene habits of soldiers from World War II. They became increasingly concerned with the practice of good oral hygiene and quickly adopted the nylon toothbrush.
Some other interesting toothbrush facts:

• The first mass-produced toothbrush was made by William Addis of Clerkenwald, England, around 1780.
• The first American to patent a toothbrush was H. N. Wadsworth, (patent number 18,653,) on Nov. 7, 1857.
• Mass production of toothbrushes began in America around 1885.
• One of the first electric toothbrushes to hit the American market was in 1960. It was marketed by the Squibb company under the name Broxodent.

Invisalign Frequently Asked Questions

Invisalign Frequently Asked Questions

Invisalign can help you get the great smile you've always wanted because it's Invisible, so no one can tell you're straightening your teeth. So now you can smile more during treatment as well as after.

Q:	What is Invisalign?
A:	Invisalign is the invisible new way to straighten teeth without braces. Invisalign uses a series of clear, removable aligners to gradually straighten teeth, without metal or wires.
Q:	Does Invisalign really work?
A:	Yes. In both clinical research and in orthodontic and dental practices nationwide, Invisalign has been proven effective at straightening teeth.
Q:	How does Invisalign work?
A:	Invisalign uses 3-D computer imaging technology to depict the complete treatment plan from the initial position to the final desired position from which a series of custom-made Aligners are produced. Each Aligner moves teeth incrementally and is worn for about two weeks, then replaced by the next in the series until the final position is achieved.
Q:	What are the primary benefits of Invisalign?
A:	There are four primary benefits of Invisalign: Invisalign is nearly invisible - you can straighten your teeth without anyone knowing. Invisalign is removable - you can eat and drink what you want in treatment; you can also brush and floss normally to maintain good oral hygiene. Invisalign is comfortable - there are no metal brackets or wires to cause mouth irritation; no metal or wires also means you spend less time in the doctor's chair getting adjustments. Invisalign allows you to view your own virtual treatment plan before you start - so you can see how your straight teeth will look when your treatment is complete.
Q:	What are Aligners made of?
A:	Aligners are made of clear, strong medical grade plastic that is virtually invisible when worn.
Q:	What do Aligners look like?
A:	Aligners are nearly invisible and look similar to clear tooth-whitening trays, but are custom-made for a better fit to move teeth. Some orthodontists and dentists have referred to them as contact lenses for teeth.
Q:	Is this a new way to straighten teeth? How old is the company?
A:	For years, orthodontists and dentists have used removable appliances for limited treatment. Today, with the application of computer technology, Invisalign treats a broader range of cases with greater precision.
Q:	How old is the company?
A:	Align Technology, Inc., the company that manufactures Invisalign , was founded in 1997.
Q:	How old is this technology?
A:	In 1945 Dr. H.D. Kesling envisioned that one day, modern technology would enable the use of a series of tooth positioners to produce the kinds of movements required for comprehensive orthodontic treatment. Align has made this vision a reality. Using advanced computer technology, Align generates Invisalign, a series of customized appliances, called Aligners. Each Aligner is worn sequentially by the patient to produce extensive tooth movements in both upper and lower arches.
Q:	How many patients are being treated with Invisalign?
A:	Currently, doctors are treating more than 40,000 patients. The number grows daily.
Q:	Do doctors need special training in order to use Invisalign?
A:	While Invisalign can be used with virtually any treatment philosophy, specific training is needed. All orthodontists and dentists interested in treating patients with Invisalign must attend a workshop before cases will be accepted from their office.
Q:	How does Invisalign effectively move teeth?
A:	Like brackets and archwires, Invisalign Aligners move teeth through the appropriate placement of controlled force on the teeth. The principal difference is that Invisalign not only controls forces, but also controls the timing of the force application. At each stage, only certain teeth are allowed to move, and these movements are determined by the orthodontic treatment plan for that particular stage. This results in an efficient force delivery system.
Q:	Has the FDA cleared Invisalign?
A:	Yes, the FDA has reviewed our application and in August 1998 determined that Invisalign is exempt from 510(k) pre-market notification.
For more information, see http://www.invisible.com/

Can I Eat Candy With Braces?

Question: Can I Eat Candy With Braces?

You have braces and you want to sink your teeth into a gooey candy bar, but you wonder "Can I eat candy with braces?" If you've asked yourself this very question, the answer isn't too surprising.

Answer: There are many foods you can and can't eat with braces, but eating candy when you have braces is specifically not recommended for a number of reasons. Understanding why and how eating candy when you have braces will hurt your chances of having successful orthodontic treatment, thus affecting the health of your teeth and gums in the long run, will hopefully help diminish your cravings for sweet treats while you have braces; and hopefully beyond your orthodontic treatment as well.

It's All About the Sugar

For starters, let's take a look at the obvious. Candy is loaded with sugar, which is a carbohydrate. Carbohydrates are what fuel the bacteria on your teeth to produce acids that cause tooth decay to form. For a tooth without braces, candy is a large threat. Now add in the brackets and bands onto your teeth, which are a necessity during your orthodontic treatment, and your teeth most certainly will be facing a nightmare of tooth decay. When you incorporate additional sugar to your diet, along with the difficulty of reaching every surface of the tooth and around the bracket and band attachments with your toothbrush and floss, avoiding candy certainly outweighs giving into a tempting piece of candy.

Sticky, Hard, Gooey Gooey - It's All the Same

Candy can be found in a number of different forms, but it's really all the same when you consider eating candy with braces. From hard mint-type candies, to sticky toffee and gooey chocolate bars, candy does mass amounts of damage to your braces, regardless of what form it comes in.
When you bite into a hard or sticky piece of candy without braces, your tooth is stressed by the force it takes to break down and chew the piece of candy. With braces or your teeth, biting into a hard piece of candy will put additional force onto the bracket or band attachment, along with the tooth. More often than not, the bracket or band will succumb to the force it takes to eat the candy, and they will break or "pop" off. When a bracket or band becomes loose, your orthodontic treatment comes to a screeching halt until you are able to see your dentist or orthodontist to have he problem repaired. For most patients, a loose band or bracket will set their treatment back one to two months.

Life With Braces

Providing Braces in Redwood City, CA, Stephen Yang, DMD

Eating with Braces

What can you eat? Let's talk about what you shouldn't eat! If you've been wanting to drop a few pounds, the first week wearing braces is just your chance! For the first day or so, stick to soft foods. Avoid tough meats, hard breads, and raw vegetables. Before long, you'll be able to bite a cucumber again. But you'll need to protect your orthodontic appliances when you eat for as long as you're wearing braces.

Foods to Avoid

• Chewy foods: bagels, hard rolls, licorice
• Crunchy foods: popcorn, ice, chips
• Sticky foods: caramels, gum (sugarless is OK)
• Hard foods: nuts, candy
• Foods you have to bite into: corn on the cob, apples, carrots
• Chewing on hard things (for example, pens, pencils or fingernails) can damage the braces. Damaged braces will cause treatment to take longer.

General Soreness

When you get your braces on, you may feel general soreness in your mouth and teeth may be tender to biting pressures for three to five days. This can be relieved by rinsing your mouth with a warm saltwater mouthwash. Dissolve one teaspoonful of salt in 8 ounces of warm water, and rinse your mouth vigorously. If the tenderness is severe, take aspirin or whatever you normally take for headache or similar discomfort. The lips, cheeks and tongue may also become irritated for one to two weeks as they toughen and become accustomed to the surface of the braces. You can put wax on the braces to lessen this. We'll show you how!

Loosening of Teeth

This is to be expected throughout treatment. Don't worry! It's normal. Teeth must loosen first so they can be moved. The teeth will again become rigidly fixed in their new – corrected – positions.

Care of Appliances

To successfully complete the treatment plan, the patient must work together with the orthodontist. The teeth and jaws can only move toward their corrected positions if the patient consistently wears the rubber bands, headgear or other appliances as prescribed. Damaged appliances lengthen the treatment time.

Brushing

It's more important than ever to brush and floss regularly when you have braces, so the teeth and gums are healthy after orthodontic treatment. Patients who do not keep their teeth clean may require more frequent visits to the dentist for a professional cleaning. Adults who have a history of gum disease should also see a periodontist during orthodontic treatment

Ortho Dictionary

Parts of Braces

Appliance: Anything your orthodontist attaches to your teeth which moves your teeth or changes the shape of your jaw.
Archwire: The metal wire that acts as a track to guide your teeth along as they move. It is changed periodically throughout treatment as your teeth move to their new positions.
Band: A metal ring that is cemented to your tooth, going completely around it. Bands provide a way to attach brackets to your teeth.
Bond: The seal created by orthodontic cement that holds your appliances in place.
Bracket: A metal or ceramic part cemented ("bonded") to your tooth that holds your archwire in place.
Coil Spring: A spring that fits between your brackets and over your archwire to open space between your teeth.
Elastic (Rubber Band): A small rubber band that is hooked between different points on your appliance to provide pressure to move your teeth to their new position.
Elastic Tie: The tiny rubber band that fits around your bracket to hold the archwire in place. They come in a variety of colors.
Headgear: Headgear uses an external wire apparatus known as a facebow to gently guide the growth of your face and jaw by moving your teeth into proper position. The force is applied to the facebow by a spring-loaded neck strap or head strap. The straps have a safety release that disconnects if the facebow is pulled or snagged.
Headgear Tube: A round, hollow attachment on your back bands. The inner bow of your headgear fits into it.
Hook: A welded or removable arm to which elastics are attached.
Ligature: A thin wire that holds your archwire into your bracket.
Lip Bumper: A lip bumper is an archwire attached to a molded piece of plastic. The lip bumper holds back the molars on your lower jaw to provide more space for your other teeth.
Mouthguard: A device that protects your mouth from injury when you participate in sports or rigorous activities.
Palatal Expander: A device that makes your upper jaw wider.
Retainer: An appliance that is worn after your braces are removed, the retainer attaches to your upper and/or lower teeth to hold them in place. Some retainers are removable, while others are bonded to the tongue-side of several teeth.
Separator or Spacer: A small rubber ring that creates space between your teeth before the bands are attached.
Tie Wire: A fine wire that is twisted around your bracket to hold the archwire in place.
Wax: Wax is used to stop your braces from irritating your lips.

---

Orthodontic Procedures

Banding: The process of fitting and cementing orthodontic bands to your teeth.
Bonding: The process of attaching brackets to your teeth using special orthodontic cement.
Cephalometric X-ray: An X-ray of your head which shows the relative positions and growth of the face, jaws, and teeth.
Consultation: A meeting with your orthodontist to discuss a treatment plan.
Debanding: The process of removing cemented orthodontic bands from your teeth.
Debonding: The process of removing cemented orthodontic brackets from your teeth.
Impressions: The process of making a model of your teeth by biting into a soft material that hardens into a mold of your teeth. Your orthodontist will use these impressions to prepare your treatment plan.
Invisalign®: An alternative to traditional braces, Invisalign straightens your teeth with a series of clear custom-molded aligners. Invisalign can correct some, but not all, orthodontic problems.
Ligation: The process of attaching an archwire to the brackets on your teeth.

Panoramic X-ray: An X-ray that rotates around your head to take pictures of your teeth, jaw, and other facial areas.

Family Fun Day!

Save the date for Yang Orthodontics 2nd annual Family Fun Day.

• Date: July 23, 2011
• Location: Red Morton Park, Redwood City, CA
• Time: Noon to 4 pm

Join us for an afternoon of fun, food, games, & prizes!!

Early Orthodontic Evaluation

An early childhood orthodontic evaluation can yield excellent results.

Even if a child is too young for braces, it is not too early for an orthodontic evaluation. Some children, as early as 5 or 6 years of age, may benefit from an evaluation.The evaluation is best performed by an orthodontist. An orthodontist can determine whether preventative or interceptive treatment may be indicated.

Malocclusions (bad bites) often become noticeable between the ages of 6 and 12, as the child's permanent (adult) teeth erupt. Children may experience crowding of teeth, too much space between teeth, protruding teeth, extra or missing teeth and sometimes jaw growth problems. Other malocclusions are acquired - such as those caused by thumb or finger-sucking, mouth breathing, dental disease, abnormal swallowing, poor dental hygiene, the early or late loss of baby teeth - and develop over time.

Orthodontic treatment often begins between the ages of 7 and 14. Treatment that begins while a child is growing, often referred to as "interceptive orthodontics," helps produce optimal results. To achieve optimal treatment, children should have an orthodontic evaluation no later that age 7. By then, they have a mix of primary (baby) teeth and permanent teeth. Your child's dentist can spot problems with emerging teeth and jaw growth early on, while the primary teeth are present. That's why regular dental exams are important.

Orthodontist are trained to spot subtle problems with jaw growth and emerging teeth while some baby teeth are still present. Early detection of orthodontic problems in young children may make it easier to correct those problems in the long run. Waiting until all of the permanent teeth have come in, or until facial growth is nearly complete, may make correction of some problems more difficult and even impossible. For these reasons, the AAO (American Association of Orthodontists) recommends that all children get a check-up with an orthodontist no later than age 7.

Problems with Braces

http://ow.ly/4iFsu

When you have orthodontic braces, you may experience some problems at times.  For example, at first you may have some soreness or tooth pain.  If you eat something you are not supposed to eat, you can break parts of your braces.  You may also find that the orthodontic wires may start to poke and irritate your lips or cheeks. This video will cover common braces problems and how they can be handled at home. If you have a problem that you cannot resolve on your own, call your orthodontist’s office. Your orthodontic team will be able to give you advice on how to solve the braces problem yourself or schedule you the appropriate appointment so that your problem can be fixed.

Top 10 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:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Remove the moving parts. If you have elastic bands or headgear, remove these parts before you brush or floss.
7. Fluoride is your friend. Fluoride helps prevent cavities. Be sure to brush with fluoride toothpaste, and rinse with fluoride mouthwash.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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. If you need help finding the right Dentist for you, feel free to contact our office – we’d love to help!
Hope this helps!

Stephen Yang, DMD, MS
52 Arch St, Ste 2
Redwood City, CA 94062
650-366-5758

Don't Sabatoge Your Orthodontic Treatment

Straightening your crooked teeth and solving your bite problems are not something that can be done in days. It’s not done in weeks either, but many months, even 2-3 years, depending on the severity of your case. This means you need to get ready for a long ride and have enough patience to successfully finish the treatment.
Your treatment means wearing some sort of an orthodontics device for as long as needed, plus many other bits and pieces that will come and go as your teeth get into the desired position. From now on you need to make sure you don’t make your orthodontics treatment even harder than it already is.

1. Clean that mouth!

If you weren’t too crazy about your oral hygiene, it’s time to change your attitude. All the stuff that’s in your mouth makes it now super-easy for cavities to appear. You’ve got braces and god knows what other stuff on your teeth. Clean them and make sure you still floss and keep your teeth as clean as possible. Being serious about this can make the difference between healthy teeth at the end of the treatment and teeth that are almost destroyed by cavities. It’s true you cannot have crystal clear teeth with all that junk on it, but, if you don’t brush and floss, you’d be shocked to see what can happen.

2. It won’t kill you to stay away from some food that would damage your orthodontics devices.

I know you like your chewing gum. If you’re an American, chewing this is almost a national sport. And you like your nuts and pistachios maybe. Or some good ole’ pop-corn. Well, if it can damage your braces, just don’t eat it. I love green apples. Well, I don’t bite into them as I’d normally do, but cut them to small pieces or just bite carefully. During my entire treatment I stayed away from almonds or anything that’s too tough to chew.

3. If it breaks, go to the orthodontist

If you’re brackets come loose or something is not OK, call your orthodontist and see if you can get an appointment. Don’t panic, most of the time brackets would come loose because they didn’t stick to the tooth correctly, and it’s something your doctor knows how to fix and expects all the time. Just make the call, see when you can meet and have it solved. It won’t be the first time or the last time something breaks, so don’t worry.

4. Don’t miss your appointments

If your orthodontist told you to come once a month or twice a month, don’t get smart and miss appointments. He’s the one to know how much attention your braces need and how frequent they need to be checked. While you’d love seeing your orthodontist once per treatment, when he takes off your braces, do follow the appointments calendar and make sure you’re not missing them.

5. If you have to wear it for 22 hours, then make sure you do

I’ve had people ask me “how much do I need to wear my Invisalign”, trying to see how much they can keep it off their teeth and still not mess the treatment. Well, you know, if it says “as much as possible, then wear it as much as possible. If you need to wear a device 10 hours/day, wear it 12, if you need to wear something over 20 hours, make sure it doesn’t get off unless you’re eating and brushing. It’s needed for your treatment, don’t mess it up just because you’re not feeling like wearing that.
You have to understand that everything is FOR YOUR GOOD and your orthodontics treatment can be a success and a failure and you’ve got a lot to decide on this. Do your part. Clean your teeth, wear your devices, don’t mess up your own treatment. Because it’s you who’s got to suffer.

March Madness Contest!

It's time for March Madness!  For those who don't know what March Madness is, it's a National college basketball tournament with 64 teams.  The tournament is about 2 1/2 weeks long and after 6 rounds of play, one team emerges as the national mens college basketball champion!

So how is this fun for us?  You guess which teams will win each round, and for every correct answer, you get a certain number of points.  The 3 players with the most points at the end of the tournament will win prizes!

Our prizes:

Grand Prize:  $5000 towards Braces treatment if you get all your picks correct for the entire tournament. 

1st place: $25 iTunes gift card

2nd place: Pair of movie tickets

3rd place: $10 Starbucks gift card.

Entering the contest is easy because we have created a special Yahoo Group for our patients and family members to join.  All it takes is a few simple clicks to select your teams.  The cool part is that at any time during the tournament, you can login and see how you are doing compared to everyone else that is playing. 

To enter our March Madness Contest, please follow this Tournament link:  http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/register/joinprivategroup_assign_team?GID=43982&P=smiles

 

OR

Follow the link below and click "Join Group"

http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/register/joingroup

 

 

The Group ID#:   43982

Password:   smiles

 

You will need to sign in with a Yahoo, Facebook, Google account, or create an account.

Patients AND family members are welcome to play!!!

***Note: To win the grand prize, you must get all teams correct for entire tournament.  If no player gets all the picks correct (a perfect bracket) then the Grand Prize will not be awarded.  Of course the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes will still be awarded.  Valid entries must be received by the start of the tournament the morning of March 17.



Good Luck!!!



--
-----------------------------------------
Stephen S. Yang, DMD, MS

Holman & Yang Orthodontics
Specializing in Creating Beautiful Smiles
52 Arch Street #2
Redwood City, CA 94062
Office: 650-366-5758
Fax: 650-366-0714
http://www.orthodontistrwc.com/

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April 2011 Invisalign Treatment & Study

Save $1000 on Invisalign Treatment

April 2011 Invisalign Study

Would you, or someone you know like to enjoy the benefits of straighter teeth and a beautiful smile? If so, then this might be a great opportunity!

Dr. Stephen Yang, an Invisalign Orthodontist and Preferred Provider, is conducting a study for Align Technology, Inc., the makers of Invisalign. The study is for new patients of the practice that want to start treatment with Invisalign. Participants of this study will receive $500 off of the normal Invisalign fee AND free Diagnostic Records ($500 value) for a total savings of $1000.



Conditions for the study:

1. Participants must be new patients of the practice and MUST NOT be a current or former patient of the practice.
2. Participants must begin Invisalign therapy during April of 2011. That means initial impressions for therapy are received by Align Technology between April 1 and April 30, 2011.
3. Participants must agree to permit their orthodontic records, including photographs, to be used for educational purposes by Align Technology, Inc.. Participants must sign an agreement form.

This study has a limited number of participants and may be discontinued at any time.

Stephen S. Yang, DMD, MS, Inc.

Invisalign Preferred Provider

52 Arch Street, #2, Redwood City, CA 94062

(650) 366-5758

http://www.orthodontistrwc.com/

Cutest Pet Contest

Okay, I know everyone thinks their pet is the cutest & now you have your chance to prove it! Here are the details of the "Cutest Pet Contest". There are 4 categories: 1)cutest dog 2)cutest cat 3)cutest (?) reptile 4)cutest bird/hamster/bunny. Prizes: dogs & cats - pair of movie tickets, reptiles & all others - Baskin Robbins certificate. Rules: 1)bring or mail in pictures w/name & number 2)multiple pets can be entered but only one win per player allowed 3)all entries must be turned in by Friday, April 29, 2011 4)there will be 4 winners total! After the April 29 deadline, we will have the patients cast their votes for 2 weeks.

Office Renovation

We've updated our office! New paint, new flooring, & new carpet! Don't be surprised when you walk in the door. We hope you like the changes!

March Madness Contest

March Madness Contest!! Grand prize:$5000 towards Braces Treatment!! 1st place:$25 iTunes gift card, 2nd place:pair of movie tickets, 3rd place:$10 Starbucks gift card. To qualify for the grand prize, you must get all teams correct for the entire tournament! Instructions will be posted Sunday, March 13 on our Facebook page (facebook.com/yangortho) on how to enter the contest online. Valid entries must be received by the start of the tournament on March 17.

Complimentary Consultations at Yang Orthodontics

At Holman & Yang Orthodontics, we genuinely care for our patients' well being while providing clinical excellence and cutting edge technology. We know the impact that a good orthodontic experience has in a person's life and we strive to ensure that each contact with our patients and their families is a positive one.

One of our commitments as your redwood city orthodontist is first meeting with you to help you explore all of the options available to you or your child. We offer complimentary consultations for those in interested in orthodontic treatment. At the exam you will have time reserved with Dr. Yang, who will assess your particular needs as well discuss treatment options available and answer any questions you may have. We place a high value on making sure you have complete information before beginning treatment.

If you have been thinking about obtaining the dazzling smile you've always wanted, we invite you to give us a call at (650) 366-5758.

We look forward to meeting you!

Dr. Holman, Dr. Yang and team

Have you ever looked at a dental website and thought, “What a bunch of cheesy stock photos! I bet those people don’t even go to that dentist or orthodontist.” Well we are redesigning our website and are looking to avoid using “cheesy stock photos.” Instead, we would like to use genuine photos of our real patients, but we need your help.

We are looking for photos of patients by themselves or with other family members. We will be selecting about 5-10 photos (or maybe more) to be used in our website and other promotional materials. For each of your photos that we use, you will receive either a $10 iTunes, $10 Starbucks, or $10 In-N-Out Gift Card. Of course, we will also need your permission to use these photos.

If you would like to participate in our Website Photos Contest, please send a maximum of 10 Photos to yangorthocontest@gmail.com by Sunday March 6, 2011. We will review all the entries by the following week and notify winners. Hurry! You only have one week to submit your photos!

Thank you!

Dr. Holman, Dr. Yang, and Orthodontic Team

Cutest Pet Contest

Here are the details of the "Cutest Pet Contest". There are 4 categories: 1)cutest dog 2)cutest cat 3)cutest (?) reptile 4)cutest bird/hamster/bunny. Prizes: dogs & cats - pair of movie tickets, reptiles & all others - Baskin Robbins certificate. Rules: 1)bring or mail in pictures w/name & number 2)multiple pets can be entered but only one win per player allowed 3)all entries must be turned in by Friday, April 29, 2011 4)there will be 4 winners total! After the April 29 deadline, we will have the patients cast their votes for 2 weeks.

New Contests!

We have 2 new contests! Cutest Pet Contest & March Madness. For the cutest pet contest we'd like you to send photos of your cute pet! No e-mails, please, as we will be posting the pictures on our bulletin board for everyone to see & to vote on! The contest has started & will continue through April 1. We will then keep the photos posted for 2 weeks to allow our patients to cast their votes! The March Madness contest is for the 2 weeks of college basketball tournaments. Various prizes will be awarded for picking the correct teams! Follow our Facebook page for updates. (www.facebook.com/yangortho)

Jelly Belly Contest Winner

We have a winner for the Jelly Belly contest!! The correct answer is 1397. Maxine C. was the closest with a winning answer of 1394!! Congratulations Maxine! She wins a $25 iTunes card & the jar of jelly bellys. Thank you to everyone for trying. The next contest is "Cutest Pet" - details to be posted later this week.