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Why the AAO Wants You to Skip the Soda

April 4, 2016

From time to time, nothing tastes better than an iced cold Coca-Cola. Whatever your favorite soda is it’s okay to indulge every now and then, but if you’re slurping down a soft drink with every meal you could be causing serious harm to your teeth. Soft drinks, including regular and diet soda, sports drinks, fruit drinks, and energy drinks all contribute to weakening tooth enamel. The damage to your teeth can be serious, however it’s even more threatening to teeth with orthodontic appliances, which is why the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) recommends skipping the soda throughout your orthodontic treatment.

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6 Essential Vitamins for a Healthy Mouth

March 21, 2016

As your Jacksonville orthodontist, we care about your overall health as much as we care about your straight smile and pearly whites. Your mouth is the gateway to the rest of your body and keeping it healthy is an important job. Maintaining your oral hygiene and a proper diet is key to a healthy mouth, but having straight teeth and a properly aligned bite is a large part of it too. Just like the rest of your body, your teeth and gums rely on certain nutrients to keep them strong and infection free, which is why what you eat is important for both your overall and periodontal health. Here are 6 vitamins that your mouth needs to stay in it’s best shape:

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Five Reasons to Keep Up With Your Oral Hygiene

March 7, 2016

During your orthodontic treatment, maintaining proper oral hygiene is one of the most important pieces to achieving your dream smile. You’re on your way to a healthier smile, but if you ignore cleaning your braces you’ll be selling yourself short. Having braces may make it more difficult than usual to brush and floss, but there are tools to help you keep up! Letting your oral hygiene routine fall to the wayside can result in serious dental problems and can also hinder the results of your orthodontic treatment. Here are five reasons to maintain outstanding oral hygiene during your orthodontic treatment:

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Stress and Your Smile

February 3, 2016

We all encounter stress in our lives, whether it’s from school or work, stress can have damaging effects on your body. Your mouth is not immune to the effects of stress and sometimes it can even have an impact on your orthodontic appliances. Researchers have found significant links between stress and oral health, which helps us to better understand how anxiety and depression can exasperate dental problems. As your Jacksonville orthodontist, we know that limiting your stress will improve your overall well being and the success of your orthodontic treatment.

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Malocclusion and Your Oral Health

January 27, 2016

According to the American Association of Orthodontists, occlusion is the relationship between your upper and lower teeth as they come into contact with each other. When you chew, bite, and close your jaw, the contact between your teeth affects your jaw muscles, gums, head, neck, and oral health. Since your jaw alignment affects so many aspects of your overall health, your orthodontist ensures that by the end of your treatment your jaw is aligned and your teeth fit together without causing any unnecessary force in your mouth. Here are the various classes of occlusion that your orthodontist will asses throughout your treatment:

Class I Occlusion: This class is considered the “ideal” occlusal fit and is identified by the lower anterior incisors sitting just behind the upper anterior incisors when biting down.

Class II Malocclusion: This class is typically considered an overbite and is identified by the lower lower anterior incisors being positioned significantly behind the upper anterior incisors.

Class III Malocclusion: This class is usually called a crossbite and is identified by the lower anterior incisors being positioned edge to edge with the upper anterior incisors.

Although your teeth may appear normal, an offset bite can lead to a series of oral health issues, such as:

  • Teeth injury
  • Tooth wear
  • Tooth sensitivity
  • Chronic headaches
  • Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ)
  • Muscle pain
  • Tooth movement
  • Tooth loss

At Ortega Orthodontics, we will make sure that your jaw is aligned during your treatment so that you can have proper bite function and a lifetime of healthy teeth. There are several options for treating a misaligned jaw and as your Jacksonville orthodontist, we can determine what treatment option is best for you! Contact us today to schedule your appointment for achieving the smile you’ve always dreamed of.