Orthodontics Blog | Dr. Jared Lee

How To Identify And Treat Your Child’s Misaligned Jaw

By Jared Lee | September 16, 2021

Seeing your child show signs of jaw pain can be concerning. Whether you’ve noticed them rubbing their jaw or digging into their meals with less gusto, seeing your child hurting is never easy. Jaw pain is fairly common in both children and adults, and in younger kids, it can often stem from a misaligned bite. Read More

The team at the office of Dr. Jared Lee hands out a lot of advice to patients, ranging from what treatment is best to how long treatment might take to caring for your smile between orthodontic visits. In fact, the question of caring for your smile between orthodontic visits comes up so much that we put together this short guide on maintaining your oral health and getting the most out of your treatment between visits to our offices! It doesn’t take much to care for your smile between visits, but the tips below might not be common knowledge to everyone. Let’s explore our top tips for caring for your smile between orthodontic visits, especially when you might have to wait longer than usual to see us! Maintain your dental hygiene Keeping your teeth and gums healthy is always important, but did you know it’s an essential part of your treatment plan too? Tooth decay and gum disease may lead to complications in your orthodontic treatment, and can even affect your final results. Whether you’re currently undergoing treatment or finished your braces or Invisalign years ago, there are some basics of dental hygiene that you should always follow! These guidelines will help you maintain clean teeth and a healthy mouth, and can help keep your treatment on track: Brush at least three times a day, ideally after each meal and once before bed. Use fluoridated toothpaste and a toothbrush with soft bristles. Brush gently at a 45-degree angle toward the gum line, moving the toothbrush in a circular pattern across the teeth to effectively remove bacteria and any trapped food particles. Floss at least once per day to remove bacteria and any food that has accumulated throughout the day. Replace your toothbrush every 3-4 months, or sooner if you have a cold or any other illness. Use antimicrobial and fluoridated mouthwashes to help further improve your oral health. If you have braces, you already know that it can take some skillful maneuvering to clean around the brackets and wires. For the best results, we recommend: brushing around every part of your braces brushing every surface of every tooth brushing until your brackets are clean and shiny flossing every night before you go to bed using tools like floss threaders and Waterpiks to clean hard-to-reach areas If you wear Invisalign, you should be following the same basic guidelines for dental hygiene, but you’ll need to care for your aligners too. Always rinse them off before putting them back in your mouth, and remember to clean them well with soap and water at least twice a day. If you notice any build-up, you can soak your aligners in an oral apparatus cleaning fluid to remove it. You can clean them with toothpaste too, but this increases the risk of scratching, dulling, or otherwise deforming them; soaking them is your best bet for safely and thoroughly cleaning them. You should never clean them with or soak them in hot water, and remember to keep them away from heat sources so they retain their shape. Limit your sugar intake Cavities can negatively affect your treatment, which is unfortunate since most orthodontic procedures tend to increase the risk of cavities. To combat this, avoid sugary snacks and drinks as much as possible. Food that is high in sugar and starch encourages plaque growth, which can lead to tooth decay or gum disease. Sugar is also a carbohydrate, and carbs fuel the acidic compounds that cause cavities to form. This is bad enough on teeth without braces, but add in brackets and wires and you’ve got multiple places where bad bacteria can hide and multiply! Swap sugary drinks for water instead—it’s good for your body and can help flush food particles out of your braces and from in-between your teeth. Make a travel kit We recommend that all of our patients stay prepared for unexpected orthodontic emergencies by keeping a “care kit” with them at all times. Some of the items we recommend including are: a soft-bristled toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste for brushing wherever you are floss or ortho picks to use after eating if you have the time and space to do so orthodontic wax, which can be used to cover any areas causing you irritation extra rubber bands lip balm for dry lips resulting from braces a small cup for rinsing with water, which helps dislodge any trapped food particles an unsharpened pencil (you can use the eraser end to push stray brace wires back into place) Throw these items and whatever else you think would be useful into a small, portable bag and you’ll have everything you need in a pinch! This can end up saving you quite a bit of time, trouble, and discomfort if you need to perform unexpected care, you end up having to wait longer than expected for your next appointment, or if you simply want to keep your teeth and appliance clean on the go. Follow your orthodontist’s guidance! At the risk of sounding cliche, doctor knows best! By closely following Dr. Jared Lee’s instructions, you’re giving your smile the best chance at success. If you’ve been given elastics to wear with your braces or aligners, make sure to wear them exactly as directed. If you’ve recently completed treatment, continue to wear your retainer as instructed by your doctor. Invisalign patients will normally be provided with several weeks’ worth of aligners at a time, but if you run out of aligners before your next scheduled appointment, we can arrange curbside pick-up for the next set. Dr. Lee is also available for video or telephone appointments if you have any questions or concerns. Socially distanced options like these mean that all of our patients can continue their treatments safely, conveniently, and without delay. If we’re unable to provide you a new set of aligners right away, you can continue wearing the last set you were given. However, you should only wear them 10-12 hours each day instead of the usual 20-22 hours. This shortened wear duration will help extend the life of your aligners until an appointment is available. This way you can keep your treatment plan on track and ensure that you don’t lose any of your hard-earned progress! Your smile is a team effort at the offices of Dr. Jared Lee We’re rooting for you, even when you’re not in our Santa Paula or Oxnard offices! Our expert team is always available to answer your questions or address any concerns you might have about your treatment plan, your smile, or anything else. Caring for your smile is a lifelong process, and it’s never a bad time to make sure that you’re doing all you can to keep your treatment on track. For more ways to be proactive with the orthodontic process, get in touch to ask our knowledgeable team any questions you may have, or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Jared Lee.

Caring For Your Smile Between Orthodontic Visits

By Jared Lee | August 30, 2021

The team at the office of Dr. Jared Lee hands out a lot of advice to patients, ranging from what treatment is best to how long treatment might take to caring for your smile between orthodontic visits. In fact, the question of caring for your smile between orthodontic visits comes up so much that we Read More

Bad Habits to Break Whether You Have Braces or Not

By Jared Lee | June 28, 2021

The 805 Orthodontics team hands out a lot of helpful advice on keeping smiles in shape, but one of the most important pieces of wisdom we have to offer is simple: get a good dental hygiene routine going and stick to it! When an orthodontic patient doesn’t care for their teeth and gums properly, it Read More

Choosing Between Braces and Invisalign

By Jared Lee | May 25, 2021

The options and choices that you might face when you’re told that you or your child could benefit from orthodontic treatment may be more intimidating than the issue that they are intended to fix. At 805 Orthodontics, we believe that you should be as informed as possible when deciding how to straighten your smile. Choosing Read More

Trust Your Smile to an Experienced Orthodontist

By Jared Lee | March 31, 2021

Here at the orthodontic offices of Dr. Jared Lee, we understand that you want the best for your family. That includes high-quality dental care and a healthy, beautiful smile! Maintaining oral health plays a large role in your overall health and the confidence that comes with a beautiful smile can be life-changing. Many people consider Read More

Orthodontic Care in 2021

By Jared Lee | February 18, 2021

Over the past year, we’ve all had to make some adjustments. With mask mandates and social distancing, life looks a little different than ever before. However, we’ve seen our communities come together and support each other through the toughest of times. With so many changes, you may have some questions about orthodontic care in 2021. Read More

Stay Safe and Healthy with Clear Aligners During COVID-19

By Jared Lee | January 29, 2021

If you’ve been considering orthodontic treatment to improve your smile, you’re in luck. There’s never been a better time to be an orthodontic patient! Here at the Orthodontic Offices of Dr. Jared Lee, it’s all in the name—we help patients of all ages in Oxnard, Santa Paula, and the surrounding areas achieve straighter teeth using Read More

Benefits Of An Orthodontist Over DTC aligners

By Jared Lee | August 26, 2020

In our society, we have access to nearly anything we need and, in most cases, can have it delivered to our doorstep in just a few days. While this kind of quick service is certainly convenient, it’s come with some unforeseen side effects, even in the field of orthodontics. It’s normal to want the fastest, Read More

Questions To Ask When Choosing An Orthodontist

By Jared Lee | July 31, 2020

Here at the orthodontic offices of Dr. Jared Lee, we believe patients should be informed and empowered throughout the course of their orthodontic treatment. After all, making the decision to improve your oral health with orthodontic treatment is a big step! As an educated patient, you’ll know that your smile is too important to trust Read More

Playing Sports While Wearing Braces

By Jared Lee | June 23, 2020

Here at the orthodontic office of Dr. Jared T. Lee, we see a number of patients who are active in sports. Whether they play for their school teams or in their community, a common concern they have is if starting braces treatment will leave them sidelined for the season. If you’re an athlete, you’ve probably Read More