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Special message from Dr. Gorton During Covid-19 Shelter-in-Place Order

 

Special message from Dr. Gorton

Hello, everyone!

Dr. Jasmine Gorton here. On behalf of the entire Gorton & Schmohl team, I wanted to send you and your families warm greetings and well wishes! Hopefully you and yours are doing your best to stay healthy and taking all the necessary precautions to keep others safe as well!

While we are all feeling the impact of the timing of the Covid-19 shelter-in-place order, please rest assured that your orthodontic treatments will continue as planned and largely without issue.

For our patients in braces, your wires will continue to straighten your teeth. Our recommendation to you is to continue maintaining excellent oral hygiene practices (making sure you use the Clinpro 5000 fluoride toothpaste you received from us) and also maintain a healthy braces-friendly diet! Please reference the braces food list you received, which is also on our website, and steer clear of hard, sticky, overly chewy foods that could cause things to come loose.

If you are wearing rubber bands as part of your recommended treatment, please continue! We’d like to see how you’ve done with your rubber bands and what your bite looks like so there will be some instructions later on in the video about how to take pictures of your teeth that we can use to evaluate your current bite.

For our Invisalign patients, you should have by now received all the aligners in your current set, as our office team has been mailing those out as they have become available. We encourage you to continue with wearing your aligner 20-22 hours per day, using your chewies regularly, and using your accelerator device daily if you elected to purchase one.

If you feel that you are going to be running out of aligners in the near future, we recommend slowing down your pace. If you customarily switch your aligners twice per week, which is the case for some of our youngest patients using Invisalign with Acceledent, you may want to switch once a week for the time being. If you usually switch your aligners weekly, you may want to slow down to every two weeks if you think you may run out soon. If you usually switch every two weeks, please stay with the same schedule of aligner changes.

Finally, if you’ve reached the last aligner of your set and have worn it full-time for a couple of weeks, please switch to night-time only with your last aligner so that they can hold your teeth in their current position.  Please don’t stop wearing your aligners! And, as always, please do not throw away any backup aligners you may need if your current aligner breaks or gets lost!

For those patients with expanders, please stop turning after the prescribed number of turns has been completed. Please do not continue turning after the prescribed number of turns until you have submitted evaluation photos for assessment of progress.

While we are only seeing emergency patients in our office at this time per the recommendations of all governing health care bodies at the local, state and national levels, we want to reassure you all that we are available by phone, text, email, and video.

If you’ve subscribed with our dental monitoring program, please continue your weekly scans for evaluation. For everyone else, we’d like to extend an invitation for a virtual appointment for all our Invisalign patients due for a check, our braces patients who are currently wearing rubber bands, and expander patients who were still turning their expander when the shelter-in-place order started so that we can check-in and evaluate your progress.

We also want to let you know that we have virtual consultations available on our website for new treatment interest and inquiries. We have a video coming up from Lindsay, our Treatment Coordinator, demonstrating how to take photos of the teeth easily at home to help us with our assessments. You are welcome to email your photos to all three doctors at [email protected] with any questions or concerns you may have.


Click here for Lindsay’s tutorial on how to take photos of your teeth

Click here for Covid-19 FAQ

Click here for Cornonavirus Updates

Orthodontic Instructions During Covid-19 Shelter-in-Place Order

6 Things to Know Before Invisalign Treatment in 2020 | FAST FACTS 1

6 Things to Know Before Invisalign Treatment in 2020 | FAST FACTS

Invisalign can be your perfect solution To A healthy smile. Whether you are a teenager getting braces for the first time, or an adult who wants to fix their smile, Invisalign is a great choice for you. There are a few things you should know before you get started. In this post, we’re going to show you 6 things to know before Invisalign Treatment in 2020. Let’s get cracking.

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elsa - expander orthodontic patient

Traditional Metal Braces | What Are Other Options in 2020?

If you don’t want traditional metal braces, what are the other options? Today’s teeth straightening technology has come a long way from the early days when a swig of spirits and a pair of pliers pretty much summed up your options. In this post, we’ll show you what you can get from an orthodontist in this modern world apart from metal braces. Let’s get cracking.

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audrey invisalign child

Orthodontic Braces off in 2020? | WHEN | HOW | WHY | FAST FACTS

The first question that many patients ask an orthodontist when they learn that they need to get braces is in the title.  The answer is going to vary from patient to patient, as the dental health need of every patient is different. In this post, we’ll answer the question “When Will I get my braces off?” Let’s get started.

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Foods To Avoid While Wearing Braces 2

Foods To Avoid While Wearing Braces

The day you get your braces can be a pretty exciting day. Finally, you are on your way to achieving a bright, white, straight smile you can proudly show off. One day not long from now, you will look at yourself in the mirror and be so glad you invested the time and energy to achieve healthier, straighter and more attractive teeth. In this article, get an in-depth look at foods to avoid while wearing braces. Let’s get cracking.

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Can you Have Healthy Diet With Invisalign? | FAST FACTS 2020 3

Can you Have Healthy Diet With Invisalign? | FAST FACTS 2020

Can You Have Healthy Diet With Invisalign? | FAST FACTS 2020

If you’re in the market for an even more gorgeous smile, your orthodontist might discuss a few options with you. Braces and Invisalign are the two most common ways to correct a crooked smile, and most people have a choice. Since many people choose to forgo braces, it’s Invisalign people want to learn more about. More importantly, you probably want to know how to maintain a healthy diet while you have this system in your mouth. In this post, we’ll answer the question – Can you have a healthy diet while using Invisalign? Let’s get cracking.

 

Can you Have Healthy Diet With Invisalign? | FAST FACTS 2020 2

Contents [hide]

People Also Ask

  • How often should you clean your Invisalign?
  • Can I eat with my Invisalign in?
  • Can I lose weight Invisalign?
  • What foods should you avoid with Invisalign?

 

Can You Have Healthy Diet With Invisalign?

  • A straight, pretty smile is a simple way to have more confidence. When you live with crooked teeth, you might feel a little self-conscious smiling, talking, or showing people your mouth. It’s not uncommon, though your smile is already beautiful.

 

What Invisalign Treatment Really Does

  • Before we discuss how you maintain a healthy diet while you straighten your teeth at home, you should know what it is, how it works, and what it entails. Like braces, this method of fixing starts at the orthodontist’s office before it goes home. Your system is created specifically for your mouth so your bite are manipulated into the correct position. Your aligners are personal to your mouth alone, and they come right out.
  • You’ll learn how to use them at the office. This means you’ll learn how to wear them, when to wear them, how to take them out, when to take them out, and when to call the office if you have any issues. They work very simply when it comes to living your everyday life. You take them out to brush and floss as well as eat. You can drink with the aligners still in your mouth. As far as how long you need these aligners, that’s dependent on your personal oral health.

 

Maintaining A Healthy Diet

  • Your good health need not suffer for a more beautiful smile. You get to live your life as you’ve always lived, but you must remember one or two things about how to go about eating. Your aligners come out when you eat. You can eat anything you want with your aligners in your mouth. You’re not required to remove them even if you want to chew a piece of gum. These are not like the old-fashioned methods people relied upon that were complete with a long list of prohibited food and beverage items.
  • Now you can eat as much of anything you want and not worry about your aligners. They can come out, but shouldn’t come out often unless you want to prolong the work they are doing to change the overall shape of your teeth. There are no dietary restrictions associated with wearing aligners, but it’s important to maintain the healthiest possible diet.

 

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Plan Your Meals

  • Since you’ll be fitting a day’s worth of calories and nutritional needs into three meals and two snacks, you’ll need to strategize to cover your bases. Go into each day knowing when you’ll get your protein, where you’ll find your Vitamin C, and how many calories you’re taking in with each meal. Budgeting calories and nutrients are the best way to prevent hunger and malnourishment.

 

Why Maintain A Healthy Diet

  • Now that you know you can eat and drink whatever you want with your aligners in your mouth, you might wonder why you would maintain a healthy diet. If your kids are the ones with aligners, they might not pay nearly as much attention to their dietary needs. Your diet is actually more important now than ever before.
  • Teeth are bones, and strong bones are good for your health. Eating healthy foods that enhance and add to your overall health while wearing aligners is wise. It helps your bones stay strong. It helps your body stay strong, and it helps your gnashers do what you want them to do.
  • These aligners are easy to ignore and forget you’re wearing, but they don’t just move your teeth. They also move the connective tissues inside your mouth and gums while they do this difficult work. When you eat a healthy diet, you make it easier for these tissues and your gums to maintain good health and move easily. There’s less pain and less health concern when you eat well. Your body’s natural defense is to change with the times, which means a healthy diet makes it easier for your tissues, bones, and gums to move and adjust in a way that’s healthy and painless.

 

 

Foods To Avoid

While you’re making such significant changes to your mouth and smile, you want to make sure you’re doing it the right way. You want everything as healthy as possible so it’s able to overcome infection or even avoid it in the first place. While you maintain a healthy diet, be sure you don’t forget that there are a few things you must not do very often.

  • Smoke (you should stop this entirely if you are a smoker)
  • Drink alcohol
  • Drink soda
  • Eat sugary foods
  • Chew gum

It’s fine to consume these in moderation, but too much of each one can cause gnashers to break down and become infected. This is not the best time for your mouth to suffer from health issues, which means now is the time to focus on things you can do to change how your mouth adapts to this treatment.

 

 

Schedule An Examination

In Marin County, Calif., you can visit Drs. Gorton & Schmohl Orthodontics to have an examination and Invisalign treatment from professionals. Schedule an appointment by calling 415-459-8006 today with one of our experts.

  • Dr. Jasmine Gorton
  • Dr. Bill Schmohl
  • Dr. Jeff Nichelini

 

Conclusion

An Invisalign provider and will discuss orthodontic treatment options with you to repair problems such as crowding, crossbites or overbites. Depending on your malocclusions, you can wear one of these braces devices:

  • Retainers
  • Invisalign treatment
  • WildSmiles
  • Braces with colors
  • Traditional braces Damon
  • Traditional metal braces
  • Damon Clear
  • WowSmiles
  • Acceledent

 

Dr. Gorton will see you in a consultation to discuss Invisalign treatment.

Which tip will you try first???

Either way, let us know by leaving a comment below right now and continue the conversation. Also, link in Twitter over @MarinOrtho

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Book-Your-Comp-Consultation

 

Gorton & Schmohl Orthodontics

900 Larkspur Landing Circle, Suite 200 Larkspur CA 94939 Tel: (415)-459-8006

Can you Have Healthy Diet With Invisalign? | FAST FACTS 2020

Dentist and Orthodontist (THE DIFFERENCE) 4

Dentist and Orthodontist (THE DIFFERENCE)

The difference between a dentist and orthodontist. Like medicine, dentistry has a number of sub-specialties. Among these are periodontics, endodontics, and orthodontics. Each requires additional training beyond that given in dental school. Here’s the difference between a dentist and an orthodontist.

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Words of Wisdom No.9: “Brush Your Teeth When You First Get Out of Bed and Before You Get Back In at Night“ 5

Words of Wisdom No.9: “Brush Your Teeth When You First Get Out of Bed and Before You Get Back In at Night“

bed

If you currently do not brush your teeth every morning and night, your oral health may suffer in the future. Preventive care means being responsible for the health of your teeth and gums. Even though it may seem like an unwanted chore, it only takes a few minutes to brush your teeth twice a day. The results may reveal less cavities and stronger teeth. If you wear braces, you need to brush two times a day.

Avoid Plaque Build-up in Your Mouth

Plaque is an arch enemy of good oral health. If you do not brush your teeth before you go to bed, you are not eliminating the plaque build-up taking place in your mouth throughout the day. If you avoid brushing your teeth in the morning when you first get out of bed, you risk skipping the event until bedtime. One reason why it is important to brush your teeth in the morning is because you need to get rid of bacteria and plaque remaining in your mouth while you sleep. If you wear Invisalign braces, you still need to brush twice a day.

Do Not Brush Your Teeth Right After Eating Drinking Citrus Juice

If you drink a glass of orange juice or grapefruit juice in the morning, you should not brush your teeth right away. You could brush the acidic fruit juice onto your teeth and Invisalign braces. A good habit is to brush your teeth when you wake up and then rinse your mouth with an oral antiseptic mouthwash after eating breakfast.

Ask Your Orthodontist about Which Type of Toothbrush to Use

If you are not sure whether to use a manual or electric toothbrush, ask your orthodontist for professional advice. One thing to remember is that most orthodontists recommend brushing the teeth with a soft toothbrush. Make an appointment with Gorton & Schmohl Orthodontics today.

Words of Wisdom No.8: “Practice Flossing with Your Eyes Shut“ 6

Words of Wisdom No.8: “Practice Flossing with Your Eyes Shut“

flossing

Braces are an orthodontic treatment that can greatly improve the appearance of the teeth. However, if you don’t take care of the teeth while the braces are worn, then there won’t be as much of an improvement as desired. Invisalign is an option for those who want to be able to eat the foods that they enjoy while still getting the straight teeth as a result of the orthodontic treatment. One of the things that is essential when caring for the teeth is flossing.

All About Flossing

While you are flossing the teeth, consider doing so with your eyes closed. This will force your hand to examine the teeth and gums while you are using the floss. It can help to get the string around each tooth instead of looking in a mirror while flossing only the areas that you can see. The orthodontist can show you how to floss in this manner so that you get the best results. Invisalign makes this a little easier as you can remove the tray from the mouth while cleaning the teeth.

There are a few benefits of flossing the teeth that your orthodontist might not tell you about. One of the reasons to floss your teeth is to keep your teeth in your mouth. This might seem like something that couldn’t happen, but if you don’t floss between the teeth, there is bacteria that can build. This can create tartar. It can soon lead to gingivitis, which can cause loose teeth if it’s not taken care of as soon as possible. When you floss, you remove the bacteria that is between the teeth. Live bacteria can get into the bloodstream through the gums. This bacteria can lead to heart disease and other conditions that could easily be avoided if you floss on a regular basis.

To learn more about how to properly care for your teeth, Invisalign or braces, contact an orthodontist at Gorton & Schmohl Orthodontics in Larkspur to schedule an appointment!

Words of Wisdom No. 7 - Stay Fresh 7

Words of Wisdom No. 7 – Stay Fresh

fresh food

Our grandmothers always told us to stay fresh when going out in public by wearing clean clothing and brushing our teeth. You can also stay fresh by making sure that your teeth are straight and strong by wearing braces that are designed by an expert orthodontist. If you are an adult with crooked teeth that cause a feeling of embarrassment, then learn about the benefits of clear Invisalign aligners. Clear aligners are perfect for mild to moderate malocclusions of your teeth, especially the ones toward the front of the mouth. These soft and comfortable devices are easy to wear for most of the day, and other people do not see these items inside your mouth.

Orthodontic Treatment can improve Your Overall Appearance

There are other types of braces that help you to keep a fresh appearance by reducing the wide spaces between your teeth. While traditional silver metal bracket and wire devices are still an affordable option, you can opt to wear self-ligating or ceramic orthodontia devices instead. It is possible for young children to undergo orthodontic treatment to ensure permanent teeth erupt into the correct positions, but more adults are choosing to keep fresh by improving their smile. Visiting an orthodontist is an important way to improve your overall health by correcting a bad bite that causes jaw pain.

Schedule an Appointment Today

An important part of orthodontic treatment is getting a natural and individualized smile. A knowledgeable orthodontist understands how to look at a patient’s facial anatomy to determine the best type of braces for their teeth, including:

• Invisalign aligners
• Damon devices
• Color brackets and wires

At Gorton & Schmohl Orthodontics in Larkspur, Calif., patients are able to receive treatment from two experts:

• Dr. Bill Schmohl
• Dr. Jasmine Gorton

Schedule an appointment with an online form or telephone call to 415-459-8006.