The Rules of Retainers

Hinesly Orthodnotics

Retainers are custom-made for each patient and are advised to wear after treatment in order to keep the teeth from shifting. Retainers fit the top of the teeth and mouth. Though some retainers may look similar, no retainers are alike because they are made to fit individual needs.

Here are a few things you need to remember when receiving your retainer from Dr. Hinesly:

• You are instructed to wear your retainer for a year full time, which means 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. After a year, you will need to wear it 2-3 nights a week for your lifetime.
• Don't fold it in your napkin or leave it on the table at a restaurant. Garbage cans don't make happy hunting grounds.
• Don't put your retainer in your pocket. You might sit on it and break it. OUCH!
• Take your retainer out when swimming in a lake or ocean. If it falls out, you may not be able to find it. Wearing it in a swimming pool is OK.
• Animals and younger children love to play with it. Please make sure your retainer is in your mouth at all times.
• Your retainer should only be out of your mouth when brushing.
• Your lower retainer may be a fixed retainer bonded to your teeth. It is not considered permanent and can be broken or detached from your teeth if you are not careful with it.
• Bring your retainer to check-up appointments. If anything happens to your retainer (i.e. it doesn't fit, it's broken, or it's lost) please call us ASAP. If your lower bonded retainer wire comes out, keep it and bring it to your next appointment for rebonding.
• The first set of retainers is included in your treatment fee. Any repair to or replacement of your retainer, or rebonding of your lower retainer, will result in an additional charge to your account.
• Keep things clean! Be sure to brush your teeth without your retainers in. Do not boil your retainer or put it in hot water. Brush your retainer with a toothbrush using toothpaste, water or non-alcohol mouthwash.

We’ve All Suffered From Pizza Burn, Right?

According to Gallop Poll, approximately 3 billion pizzas are sold in the US every year, and we consume about 251,777,000 pounds of pizza per year. If you’ve done your fair share of eating some of the 3 billion pizzas sold nationwide, then chances are you’ve also had your time of suffering from pizza burn. Pizza burn can happen in that micro second it takes to indulge in your first bite of that hot, cheesy, saucy pizza that you just could not wait to bite into. Though burns may be a little out of the orthodontists’ league, we wanted to take a second anyway and give you some helpful tips to get you through the pizza burn pain. When it comes to your mouth, Hinesly Orthodontics has you covered.

So whether it is a pizza burn, or another hot food you should have waited on before biting into, chances are you’ve burned your mouth before. There are several symptoms that can occur with this unfortunate mishap, from tears in the roof of your mouth to blisters. Check out these important steps to take to soothe your mouth next time you have this accident, and help it heal correctly.

Applying or sucking on ice can relieve the stinging. Gargling cold water or eating ice cream are other options.

An over-the-counter pain reliever can help, if the pain is really distracting.

Squeezing Vitamin E from a capsule over the wound can speed up healing. It will regenerate new tissue and heal the wound.

Resist touching the burned area. This may be difficult, but by touching the affected area, the lesion may become irritated further.

Drinking milk can coat the scorched area.

Avoid acidic, crunchy, and other hot foods, or even very salty and spicy dressings. This will stop the burn from getting irritated further.

Maintain good oral hygiene while your mouth is burnt, keeping it as clean as possible to promote healing and prevent further infection.

Make sure you allow your burn to heal; it usually takes about a week for soreness and blistering to pass. Also, let us know if you have any home remedies that we didn’t list, or any interesting stories about a time you burned your mouth. Leave a comment or post it on our Facebook wall! Also, check out this video we found with more helpful tips for fighting pizza burn!

LAYERED STRAWBERRY TRIFLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

SYRUP:
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup water
LAYERS:
12 ounces pound cake or butter loaf (store bought is ok)
8 ounces (1 package) cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
6 cups fresh strawberries

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare the lemon syrup: In a small saucepan, bring the sugar, lemon juice and water to a boil over medium heat. Stir to dissolve sugar completely. Let cool.
2. Slice the cake into 3/4-inch slices. Brush lemon syrup over both sides of each cake slice. Quarter each slice.
3. Use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese with the sugar on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to medium and slowly add the cream. Continue beating until the mixture resembles soft whipped cream.
4. Arrange half of the cake pieces in the bottom of a glass serving bowl or dish (2 quart size is sufficient). Spoon half the cream-cheese mixture over the cake in dollops; spreading to the sides of the dish. Scatter half of the strawberries on top. Repeat layering with cake, cream cheese and berries. Pile additional strawberries on top.
5. Cover and refrigerate until chilled (about an hour). You may also refrigerate overnight.

Merry Christmas

May this holiday season sparkle and shine, may all of your wishes come true, and may you feel this happiness all year round! With love, from Hinesly Orthodontics!

Summer Packing List For Those With Braces

It’s that time again; SUMMER is here. For many of our patients, Summer is a popular time to take a vacation and escape the responsibilities and routine of every day normal life. As we encourage you to take some well-deserved time away and hit the beach, we want you to remember to stay responsible for your braces while you’re traveling.

Be sure to pack more than the essential tooth brush and floss if you wear braces! Check out our tips below for those of you wearing clear aligners & traditional braces

If you wear Invisalign clear aligners, be sure to remember:

• Always take your previous set of aligners, your current set, and your next set of aligners with you.
• Always carry your aligners in your purse or carry-on luggage when flying.
• Take an extra case. 
• Make sure you rinse out your mouth and aligners before reinserting into your mouth if brushing is inconvenient. 

If you wear traditional braces, be sure to pack the follow:

• Orthodontic wax
• Floss & threader
• Proxy brush
• Rubber bands (if required)
• Ibuprofen

We hope these tips help you while you’re traveling this Summer. If you have any questions or concerns while you are traveling please give Hinesly Orthodontics a call. Wishing you all safe travels!

Financial Information Regarding Orthodontic Treatment

When you consider the cost of orthodontic treatment, also consider the lifelong benefits of a beautiful, healthy smile. The cost of orthodontic treatment will depend on many factors, including the severity of the problem, its complexity and length of treatment.

For your convenience, Hinesly Orthodontics will gladly assist you in submitting both predetermination and initial insurance claims pertaining to charges for care rendered in our office. However, please be aware our primary financial relationship is with our patients or their families and not with their respective insurance companies. Final responsibility for collection of benefits from your insurance company rests with the insured party. Our professional services are rendered and charged directly to the patient or their family and they are responsible for payment of all fees incurred.

We believe that finances should never be an obstacle when it comes to a beautiful, healthy smile. Therefore, we offer convenient payment options to help you keep from worrying about the cost of braces and allow you focus on what matters most – your smile!

Attn Peeps: Easter Candy To Avoid

Easter is a holiday surrounded by tons and tons of decorative candy that is hard to avoid. Like most holidays, when gathering with friends and family a common tradition for most is to indulge in food and desserts without being too cautious about what you’re consuming. For our patients that wear braces, we urge you to keep your eyes open (and mouths closed) to Easter candy that can be damaging to your braces.

Hinesly Orthodontics has taken the time to dig a little deeper into this for our patients. Keep reading to learn Easter candy totally unsuitable for our patients with braces.

• Jelly Beans
• Gummi Bears
• Licorice
• Starburst
• Snickers
• Life Savers
• Ring Pops
• Twix
• Skittles
• Sour Patch Kids

Today’s braces are very high tech. It’s important for you to be aware of what you, or your child, are eating this Easter to avoid from damaging braces, and dodge costly repairs. Keep an eye on items that will potentially be putting braces at risk for repairs.

Invisalign is offered at Hinesly Orthodontics

Invisalign takes a modern approach to straightening teeth, using a custom-made series of aligners created for you and only you. These aligner trays are made of smooth, comfortable and virtually invisible plastic that you wear over your teeth. Wearing the aligners will gradually and gently shift your teeth into place, based on the exact movements that Dr. Hinesly plans out for you.

Are you an Invisalign patient at Hinesly Orthodontics? If you answered yes, please watch this video for great information on patient use & care.

Invisalign: Patient Use & Care
Are you an Invisalign patient at Hinesly Orthodontics? If you answered yes, please watch this video for great information on patient use & care.
Posted by Hinesly Orthodontics on Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Not a patient but interested in Invisalign with Hinesly Orthodontics? No problem!

With Invisalign, there are no metal brackets to attach and no wires to tighten. You just pop in a new set of aligners approximately every two weeks, until your treatment is complete. You’ll achieve a great smile with little interference in your daily life. The best part about the whole process is that most people won't even know you're straightening your teeth. Contact us now to set up your initial appointment at our Ann Arbor or Tecumseh office.

It's Children's Dental Health Month

Did you know in the United States alone 51 million hours of school is missed by American students due to oral health problems?  That’s why it’s so important to emphasize the recognition of February being National Children's Dental Health national month, because every hour of school that is missed creates more problems for children in the classroom. This is why Hinesly Orthodontics encourages you to utilize this month to remind your kids about dental health.

Check out a couple of tips we wanted to share with you to make dental health creative when teaching your kids how to have healthy smiles!

Fun Toothbrushes

Another way to make dental health more interesting for children is to opt for fun style toothbrush. When replacing their toothbrush, let them pick one in their favorite color or with their favorite character. Also, a new toothbrush option that is growing pretty rapidly is the gaming toothbrush, such as the Grush. The “Grush” takes brushing to another level. This toothbrush is coupled with interactive and instructive mobile games guiding kids’ through proper brushing techniques while they think they are simply playing a game. These brushes also provide tracking for parents to see growth in results.

Create Memories

Show your children that taking care of their dental health is fun and memorable by adding a little flare to it. Brush and floss with them, sing songs, and help them brush while encouraging them to learn the proper skills. Also, there are several fun books and videos designed specifically for children to learn about dental health. Read to them and watch educational videos together. These efforts alone will provide great oral health habits with your children and long lasting memories.

Don't forget, according to the American Association of Orthodontists, the best age for children to be seen by an orthodontist for the first time is 7.  If you're child is ready for his or her first visit, bring them to Hinesly Orthodontics and let us assist you with treatment options.

Meet the iTero

Hinesly Orthodontics understands that crafting a great smile takes time, but with today’s technology we can deliver results faster to our patients by using cutting edge tools such as our high tech iTero scanner. Not only does this new technology tool help us get your results faster, but it also makes treatment easier for you as a patient.

According to iTero manufacturers, "The iTero Intraoral Scanner is synonymous with high precision. Now, iTero® Element™ is engineered to deliver everything that doctors love about iTero scanners in a compact footprint with even bigger capabilities. iTero Element is designed to put the latest technology at your fingertips and make intraoral scanning fun."

Watch this video to learn more:

We are excited to offer our patients a unique experience where they can receive high end treatment from a staff that genuinely cares.  We are always looking for new innovative ways to make our office fun for the patients and staff while providing the absolute latest and greatest orthodontic treatments and services. Let us know how we are doing by leaving a comment or LIKING us on facebook!