What can you expect at Moles Orthodontics?

When you first walk in the door at Moles Orthodontics you’re greeted by the friendliest front desk, which eases peoples' nerves instantly. Then you're offered a beverage -- you may choose from a selection that includes hot coffee, tea, apple cider, hot chocolate or water.

While our patients are waiting they can view our flat-screen TV, which shows pictures of patients who have gotten their braces off. Seeing that gets patients who are ready to start treatment very excited! They see an outcome, and then can’t wait to see theirs.

Once we bring them back to the operatory, they notice it's a wide open area. This usually creates a safer feeling. They are out in the open and know everything that’s going on around them.

If the appointment is a little longer than usual, we offer video players for patients to watch DVDs. Or, they can bring in their own! The video player actually has a set of glasses with which you are able to see the movie. Patients love these!

The lights above the chair are basically a ceiling on top of another ceiling. This makes the lights easier on the patients' eyes when they are tipped back during appointments.

Another great incentive for our patients is that they are graded on their oral hygiene at every visit -- the more A's, the better chance they have to win. The winner receives a gift card of their choice.

At Moles Orthodontics, we really try to make the best experience possible for the patients, just as we would like to have at an appointment for ourselves.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Braces-Friendly Holiday Treat, from Moles Orthodontics

This holiday season, Moles Orthodontics recommends a delicious braces-friendly recipe that is sure to be a great treat. This pumpkin cake recipe is a great choice for thanksgiving for people of all ages with braces. Plus, it tastes GREAT and is BRACES-FRIENDLY!!

Ingredients:

1 pkg yellow or white cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
1/4 cup water (add 2 tbl. of water if eggs are small)

Directions:

Put cake mix in a large bowl. Make an indentation in the center and pour in the oil and one egg. Mix using mixer at medium speed, then add the rest of the eggs one at a time, beating after each one. Add pumpkin, sugar, spices, then water. Bake in greased and floured tube pan in 350 degree over for 60-70 minutes. Cool before removing from pan. Makes a moist and delicious cake--no frosting required.

Patients can feel free to enjoy their Thanksgiving meal. But we would like to remind you there are a couple of offenders on the list of holiday foods. Here’s a list to help you decide:

Good:
Turkey (cut up in small pieces)
Stuffing (with no nuts)
Mashed Potatoes with gravy
Cranberry sauce
Squash
Sweet Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole (minus the crunchy onion topping)
Cornbread
Pumpkin Pie

Not Good:
Corn on the Cob
Pecan Pie
Any pies with Nuts in them

As always, patients should use their best judgment. Some things that may seem okay to eat can still break appliances. Be careful and enjoy this treat!

--Dr. Moles and team

What do we love here at Moles Orthodontics?

Debands. Our office absolutely loves debands, because the first time the patient gets to see their new smile – you’re with them. There’s one patient in particular who gave us goose-bumps. She was so excited for her braces and then even more excited when they came off. When I say even more excited when they came off- I mean she cried, and they were of course happy tears! She came around and thanked and hugged us all.

It just gave us all such a great feeling to know and see how happy she was, and how much it changed her life. She even keeps her before pictures in her wallet and shows people when they ask her about her teeth or compliment her. Seeing how much we can really affect somebody’s life by making a change in their smile is really fulfilling. It’s the absolute best part of our jobs here at Moles Orthodontics.

Let’s talk about teeth - Dr. Moles

The average adult has about 28-32 - depending on - wisdom teeth. If they need wisdom teeth extracted - they have 28, if they are able to keep wisdom teeth they could have up to 32. Not all wisdom teeth grow in. Some people have all 4 some have only 1. It can really change from mouth to mouth.

We lose our first set of teeth basically because as we grow so does our jaw/mouth. If we grow permanent teeth right away as a small child, they would not fit and would automatically be crowded. They would basically be far too large for our mouths.

Teeth are made of enamel, dentin and pulp.

If you think you may have a cavity you should see your dentist right away before it worsens. You can usually tell or have an idea you may have one if the color of your tooth changes, or your having pain in an area or tooth you haven’t had it before.

People get cavities because they are either prone to them, bad oral hygiene, and too many sugary or sweet food/ drinks.

The wearing away of the enamel or large roots (sensitive roots) can make teeth sensitive to hot and cold. Enamel is the hardest and most highly mineralized substance of the body.

Wisdom teeth are just your 3rd molars. Typically most people have these and end up having them extracted, because they don’t have enough room in there mouths and the wisdom teeth usually crowd the rest of the teeth in the mouth.

Even if you have enough room in your mouth for them the dentist/orthodontist may still suggest you have them out, due to hygiene. It can be very difficult to clean around them and that’s a better chance for calculus/decay to erode the teeth and cause damage later.

Our teeth become discolored because of our daily habits ex: eating certain foods (fruits and veggies) drinks (dark sodas, coffee, teas, wine etc.) tobacco, poor dental hygiene, diseases, aging, genetics, environment, trauma to a tooth (due to a fall) and medications. So as you can see there are a lot of variables when it comes to how teeth discolor. There are so many factors.

Crooked teeth can be genetic but are not always. Crooked teeth can be caused from wisdom teeth coming in, grinding, and the way your bite is aligned. It isn’t always genetic.

Boo!

Halloween is just around the corner, and that means lots of tricks and treats! Dr. Moles and team will be wearing costumes for Halloween tomorrow in our Milwaukee office, which is decorated with giant spider webs, and pumpkins! We have a few special safety tips to share with all of the young trick-or-treaters and their parents.

Always inspect your candy thoroughly, in these times we live in you can never be too careful. Throw out any candy that has been unwrapped, opened or tampered with. Parents should be inspecting the candy before their children have a chance to even eat it.

There are many different kinds of candies out there, but it is important to pay attention to the type of candy your children are eating, especially if they have braces! Soft candies, such as Reese's peanut butter cups, Milky Ways, and anything that is really soft is okay, but anything sticky, tacky or too chewy should be avoided. Patients should avoid- thick caramel, licorice, gum, chewy candy, candy apples, popcorn and popcorn balls, nuts and taffy's.

If you have any questions about candies and braces, give us a call at 414-377-4106.

Have a spooky and safe Halloween!

The Racine Community

In the beginning of 2009 Racine’s population was 78,805. It’s a decent sized city to live in, not too large and not too small- it seems just right! Racine’s downtown is located on Lake Michigan and the area has been improving greatly over the past 10 years. New housing has gone up, new shops and great new restaurants. Racine has a lot of schools to choose from- about 28 grade schools and high schools not including the private schools. Driving distance to some major universities is really close, UW-Parkside, UW-Milwaukee are both within athirty minute drive. Racine is located between 2 major cities, Milwaukee and Chicago. This makes day-trips to Chicago for shopping and dining out great!

Dr. Moles favorite lunch during the work week- is from our neighbor restaurant Los Mariachis. He orders the chicken tacos w/ rice and beans. The office favorite is the local Q-Doba Mexican Grill, or Jimmy Johns. A new Gorgie Porgie just opened as well. The Restaurants in the area are all amazing. Racine’s Best Mexican is Joses Blue Sombrero, Italian: Salutes, American: The Corner House is by far the best in Racine and has been Voted that for American cuisine. The steak is their main attraction.

Dr. Moles has developed a way to give back with some other area professionals- its called Smile for a lifetime. Basically the idea of smile for a lifetime is that they are helping under-privileged kids in the area who cant afford to have a not only great looking smile but a smile that will be healthy and last a lifetime! You can find more info on it at- www.s4L.com

Staying Educated at Moles Orthodontics

Dr. Moles is a part of The Schulman Study Group, an association of nationally prominent orthodontic practices from among the top 1% of all practices, follows the basic principles and tenets of practice management. With membership exclusively by invitation, has developed over the last 30 years into a nationally recognized organization of extremely successful orthodontic practices. The SSG members contribute management successes and failures at an annual meeting with an open forum format. The free-flow of ideas and brainstorming sessions offer participants the opportunity for expression and inspiration.

Also, Dr. Moles recently became a part of a community out-reach program called Smile for a Lifetime. This can be found at www.S4L.org, for more information. S4L offers a chance for under-privileged kids to have orthodontic treatment at no cost.

Dr. Moles makes several trips around the country- giving presentations and attending seminars. The entire staff participates in continuing education courses monthly. Once a year our assistants attend a SureSmile Conference, and get up to date on the latest changes in technology.

Our practice has received several awards for Sure Smile. (More info about Sure Smile and its benefits can be found at www.suresmile.com. We have received awards for the last 4 years, such as: Outstanding Front Desk Operations, Outstanding Marketing, Case Excellence Award, Outstanding Sure Smile Treatment Coordinator, and for our Completed Cases.

Dr. Moles asked the staff to tell him why they like continuing education courses so much, the had answers from, the chance to get to spend time with referring offices, and bonding. Getting out of the office, meeting new people, and getting to see how other offices.

Continuing education plays a huge role in our patients treatment and we emphasize the importance of them because we learn new techniques and ways to save them treatment time in the chair along with how many months they have to wear braces.