Ask Dr. White: Am I too old for treatment?

No - absolutely not. At the orthodontic office of Dr. John C. White, no one is "too old" for braces. Orthodontic treatment can be successful at any age, and adults especially appreciate the benefits of a beautiful smile. In fact, one of every five patients in orthodontic treatment is over 21 and - not only that - but our staff recently read a statistic that the number of adults getting orthodontic treatment has actually climbed 24 percent since 1996!

Yes, braces help make your pearly whites strong, healthy and perfectly-aligned, but perhaps another reason for the spike in adult braces is this: people want to look and feel great. In an age—and society—where looks matter as much as anything, and at a time when evenly-aligned teeth might be the difference between getting a job or a promotion, adults are choosing—wisely, we might add—to invest in orthodontics.

If you’ve been thinking about getting that perfect smile, Dr. White would love to have you visit for a consultation. Please give us a call to set one up!

Happy Earth Day, from Dr. John White

Whether lending your helping hand to plant trees or grasses or getting out to volunteer in various projects in Northfield, Hudson, Twinsburg, Brecksville, and Macedonia, today was our opportunity to get involved in making our year-round impact in the community. Dr. White wants to know: Did you make a difference today? Tell us, what Earth Day-related activities did you accomplish? How long have you participated in helping our community and planet?

At the office of Dr. White, we support Earth Day, which marks its 40th anniversary today and is designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for our environment and ecosystem. If you’d like to join the millions of people around the world who are making small but important changes to help sustain our ecosystem, try these helpful environmental tips, courtesy of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Have a great rest of the week and a terrific weekend!

Dr. White wants to know: What do you love about our office?

From the very first time you visit Braces by White, our team strives to provide superior treatment in a pleasant, friendly atmosphere. This week, we thought we’d ask: Have you been especially impressed by Dr. John White? Did our team go out of their way to make your day? Are you in love with your smile?

At the orthodontic practice of Dr. John White, our greatest goal is to help you achieve a healthier, happier, more confident smile. We believe in building strong relationships with our patients in order to create a more personal and rewarding orthodontic experience.

Whether you’ve just come in for a consultation or your family has been visiting Dr. White for years, we’d love to hear your feedback. Or, you can tell us by giving us a call! Have a great weekend!

Smile now, smile later, smile often! From Dr. White

Great news to report this Monday! People with big, happy smiles may actually out-live those who don’t, according to a recent study conducted at Wayne State University in Michigan this month.

Dr. White knew that positive emotion has been linked to both physical and mental health, but researchers at the university did something interesting: they used information from the Baseball Register to look at close-up smiles of 230 players who began their baseball careers prior to 1950 by studying their smile intensity (wide smile, no smile or partial smile).

The researchers then took into account other factors associated with life longevity, such as body mass index, career length and, believe it or not, college attendance. They found that players who weren't smiling died at the average age of 72.9 years. Players with partial smiles lived to be 75. Those with big, wide smiles, however, lived on average to be 79.9 years old!

Our take-away from the new study? Smile now, smile often and you might just live longer! Have you perfected your smile by visiting Braces By White lately? If not, give us a call and have a great week!

Play it safe this spring, from Dr. John C. White

We've blogged about the advantage of wearing a mouth guard when playing sports, and we thought a reminder wouldn’t hurt. You see, April happens to be National Facial Protection Month, and it’s a good time to remind our young athletes about staying safe on the field this spring.

According to the National Youth Sports Safety Foundation, children, high-school athletes and adults will have more than 5,000,000 teeth knocked out in sporting events this year. By simply wearing a properly fitted mouth guard, these accidents could prevent this along with other traumatic facial injuries.

Not only do mouth guards save teeth and protect jaws from breaks, but they also may protect against neck- and central nervous system injuries. In addition to mouth guards, Dr. White says it’s a good idea to wear a helmet, face shield and protective eyewear when playing sports this spring. Protective gear is vital for anyone engaging in tooth or mouth-threatening activities. If you have any further questions about any of these tips, please contact our staff. Stay safe and have fun!

Tell Dr. White what’s on your mind!

Week after week, our team writes a blog about important topics pertinent to orthodontic care and your well-being, including innovative orthodontic techniques Dr. White offers. This week, we thought we’d step back and ask you, our amazing patients: what’s on your mind? What would you like to know about the always-changing field of orthodontics? What would you like us to focus on our blog? Perhaps there’s something you’ve wanted to ask us for a while now? Let us know by posting here or on our interactive Facebook fan page!

Take it away and we’ll try to answer any questions you may have!

Ask Dr. White: Are retainers really that important?

If you recently completed treatment at Braces by White, we’d like to congratulate you! Now that your braces have been removed, Dr. John White will provide you with retainers. After braces are removed the teeth can shift out of position if they are not stabilized. Retainers provide that stabilization. They are designed to hold teeth in their corrected, ideal positions until the bones and gums adapt to the treatment changes. Wearing retainers exactly as instructed is the best insurance that the treatment improvements last for a lifetime. Here are some things to remember when you receiver your retainers from Dr. White:

* Wear your retainers full time, until Dr. White instructs otherwise.
* Take your retainers out when eating...and always put retainers in their case! (Most appliances are lost in school lunch rooms or restaurants.)
* Clean retainers thoroughly once a day with a toothbrush and only a small amount of toothpaste. Use warm but not hot water.
* When retainers are not in your mouth they should ALWAYS be in a retainer case.
* Initially, you may find it difficult to speak. Practicing speaking, reading, or singing aloud to get used to them quicker is a good idea.
* Retainers are breakable, so treat them with care. If retainers are lost or broken, give us a call immediately.
* Try to remember to bring your retainers to your appointments.
* Retainer replacement is expensive...with proper care they will last for years!
* Remove retainers when swimming or during any sporting activity in which the retainers could fall out and get broken or lost (cheerleading, basketball, etc.) or when you should be wearing a mouth guard (football, soccer, etc.).
* Keep retainers away from hot water, pockets, the washing machine and napkins.

We hope this helps! You can always contact our team if you have any questions!