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Most parents know that routine dental care should begin during their child’s toddler years. And many assume they must wait until their child has all of his or her permanent teeth to visit Dr. Andrew Nalin for an initial orthodontic consultation.

The ideal age for an orthodontic evaluation is age seven. At that age, your child will have a mixture of adult and baby teeth for Dr. Andrew Nalin and our team at Nalin Orthodontics to make a determination about whether any problems are present. Typically the first molars have come in by the time your child turns seven, giving us an opportunity to check for malocclusion, also known as “bad bite.” Also, by the time your child reaches the age of seven, the incisors have begun to come in, and problems such as crowding, deep bites, and open bites can be detected.

When Dr. Andrew Nalin and our team perform an evaluation on your child at an early age, you get one of two positive outcomes. Although treatment usually will not begin until one to five years after the initial evaluation, it’s still helpful in determining whether your child has any problems with the jaw and teeth early when they are still easy to treat. Earlier treatment can also cost less to correct a potential problem than delayed treatment.

Early evaluation, of course, may signal a need for early treatment. For some children, early treatment can prevent physical and emotional trauma. Aside from spurring years of harmful teasing, misaligned teeth are also prone to injury and are detrimental to good oral hygiene.

If your child is approaching age seven, or has already surpassed his or her seventh birthday, it is time to schedule an appointment for an initial examination at Nalin Orthodontics.

What does the month of October mean to you? For people in the northern hemisphere, October is when the weather starts to get a little chilly: heavy jackets might come out of storage and the summer clothing gets packed away. You might start making plans for the upcoming holidays or looking at the beautiful and changing autumn scenery. October means something a little different to our team at Nalin Orthodontics because this is National Orthodontic Health Month. During October, orthodontic clinics all over the country work together to promote their services and inform the community about the important work we do.

National Orthodontic Health Month is an awareness campaign created cooperatively by orthodontists and other dental health professionals. During this month, we make a special effort to promote dental health and orthodontic health in particular. This is a great time to get your questions answered by dental professionals in your community and to learn more about exactly what an orthodontist can do for you and your family. Events held in connection with National Orthodontic Health Month are also an opportunity for us orthodontists to come out and meet community members. If you have never been to an orthodontist before, you might not know what to expect. Meeting one of us in person before your checkup is a great way to find out what kind of person you’ll be seeing during your appointment.

Meeting Dr. Andrew Nalin in a relaxed “meet and greet” atmosphere can be especially helpful for any young orthodontic patients in your family. Kids of all ages–and their parents!–can feel anxiety about going to the dentist. Getting to know the person you have an appointment with can make the experience a lot less stressful for everyone. We don't want anyone to avoid seeing a dental professional for regular checkups just because they don't know who we are. Just meeting and talking with the orthodontist you'll be seeing may be enough to make you feel more comfortable about your upcoming appointment.

Dental health is something that affects everyone; healthy teeth and gums contribute to a healthy smile and a lifetime of comfort and well-being. Orthodontists are just one of the various dental practitioners you could visit at some point in your life, so taking a little time to learn who we are and what we do is certain to be a helpful experience. We look forward to seeing you and your family this October at our Mount Vernon, WA location!

You want to straighten your teeth because you know it’ll make your smile more appealing, be more comfortable, and improve your dental health. However, eating can be a big barrier to getting braces because of all the foods you need to give up for the months or years that treatment lasts. ClearCorrect is an alternative tooth-straightening option that doesn’t make you dread your new diet while you straighten your teeth. Here’s what you need to know about eating and ClearCorrect.

Eat What You Want

All kinds of foods are forbidden when you have metal braces because they can get stuck in the wires or cause brackets to pop off. That’s not a problem with ClearCorrect because you remove your clear aligners whenever you eat a meal or snack. That way, you can eat anything you want. You don’t need to avoid the following foods the way you do when you have metal braces.

• Popcorn
• Peanuts, nuts, and seeds
• Meat on the bone, such as chicken wings and ribs
• Sticky foods, such as toffee and raisins
• Crunchy foods, such as apples and carrots
• Stringy foods, such as celery and pineapple

Since you can eat whatever you want, you don’t need to avoid your friends and coworkers because of your ClearCorrect aligners. You can hang out with friends and go to business lunches without worrying about embarrassment.

Maintain Healthy Eating Habits

You can eat whatever you want without fear of wrecking your ClearCorrect aligners, but that doesn’t mean you should toss out your healthy eating habits. Dr. Andrew Nalin and our team recommend that you:

• Eat high-calcium foods, such as low-fat yogurt and cheese, to support strong teeth.
• Rinse your mouth with water after eating to get rid of excess carbohydrates on your teeth.
• Limit consumption of sugary beverages and foods, such as candy, to keep sugar from settling on your teeth and feeding bacteria.

ClearCorrect treatment can straighten your teeth without making you give up your favorite foods or become a social outcast. Just take the aligners out of your mouth for meals and snacks and select healthy foods whenever possible, and you can enjoy yourself while your teeth get straighter.

Patients who want corrective braces but don’t like the look of traditional braces with the metal showing on the front have an alternative in lingual braces. As opposed to metal braces visible across the front of the teeth, lingual braces are placed on the rear of the teeth. Most of the metal in lingual braces is not visible to other people, unless you have widely-spaced teeth. For those who make good candidates for lingual braces, Dr. Andrew Nalin and our team at Nalin Orthodontics will tell you it is a great alternative with a significant cosmetic benefit.

Benefits of lingual braces

The primary benefit of lingual braces is that the metal is on the back of the teeth, which is very rarely seen by anyone. Patients can comfortably talk and smile, without the added worry of someone noticing the metal braces on their teeth. Another advantage of lingual braces is that they are just as effective as traditional braces and are worn for the same amount of time. They are also helpful for people who play contact sports or play wind instruments because lingual braces don’t get in the way. Finally, lingual braces are a great option for patients who have are sensitive to plastic and can’t wear other types of clear or invisible braces.

Who can get lingual braces?

While many patients qualify for lingual braces, not everyone who needs corrective orthodontic treatment will be a good candidate. The best candidates are teenagers and adults with normal-sized teeth. Children who get braces often have smaller teeth, so lingual braces may not be suitable. A patient’s bite also makes a difference, because a deep vertical overbite makes lingual braces difficult to place.

Talk to Dr. Andrew Nalin the possibility of lingual braces if you’re thinking about correcting your smile but don’t like the idea of metal braces worn on the front. Lingual braces have the same basic benefits of straightening teeth, correcting misalignments, and fixing overbites and underbites that regular braces offer, but are a great aesthetic alternative.

For more information about lingual braces, or to schedule an initial consultation with Dr. Andrew Nalin, please give us a call at our convenient Mount Vernon, WA office!