In today’s edition of Friday Focus, Dr. O, your Irvine Orthodontist at iSmiles Orthodontics, discusses why the cost of braces will vary from practice to practice. Many of our patients are surprised that the cost of braces can differ dramatically between practices as they assume treatment plans and results should be similar. While I hate to use this analogy, comparing orthodontic treatment costs is similar to a shopping experience. Different […]

In this edition of Friday Focus, Dr. O, your Irvine Orthodontist from iSmiles Orthodontics, discusses some of the sneaky tricks orthodontists can use to hide fees in braces treatment contracts. “Only $99 DOWN to begin treatment” sounds like a great deal. However, lower starting costs are not always equivalent to lower costs for the total treatment. In this example, you may be signing up for an open-ended contract that can be […]

  In this edition of the Friday Focus, Dr. O, your Irvine Orthodontist from iSmiles Orthodontics, discusses the hidden fees within “Staged Braces Treatment Contracts” and why you should avoid them. There’s no doubt, unless you know up front what to look for, contracts can be confusing. Orthodontic practices have many options when it comes to financial contracts for a treatment plan. Some offices take an a la carte approach […]

 In this edition of the Friday Focus, Dr. O from iSmiles Orthodontics discusses braces treatment contracts, including what to look out for and how they are developed. iSmiles Orthodontics always welcomes potential patients who set up an appointment for a second or third opinion of a recommended treatment plan. With a copy of a Braces Treatment Contract from another orthodontic practice in hand, they always have a lot of […]

 Welcome to Friday Focus. I’m Doctor “O” and today I wanted to let you know about a new, state of the art, impression system we’re going to be adding to our office this year – digital impressions. When impressions of the teeth and mouth were needed in the past to design removable aligners or retainers, orthodontists had no choice but to create molds using hard trays, filled with a […]

iSmiles – Prior To Orthodontic Treatment Should You Extract Wisdom Teeth? Welcome to today’s Friday Focus. We’re going to be answering the question “Prior To Orthodontic Treatment Should You Extract Wisdom Teeth?” While this a fairly common question, the answer varies depending on the circumstances. If there’s enough room in the jaw for the wisdom teeth to emerge, and they’re erupting in a good direction, having them extracted isn’t always […]

What Toothbrush Should You Use While in Orthodontic Treatment? Cleaning your teeth and braces helps ensure successful orthodontic treatment, with the end result being a beautiful smile. The important thing to remember is that when you wear braces you’re going to need to be diligent with good oral hygiene habits, brushing consistently and well. If you have braces, you’ve probably wondered what toothbrush you should use to get the best […]

The seemingly harmless habit of thumb sucking can change the child’s facial structure for life if it’s not addressed and result in dental, respiratory and speech problem. Our biggest goal from an orthodontic perspective is to have thumb sucking stopped before your child turns 6 and a half to 7 when their front teeth start to come in. In most cases, children will stop a thumb sucking habit by the […]

For this week’s Friday Focus, we’re going to answer the question “Can two people with braces kiss?”, a question that we get asked from time to time. We’ve all heard the horror stories of lovebirds caught in lip-locks (literally), braces stuck together. The good news is that you don’t need to worry. This is more of a myth than a reality. Orthodontic treatments have evolved over the years, yet there […]

 Welcome to Friday Focus with Doctor “O”! The orthodontic related question of the week is “Can you eat popsicles with braces?” Yes, you can! While it makes sense that hard foods can crack your teeth, break brackets, erode enamel, and weaken the overall structure of teeth, this isn’t the case with popsicles because they aren’t as hard as other snack options. You just need to use common sense when […]