Bernard & Eimer Ortho staff Christmas party!

Check out our smiling faces at our staff Christmas party! We truly have a beautiful team!

What is your New Year's Resolution?

The year is almost over, so our staff at Bernard & Eimer Orthodontics thought we’d ask: what was memorable about 2010 for you, and what are you most looking forward to in 2011? Do you have a new year's resolution, or any exciting plans for the coming year?

Have a safe and happy New Year, to all our patients, friends, family and all our dental and medical colleagues.

When to stop, from Bernard and Eimer Orthodontics

Most young children keep something in their mouth to soothe or comfort them. After breast feeding and the bottle, that something is usually a “pacifier”. There are even “orthodontic pacifiers” with a shape which is supposed to help in proper upper arch formation although this has never been proven.

The problem with a pacifier is that it will cause an openbite or prevent the upper and lower teeth from coming in contact which effects chewing and speech and can develop poor and harmful tongue posture. To prevent this condition permanently, the pacifier should be stopped at 18 months.

My daughter had a 5 mm openbite (measured from upper to lower front teeth) from her pacifier or “binky” at 22 months. The solution was to take it away and hide it! After one week of withdrawal (crying, restlessness), the habit was broken and after two weeks, the front teeth were touching!

Of course, a finger or thumb habit is harder to stop because you can’t take it away like a pacifier. More later on when to stop that harmful habit.

Ask Dr. Bernard: What is an orthodontist?

An orthodontist is a dentist who specializes in correcting crooked teeth and jaw growth problems that affect the bite, smile and face. To be an orthodontist, the dentist must complete a 2 to 3 year residency program at a major university which usually results in a masters degree. As an orthodontist, the specialist only works with malfunctions of the jaws and teeth and does not do any “general” dentistry such as fillings, extractions or caps.

The family dentist can use braces and aligners to straighten teeth but cannot call themselves orthodontists because they are not specialists and do other types of dentistry a majority of the time. Most orthodontists in our area (including us) do not charge for an initial consultation so it pays to have an opinion from an orthodontic specialist before undergoing any orthodontic treatment.

School is in session! (And we helped it get started)

For the third year, our practice traveled to a local school to help an art teacher get her room ready for the incoming students. This year, we chose the classroom of Heather Boxler, the art teacher at Lake Middle School.

Three of our staff; Lyn Common, Judi Hegarty and Grace Margaritakis worked with Mrs. Boxler to get the classroom ready. We also gave her a $400 gift card to Pat Catan’s to purchase more art supplies for some of her projects this school year.

The young art teacher was excited to have the help from our practice; especially since she had her braces with us as a teenager some years ago! She hopes to do an “orthodontic art project” sometime during the year.

Drs. Bernard and Eimer will be involved by giving Mrs. Boxler some orthodontic objects from the practice and some of our clinical staff will donate some of their time to help with the project. We will keep you posted as we learn more about this wonderful art teach, Heather Boxler!