We find that personal oral hygiene can be a struggle for many teens. They are busy and feel rather invincible, so the need to brush and floss is not high on their priority list! Parents may want to focus on the immediacy of bad breath and yellow teeth rather than the long term issues of possible decay or gum disease to motivate this age. They do tend to care more about their hair and clothing and their friends’ opinions than long-term health, unfortunately, so changing the focus to how they will come across to others might be a parent’s best shot at having their teen listen to them.

This is also a time at which teens become self-conscious of their smiles or lack of tooth alignment. This is a good time to have an orthodontic evaluation if your child has not already had one. If your child is already in braces, then good oral hygiene is even more important. It is so easy to end up with cavities or stains due to lack of proper brushing. It is so sad to finally get those braces off only to find multiple white or brown stains that can remain on teeth permanently unless treated with a tooth-colored filling.

We hope this gives you tools to work with as you are guiding your teen to self-sufficiency and self-confidence.

Academy of General Dentistry Study

As a result of this study, the AGD has secured an expansive amount of national media attention, with resulting articles appearing on: CBS National News, Health.com, The Huffington Post, and ABC National News.

It is apparently disrespectful to look another person in the eye, especially for a woman to look a man in the eye. We doctors are going to have to work on that, as it feels odd for us to not look someone in the eye. We will be wearing wraps called techengas over our clothes, as is their native custom, and we want to be respectful to their customs. We will definitely post pictures!

We are not sure if we will be working outside, or if we will have part of a school or other structure to use. When we arrive, we will just have to see what we can work out. We are told that best case scenerio we may have some plastic outdoor chairs for our patients to sit in, but we may not. We will not have electricity or plumbing, so we will only be able to provide extractions for the Zambians. Apparently, they are very thankful for this, though. We are told that the line for the dental clinic is so long, that by 10 a.m. all the appointments that we can give for the day have been taken.

We will also be taking toothbrushes and toothpaste. Our daughters will be teaching how to brush teeth. They will also be teaching about how to prevent the spread of AIDS, which is absolutely pandemic in Zambia. Quite a big topic for young teenage girls, but many of the doctors pointed out that hearing this advice from someone their age may make a bigger impression on them. Certainly ought to make an impression on our girls!

We’ll keep you posted on more details as they come as we prepare for our trip. Should be an adventure!

Sleep disordered breathing occurs because when we are asleep, we lose the muscle tone in our throats (the pharynx) which in some patients allows it to collapse to the point of partial or total airway obstruction. During these episodes of throat closure, a patient’s oxygen levels to their bodies and brains begins to decrease. These conditions can lead to daytime sleepiness and fatigue, headaches, moodiness and even mental impairment. People with obstructive sleep apnea have seven times the risk of auto and industrial accidents. It can also lead to other health problems, such as high blood pressure and atherosclerosis.

For patients who snore or those who have mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea, a custom dental appliance can be made and incrementally adjusted to position the jaw forward and open the airway to allow for breathing. For severe sleep apnea the CPAP (a mask delivering forced oxygen) is still the best therapy. A sleep study should always be performed prior to any appliance therapy in order to determine the appropriate treatment.

If you or someone you know suffers from snoring or possible sleep apnea, let us know. That noise may just be irritating, but it could be something much more serious. Either way, Drs. Powell and Tiller would be happy to help you get started toward proper evaluation and treatment.

There are two main types of removable retainers. A Hawley is probably what you remember from your youth. The pink acrylic on the roof of your mouth or behind your lower teeth and a wire around the front. A newer option is the clear Essix type retainer which covers your teeth with a thin clear plastic material.

They each have their advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of the Hawley type retainer is that it is very dimensionally stable, so that you do not need to replace them for years and years. They should work well for 8-10 years as long as you are careful not to bend the wire or somehow manage to break the acrylic. The advantages of the clear retainers are that they are clear, thin, and most people won’t even notice you are wearing them. This tends to make it easier to be compliant about wearing it, especially if you have just gotten out of braces and are still wearing the retainers day and night. We also like them because they completely cover the teeth allowing less rotation or tipping. Their main disadvantage is that because they are such a thin plastic, they give over time. Often patients don’t even notice that slowly, but surely, they are getting slight malalignment of their teeth as the retainers give in to the forces of your teeth. Because of this, the clear retainers need to be replaced anywhere from every 3 months to once a year depending on the amount of pressure your teeth are putting on the plastic, and also depending on how long you have been in retention.

To address this need for replacement, Align Technology, the makers of Invisalign, came out with Vivera Retainers. Vivera are the clear type retainer, but are produced on a subscription type service. Each set of Vivera is ordered as 4 sets. The first is tried in at our office and then Align sends you a new set to your home every 3 months. They also keep your digital file of your teeth, so that when you order future sets, you do not need additional impressions, they use the 3D scan from your first set to make the additional retainers.

• Our nitrous oxide appointments are scheduled for first thing in the morning. We find children are at their best after a good night’s sleep.
• We ask that they not have anything to eat or drink the morning of their appointment, with the exception of some water.
• If your child has allergies or a stuffy nose, we ask that you give them their allergy medicine or a decongestant prior to their appointment. This is important as the nitrous oxide is inhaled and if their little noses are stuffy, they won’t be able to breath in the happy gas.
• If they are on any medications on a regular basis, their routine schedule should stay the same unless specified by one of the doctors.

In addition to following these guidelines, there are several things that you as parents can do to help your child’s appointment be a success. Children can sense if a parent is nervous about a procedure and will listen to any comments that are made about their appointment. Please try to be positive and reassuring with your child. Please avoid jokes about shots and drills. We don’t tell our little patients that they are getting a shot. We merely say we are using some sleepy gel to make the tooth go to sleep and they rarely even know that they have gotten a shot. We also ask that you not make this appointment feel like a punishment for getting a cavity. Rather, we ask that you help your child with their home care so that future cavities can be prevented.

With your help we know your child will do great during his/her nitrous appointment and together we can keep their visits to our office happy ones. We hope these tips help and encourage you to contact us if you ever have questions about your child’s care.

If the thought of impressions makes you gag, we can now use the iTero digital scanner, which up to now we’ve only been able to use for crowns.

Now the process of recording how your teeth look is as advanced as the process for correcting your alignment with Invisalign. We are really excited about this new advancement and hope it will make the record taking process better and easier for all of you.

If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call or ask us on Facebook!

At Powell & Tiller Dental Care we offer in-office tooth whitening for the bride, the groom, or the entire wedding party! You get the girls together to get their nails done, and now you can get them together to get their teeth done!

In-office whitening is the quickest, most effective way to achieve whiter teeth. Because we are dental professionals, we have the expertise to use higher percentages of whitening agents than the at-home systems allow. So you can get a brighter white, usually in just one visit!

Give us a ring and let us add some extra sparkle to your “I do”!

Dr. Powell’s pick: Flip Happy Crepes – the yummiest savory and sweet crepes in town served out of an airstream trailer (before that was even the cool thing to do). The place was challenged to a crepe throw-down by Food Network Star and Iron Chef, Bobby Flay and the ladies in the trailer won! There’s a great picnic area under big pecan trees where you can sit and enjoy them. We take the whole family including the dog. It is best to check the website to make sure they are open before you go. Also, you can check out the menu and order ahead so that your crepes are ready when you arrive.

My favorites:
Savory- Roasted chicken w/ carmelized onions, garlic aioli and goat cheese
Sweet- the lemon curd with blueberries.

Dr. Tiller’s pick: For all you movie goers, there is a new theater in Round Rock called Flix Brewhouse. It is similar to Alamo Drafthouse, only newer and cleaner. The prices are comparable to most theatres and the food is good. I had the Beef Avacado Wrap at my last visit and it was pretty yummy. There is also an in-house micro brewery for those of you who enjoy an occasional beer.

Lisa’s pick: Canoeing on Town Lake – it’s a fun thing to do on a weekend with your family. Just head to Zilker park and walk down by Barton Springs Pool (also two great places to go if you haven’t already). The cost is $10 dollars per canoe. You just hop in and go.

Jamie’s pick: Monument Café in Georgetown – They use locally grown organic produce and their Mounment Chocolate Pie is to die for.

Atesha’s pick: Amy’s Ice Cream – Their ice cream is awesome and they have some really fun and creative names like “Oreo Speedwagon.” The people that work there are great and make it an experience rather than just getting ice cream.

Kelli’s pick: Shady Grove – Our family loves Shady Grove! It’s totally Austin; family friendly and a great place to hangout with friends. They have live music in the summer, beautiful outdoor seating and the foods good to.

• St. Patrick’s Day is observed on March 17th because that is the feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It is also a worldwide celebration of Irish culture and history.
• The name “lephrechaun” has several origins. It could be from the Irish Gaelic word “leipreachan,” which means “a kind of aqueous sprite.” Or, it could be from “leath bhrogan,” which simply means “shoemaker.”
• Some American towns have Irish names. They include: Shamrock Lakes, Indiana; Shamrock, Oklahoma; Shamrock, Texas; Dublin, California and Dublin, Ohio and Mount Gay-Shamrock, West Virginia
• Despite what you may have heard, St. Patrick never banished snakes from Ireland. In fact, no snakes exist or ever existed in Ireland. Ireland is surrounded by icy ocean waters, much too cold to allow snakes to migrate from Britain or anywhere else.
• St. Patrick’s Day was first celebrated in America in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1737. Approximately 34 million Americans claim Irish ancestry. That’s almost nine times the population of Ireland, which has 4.1 million people.

If you have something special planned for St. Patrick’s Day, let us know by posting a comment on our Facebook page.