MIAMI, CORAL GABLES AND BRICKELL, FLORIDA As the summer comes to an end and students prepare for their return to college, it s time to squeeze in a dental check up, cleaning and an appointment for an orthodontic check up.
Most students who go to school out of town maintain their dental and orthodontic appointments with their providers in their hometown, which sometimes leaves small windows of opportunity to get the treatment they need, says orthodontics treatment expert Dr. Stephen Grussmark. Parents and students alike work diligently to schedule appointments during Thanksgiving, Christmas and Spring breaks, as well as over the summer, says Grussmark.
Patients who are in conventional braces should have adjustments made and a check up to ensure all brackets and wires are intact before returning to campus. It s a good idea to do this as close as possible to the time of departing leave for school, since there is the possibility of having to go a bit longer between check ups once back at school. It s relatively easy to continue orthodontic treatment with Invisalign while students are gone to college, Grussmark says.
For example, orthodontists often give Invisalign patients additional aligners to get them through until their next anticipated break from school. Invisalign treatment is conducive to college situations, because patients are given a series of aligners at each orthodontic check up. They wear each aligner for about two weeks before moving on to the next aligner in the series. Providing a few extra aligners could make it easier to go longer between appointments without losing any progress on treatment.
Dental Visits
Check ups with a Coral Gables dentist and cleanings also are very important, particularly for patients who have dental sealants on their teeth. Sealants are a plastic coating applied to the molars to protect them from the bacteria that leads to tooth decay.
Many college students today had dental sealant applications when they were children, and it�s imperative that those sealants be checked periodically because they don t last forever they wear away over time. They can last two to three years and in some cases, as long as a decade. But checking the sealant to make sure there are no chips, cracks or worn areas is important when it comes to keeping teeth in healthy form.
You don t want to run into problems with cavities while you re far away from home and your family dentist,� Grussmark says. Sealants that go unchecked can leave teeth susceptible to decay. It is not uncommon for cavities to form beneath the sealant once it begins to wear away.
Your dentist can inspect those sealants and if necessary, polish them out, he says.
If teeth are healthy, students likely only need to have two dental visits and professional cleanings per year. That makes those appointments easy to schedule around college. So make an appointment now. Doing so helps increase the chance of keeping teeth healthy for a lifetime.
About Centre for Invisible Orthodontics
The Centre for Invisible Orthodontics is dedicated to orthodontic treatment using Invisalign invisible braces. Dr. Stephen Grussmark has been an Invisalign provider since 1999. He is an Elite Premier Provider and is among the top 100 Invisalign providers in the world.
Dr. Grussmark is a Miami native who attended the University of Florida for his undergraduate degree and went to dental school at University of Maryland. He completed his orthodontic residency at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey and earned a Master of Science in Dentistry degree.
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