Throw Your Toothbrush Away

Kelly Orthodontics

Brushing your teeth is one of the most important ways you maintain your oral health. However, if you are brushing your teeth with an old or dirty toothbrush, you might be doing more harm than good.

At Kelly Orthodontics, we recommend that you switch out that old toothbrush for a fresh new one every 3 to 4 months and even more frequently if you are wearing braces because your toothbrush becomes less effective once the bristles begin to wear down. Also, bacteria tend to build up on your toothbrush over time. Therefore, to stay in good health and ensure you are brushing successfully, it is important to replace your toothbrush after three months of use.

If you’re like most people, you probably don’t keep a record of the last time you switched out your toothbrush…and that’s okay…we have some easy ways to tell if your toothbrush is ready to be replaced.

1. Do the bristles on your toothbrush look worn down or frayed? Check out the bristles on your toothbrush. Damaged bristles are not going to do the best job of cleaning your teeth. Therefore, if they are looking worn, it is probably time for a new one.

2. Have you been sick? While your toothbrush is used to clean your teeth, it is not immune to the accumulation of bacteria. If you’ve been sick, those germs can linger on your toothbrush. It is always a good idea to swap out your toothbrush after dealing with an illness.

3. Have you traveled lately? If you have visited another country or a new place where the water is not safe to drink, it is likely time for a new toothbrush to avoid getting sick.

4. Do you store your toothbrush correctly? When storing your toothbrush, you want to ensure you leave it in a place that is clean, dry, and allows airflow. Therefore, you shouldn’t be keeping your toothbrush near the toilet or in the shower, and you should not store it in an airtight case. Otherwise, your toothbrush could become a breeding ground for harmful bacteria. If you have been storing your toothbrush incorrectly, toss it and replace it with a new one that you can hang in an upright position so it can dry out between brushings.

If you feel like changing your toothbrush every three months is wasteful, we’ve got a solution. Put that old toothbrush to work doing odd jobs around the house. Old toothbrushes are great at cleaning around facet fixtures and in tile grout. They can even be used to clean tools, computer keyboards, and tennis shoes.

 

Digital Orthodontic Impressions with iTero

Kelly Orthodontics

At Kelly Orthodontics we have made treatment even easier with the use of our latest iTero Digital Impression Scanner. This state-of-the-art technology allows our well-trained team members to take accurate 3D digital images of your mouth. By taking these scans we eliminate the need for traditional putty impressions as well as speed up the start of your orthodontic treatment.

The iTero scanner is all about patient comfort. It delivers digital impressions that are much more accurate than traditional dental impression. The iTero scanner is completely safe and does not expose our patients to any sort of radiation. The best part is…the iTero scanner is fast and accurate.

During the impression process, you can breathe or swallow as you normally would. You can even pause during the process if you need to sneeze or just want to ask a question. Your mouth is scanned with a radiation-free laser, and in as little as two to three minutes, the laser renders a digitally perfect, 3D impression of your teeth and soft tissue structures. This 3D model of your mouth that can be used for all your orthodontic treatment needs.

Why Our Patients Love Our iTero Digital Impression Scanner

Traditional dental impressions can be unpleasant because the patient needs to wait for several minutes, with their teeth held in place while the alginate material sets. Patients with a strong gag reflex may struggle with this traditional procedure. The putty material is not strongly flavored, but it may prove to be too much for some patients, which can cause gagging or throwing up while the goopy putty sets.

Digital impressions eliminate the goopy impression material and allow for a better fitted final smile restoration. With our iTero Digital Impression Scanner, we can capture images of the patient’s teeth and soft tissue structures as digital photographs. These digital impressions greatly increase productivity, efficiency, and accuracy and Dr. Kelly can send the impressions over to the laboratory almost immediately, rather than needing to mail off the impression that has been made using the traditional goopy alginate.

iTero Digital Impression Benefits

• Improved quality impressions ensure better fitted orthodontic appliances 
• No goopy and gaggy putty alginate 
• Whole mouth scans can be completed in under 10 minutes 
• An eco-friendly solution that eliminates the need for plastic trays and the materials used for the impressions 
• Less time in the chair for the patient

Improving the patient experience is one of the priorities we focus on at Kelly Orthodontics and the iTero Digital Scanner helps us create the best possible orthodontic care for our patients.