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Many patients and parents are surprised to learn about the benefits of orthodontic treatment extending beyond teeth. Orthodontics is not only a way to straighten teeth and adjust your bite. Your orthodontist’s skills can also identify other illnesses, work hand in hand with other treatments administered by your general doctor and adjust your whole facial appearance. In this post, Dr. Amir Davoody, Dr. Rana Mehr, and Dr. Panagiotis Kyteas at Greater Houston Orthodontics provide valuable insights on how orthodontics fits into the treatment of respiratory disorders.

 Your orthodontist may deal with two common ailments: asthma and sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is the subject of numerous in-depth studies and research in the orthodontic field.

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How often do I need to wear my Invisalign? Adjust my expander? Wear rubber bands, retainers, or mouthguards? These questions and more are some of our most asked questions during treatment. The short answer is that if you wear these appliances and are diligent with your oral health, your treatment will progress easier. Your compliance and the length of time you wear braces or have aligners are directly related. Keep reading to learn more about the Importance of Compliance During Orthodontic Treatment from Dr. Amir Davoody, Dr. Rana Mehr, Dr. Thomais Ioannou, and Dr. Panagiotis Kyteas at Greater Houston Orthodontics 

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When you think about pregnancy, you probably don’t think about your teeth. Though it’s not something widely known and talked about, your oral health is very important for a healthy pregnancy – for both mother and child. Being pregnant changes chemical compositions throughout your body and results in changes in vitamin and mineral levels. You may recognize this problem from common warnings about prenatal vitamins and diet. But it’s also a very real concern for dental health. Keep reading to learn more about how pregnancy affects your oral health from Dr. Amir Davoody, Dr. Rana Mehr, Dr. Thomais Ioannou, and Dr. Panagiotis Kyteas at Greater Houston Orthodontics 

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Getting braces, or any orthodontic appliance is a daunting life change. At the end of your appointment or evaluation, your orthodontists, such as the experienced team at Greater Houston Orthodontics, including Dr. Amir Davoody, Dr. Rana Mehr, Dr. Thomais Ioannou, and Dr. Panagiotis Kyteas, will ask you if you have any questions, and as a new patient, it’s sometimes hard to know what exactly you should be asking or what you’ll need to know as you navigate your new braces. Here are five questions you’ll need to know the answers to for a smooth orthodontic experience.

Five Essential Questions for Your Orthodontist:

1. Can you describe my treatment plan?
2. What are my options for treatment?
3. What is this appliance doing? This adjustment?
4. How should I care for my new appliance?
5. Do I need to make any lifestyle changes now that I have this appliance?

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If you’re a reader of our blog, you know that orthodontic treatment benefits our patients in many ways that may not be immediately obvious. Most people who seek orthodontic treatment focus on a crooked bite, crowded teeth, or a smile they are generally unhappy with. While we certainly love giving every one of our patients a smile they can’t wait to show off, there are other benefits to treating any issues with the bite. 

One of those benefits is helping to solve issues a patient may have with their speech. Speech impairment is relatively common among children, and we see it frequently. Luckily, some simple orthodontic treatments can alter the anatomy and positioning of the tongue within the mouth, and these simple tweaks can make speech much easier and improve impaired speech. To learn more about how orthodontics can effectively address speech impediments, keep reading and find out how Dr. Amir Davoody, Dr. Rana Mehr, Dr. Thomais Ioannou, and Dr. Panagiotis Kyteas at Greater Houston Orthodontics can help.

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For those of us who haven’t gone to school for dentistry or orthodontics, some of the terms your provider may use can be a bit confusing. As a patient it’s important to understand how different parts of the mouth work together to create healthy teeth. From the jaw up to the tooth, each part inside the mouth is important to a healthy smile! It’s always beneficial for a patient or a parent of a patient to know a bit more about what’s going on behind the scenes during treatment. Dr. Amir Davoody, Dr. Rana Mehr, Dr. Thomais Ioannou, and Dr. Panagiotis Kyteas at Greater Houston Orthodontics share important topics to know before heading into a consult. 

The Tooth

Many people don’t know this, but teeth are joints too! The space where the tooth connects to the jaw and gums is a joint called a gomphosis. The tooth is the only example of this variety of joints in the human body. A gomphosis joint is similar to a peg in a hole and is a stationary joint, which means it is not capable of movement on its own. The part of the jawbone that the teeth connect to is the alveolar bone, and is part of the tooth joint system. Essentially, it moves your teeth when you chew, swallow, or talk. 

The tooth itself is composed of four layers of tissue. Three of these layers are hard tissue, which means they are calcified. The enamel, dentin, and cementum make up the hard parts of the tooth, while the pulp, a soft tissue, houses the nerves present on the inside of the tooth. The pulp is the only layer of soft tissue within the tooth. The cementum covers the root of the tooth below the gum line.

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One of the most common questions orthodontists get during braces treatment is whether white spots on the teeth are to be expected when treatment is done. Even if you aren’t in braces, tooth whitening is something dental professionals get asked about frequently. Luckily here are a few options for whitening your teeth and keeping them shiny and color-free from Dr. Amir Davoody, Dr. Rana Mehr, Dr. Thomais Ioannou, and Dr. Panagiotis Kyteas at Greater Houston Orthodontics.

In This Post, We’ll Cover

• White Spots with Braces
• Professional Whitening
• At-Home Whitening Solutions

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Invisalign is awesome; it gives you an amazing smile without anyone ever noticing it doing its hard work. Mild soreness after switching your Invisalign trays is completely normal but uncomfortable. To help you manage any Invisalign pain, here are a few tips from Dr. Amir Davoody, Dr. Rana Mehr, Dr. Thomais Ioannou, and Dr. Panagiotis Kyteas at Greater Houston Orthodontics! 

• Switch Your Aligners Before Bed: Switching to your next set of Invisalign aligners is what typically triggers any pain or soreness. Putting your new set of trays in right before you go to sleep means the tightness and pain associated with the tooth movement can be avoided for at least the night. And, by the time you wake up the worst of it will be over!
• Stick to Soft Foods: As always with a new orthodontic appliance or a change in your mouth, soreness can be helped with a soft-food-only diet, at least for a couple of days! We recommend stocking up on some soft braces-friendly food before you know any pain will set in. Here are some ideas: 

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