Eliminating Crowded Teeth with an Expander

If you have overcrowded teeth or a crossbite, which are common issues in teens and adolescents, an orthodontist might recommend a palatal expander. Often times, once a patient finds out what an expander is, they get a little scared. These appliances require the patient or a parent to turn the expander themselves, which can feel a little daunting at first.

When someone has a crossbite or overcrowded teeth, it’s necessary to expand the arch of the mouth. The expander is attached to the upper arch of the mouth using rubber bands that are placed around the teeth or bonded to them with plastic. (Although removable expanders do exist, the fixed ones tend to be more effective -- and much more difficult to lose!)

It’s Not So Bad!

Although any orthodontic treatment will have some initial discomfort (and expanders are no exception), the expansion of the upper arch is usually quite painless. You may experience some pressure in the roof of your mouth, behind the nose, or between your eyes while your expander activates. However, in a few minutes, you’ll feel back to normal!

For the first few days wearing your expander, you also might speak differently or “slurp” a bit due to some extra saliva that might be produced. You might also notice a space opening between your upper central incisors -- this is exactly what we want! When your treatment is over and the expander is removed, this space might close again on its own -- this is fine. As long as the underlying bone remains expanded, you’ll be fine. Finally, after treatment, you may experience a “loose” or “sore” sensation in your front teeth -- again, this is completely safe and normal.

Adjusting to...Well, Adjusting

When you first get an expander, taking some key preparation steps can go a long way. When you go grocery shopping, find some foods that don’t need to be chewed much: yogurt, pudding, mashed potatoes, and ice cream are all great options. After two or three days after installation of the expander, a normal diet should be fine. However, particularly hard or sticky foods should still probably be avoided -- they tend to get stuck in the expansion screw.

Finally, we’d also like to mention that each patient’s expansion treatment will be slightly different. Some palates need to be over-expanded -- that’s why the initial appointment is so important. After treatment is complete, you’ll have to wear a retainer to stabilize the results.

Learn more about orthodontic treatment options in North Hills and Greater Pittsburgh Area!

Where to Get Ice Cream in the North Hills

As if you needed yet another reason to celebrate summer, July is National Ice Cream Month! Yes, your favorite creamy, sugary treat is, in fact, braces-friendly -- so if you have that craving this summer, feel free to indulge with some friends or family.

We thought we’d take this special month as an opportunity to round up ice cream options in the area, near our new office in the North Hills:

Sincerely Yogurt

4885 McKnight Rd

Pittsburgh, PA 15237

Okay, so maybe it’s not exactly ice cream -- but some good frozen yogurt can be just as refreshing and delicious as actual ice cream. Sincerely Yogurt on McKnight Road features a self-service frozen yogurt bar (you pay by weight), so you can mix and match toppings and flavors to your heart’s desire. Some cups even have dividers, for those who hate getting their flavors mixed. Try their original, strawberry, cinnamon roll, and peanut butter flavors!

Joezeppi’s Frozen Treats and Homemade Ice Cream

915 Mount Royal Blvd

Pittsburgh, PA 15223

This little gem on Mount Royal Blvd. features great prices and service. Come hungry, though! This family-friendly shop is also known for its pretty hefty serving sizes and a selection of other treats. Try their upside-down banana split (served in a bucket), and their large variety of toppings, fruits, and syrup flavors.

Bruster’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream & Yogurt

493 Lowries Run Rd

Pittsburgh, PA 15237

Whether it’s their delicious homemade ice cream (with real ingredients) or  their milkshakes (made with any of their flavors), Bruster’s on Lowries Run Rd. is a great choice for your summer snacking needs. Their mint chocolate chip, raspberry, chocolate, and double chocolate chunk flavors are particularly good. Ask them about their free frequent visitors’ card and their summer ice cream day camps!

Kool Cones

8130 Perry Hwy

Pittsburgh, PA 15237

With their homemade soft-serve and their divine hard flavors, Kool Cones is a surprisingly charming stop along Perry Hwy. According to our “investigators,” the red velvet cheesecake flavor is a must-have, with its large chunks of cheesecake! Other favorites include their raspberry soft-serve and peanut butter soft-serve varieties. Also, keep in mind that their portions are pretty generous, although reasonably priced.

Learn more about Reed Orthodontics today!

Can You Be an Athlete While Wearing Braces?

The benefits of getting braces to straighten your teeth are myriad: More confidence, a healthier bite, and less of a chance of needing orthodontics later in life. But of course, there are always some sacrifices we need to make -- changing our snacking habits and maintaining your braces or Invisalign trays are just a few things that we “give” to have straighter teeth.

But if you’re an athlete or enjoy summer sports in Pittsburgh, you can still enjoy your favorite activities! Although getting hit in the mouth by a ball while wearing braces (or without) is never a pleasant experience, with some attention to prevention, you can be just as active as ever. At Reed Orthodontics, we strive to give you the best treatment for your lifestyle, so we thought we’d offer up some ways that you can enjoy sports while undergoing orthodontic treatment.

Ways to Play if You Have Braces

Although running or swimming might not have much of an effect on your mouth, any sport where there’s contact can potentially affect your treatment. However, there are a few things you can do to compete safely:

• Get a mouthguard fitted: By using a mouthguard that has been custom-molded to your mouth and not bought off the shelf, you can protect your teeth, your wires and brackets, and the effectiveness of your treatment. Your dentist can help with the process, which takes about half an hour.
• Get Invisalign: Since Invisalign uses removable aligners to straighten your teeth, you can actually take them out while you play! That means that even if you play a medium- or high-contact sport, you won’t risk damaging your teeth or your appliance. It’s also recommended that if you do remove your aligners while you compete, wear a mouthguard!
• Lingual braces: We also offer lingual braces, which attach to the backs of your teeth. Not only are they essentially “invisible,” but they’re a little more protected than traditional braces when you play sports. Even if you have lingual braces, talk to your dentist about getting a mouthguard fitted anyway.

At Reed Orthodontics, we want all of our patients to enjoy their favorite activities, even when they’re getting treated. We also want you to be as healthy as possible, and staying active throughout the summer helps you stay in shape for the rest of the year.

If you have any questions about how orthodontic treatment might affect your ability to play sports, call us today at 412.421.8565 or send us a message!

Do My Wisdom Teeth Affect My Braces?

Between the ages of 17 and 25, your wisdom teeth (a third set of molars) starts coming in. People who are those ages also might need orthodontic work. It can seem daunting to have to deal with orthodontics and wisdom teeth at the same time -- after all, if new teeth are coming in, wouldn’t that impact how effective your braces are?

Here at Reed Orthodontics, we cater to patients of any age in the Pittsburgh area, including Squirrel Hill and the North Hills, who need their teeth straightened. That’s why we wanted to help clear up some possible misconceptions about how your wisdom teeth might affect your orthodontic treatment.

First, it’s important to understand how wisdom teeth work. Wisdom teeth have a habit of overcrowding the mouth, especially after molars have already grown in, fully or partially. Wisdom teeth also have a habit of growing in sideways (known as impacted wisdom teeth). However, your wisdom teeth cannot cause your front teeth to become misaligned. The pressure that they put on your molars is not strong enough to affect your front teeth.

This is one reason why some people think that their wisdom teeth can have adverse effects on their orthodontic treatment, either current or previous. Even if your wisdom teeth come in perfectly, it won’t affect your orthodontic treatment. Finally, if your wisdom teeth have already come in straight and you haven’t had braces yet, you can still get treatment!

However, if your wisdom teeth do not come in straight, regardless of your orthodontic history, your dentist may recommend they be removed before bigger problems occur. If you have impacted wisdom teeth, it can result in pain, damage to other teeth, and other issues. Even if you’re not in pain and nothing appears to be wrong, impacted wisdom teeth can be really hard to brush, which means they’re more likely to get tooth decay and gum disease.

If you’re concerned that your wisdom teeth might have some affect on your orthodontic treatment, don’t hesitate to get in touch! Reed Orthodontics can be reached at 412.369.0600 or through our Contact Us form!

What Does an Orthodontist Do that a Dentist Can't?

Nowadays, the line between an orthodontist and a dentist is more blurred than ever before. Sometimes, patients will reference that their last orthodontist also did their dental work -- turns out, that was their dentist.

Many dentists today practice orthodontics, but that doesn’t mean that they are a true, specially trained orthodontist. Trained orthodontists like Tina Reed, are licensed dentists who complete dental school and then go onto an university or medical center that is accredited by the American Dental Association for 2-3 years to get training in correcting malocclussion. (You can learn more about malocclusion and figure out if you have it here.)

It’s not easy to get into an orthodontic specialty education program -- most of us graduated at the tops of our class in dental school. During post-graduate residency, orthodontists in training devote at least 8 hours a day, five days a week for 24 to 36 months, learning all of the intricacies that go into diagnosing and treating teeth that aren’t perfectly straight. All together, orthodontists train for 4,000 to 6,000 hours after completing dental school!

After attending dental school at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Reed moved to San Francisco to complete her advanced orthodontic residency to earn a Masters of Science degree in Oral Biology from the University of California - San Francisco. Her research thesis at UCSF was part of a long-term clinical study of the effects of female reproductive hormones on Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) disease. Today, she is a licensed orthodontist and a member of the American Association of Orthodontists, the Western Pennsylvania Society of Orthodontists, the Great Lakes Association of Orthodontists and the American Dental Association.

When deciding whether to see a dentist or an orthodontist for straightening your teeth, consider the following: Your primary care physician is legally allowed to perform brain surgery on you and give you psychiatric advice. But does that mean you’d actually go through with that?

Having a healthy smile and bite is critical to good overall health, and seeing a specialist for these issues is essential for your health -- and your peace of mind.

Click here to contact a qualified orthodontist with offices in Pittsburgh’s North Hills and Squirrel Hill today!

Why Kids Should Learn to Play with Robots

As orthodontists, we’re no strangers to technology: Whether it’s making molds, scanning technology, or working with new orthodontic treatments like 3M Unitek Braces, orthodontics are constantly evolving and becoming more modern.

Part of our rapidly-changing world is the rise of robots, and believe it or not, you don’t need to be an engineer at the CMU Robotics Institute to work with them. Actually, more and more kids these days are being exposed to robots at an early age -- in fact, Shaler Area High School’s robotics team, “Fish’s Minions,” won the Best Robotics Design award at the VEX Robotics Competition back in March. Many other schools in the North Hills area feature robotics programs as well, including North Hills High School.

Working with robots offers many developmental advantages to kids as their brains grow and they prepare for a workforce that increasingly depends on technological skills. Here are some benefits:

Confidence & Positivity

Kids who start working with robotics early on can get a crucial confidence boost and can develop better attitudes towards doing things that challenge them. Often times, students who have trouble in science class will actually do a good job working with robots. Robotics can also hone students’ abilities to follow instructions, improve problem solving skills, and more. Educational robotics kits can be a great resource for students struggling with confidence!

Patience & Persistence

Let’s face it -- working with tools and machines can be hard. Especially with educational robotics kits, the parts and components must fit together perfectly for the robot to function. This takes practice and doesn’t always go smoothly the first time around. Robots can be a great way to teach children patience, persistence, and dedication. Failure is a step closer to success.

Science!

Learning about robots usually helps kids learn about other scientific concepts as well. Obviously, robotics can be a great tool for teaching kids about physics and engineering. But putting together a solar-powered model vehicle can also teach kids about solar panels and how light gets converted into energy. Or an all-terrain robotic vehicle can be used as a way of teaching kids about geological formations.

Even if your child doesn’t have a robotics program at his or her school, you can purchase robotics kits online for use at home! Here are some recommendations:

The Hummingbird Robotics kit, designed by Carnegie Mellon’s CREATE Lab

Edmund Scientifics

Maker Shed

RobotShop

And of course, on Amazon

Did you know we have a brand new office in the North Hills? Call us today for a consultation at 412.369.0600.

Volunteer Opportunities in the North Hills

With the school year here in Pittsburgh ending in a few months, parents might be looking for ways for their children -- or themselves -- to keep busy during the summer. Fortunately, there are lots of opportunities to volunteer in the vicinity of our offices in the North Hills.

Volunteering can be an extremely gratifying experience, especially for kids and teens who might not be able to have consistent commitments throughout the summer due to family vacations and other events. Here are some options that you can share with your family -- even if you just volunteer once, it makes a difference!

North Hills Community Outreach

North Hills Community Outreach is an extremely organized, efficient organization benefiting North Hills residents young and old who are facing crisis, hardship and poverty.Their full list of volunteer opportunities can be found here. Their offer a wide selection of programs that you can volunteer in, from their garden, to their Open Your Heart to a Senior Program, to financial coaching, to career mentoring.

Crisis Center North

Crisis Center North assists victims of domestic violence in the North hills community through a variety of resources and confidential services. They provides free empowerment counseling and advocacy to adult, teen, and child victims of domestic violence in the northern and western communities of Allegheny County. Crisis Center North also provides educational programming to community and school programs.

You can learn more about their volunteer opportunities here, which include:

• Hotline Counseling
• Legal Advocacy
• Speakers Bureau/Prevention Education
• Fundraising
• Clerical Tasks
• Board Membership/Committee Volunteer

Shaler/Ross Meals on Wheels

Run through the Lutheran Service Society, Ross/Shaler meals on wheels needs volunteers! Individuals are needed to help in the kitchen to prepare meals and to go on deliveries to clients’ homes. This is a great way to meet people in the North Hills community -- help is needed most during the week in the morning and you can choose to volunteer daily, weekly, monthly, or even seasonally. You can learn more about this volunteer opportunity here.

Shaler Garden Club

The Shaler Garden Club was founded in 1921, and is still working to beautify the community.  Learn about gardening, plant civic gardens, conserve and protect our natural environment, inspire others with the love of gardening, all while building lasting friendships.  The Club hosts a perennial plant sale at Kiwanis Park in May and serves the community in so many ways.