Sensitive Teeth? Find Out Why!

Sensitive teeth…Have you ever experienced sensitivity in your teeth when drinking hot coffee or eating ice cream? How about when brushing your teeth? Ever wonder why this happens? Most of the time it is due to enamel wear of teeth. When this happens, the dentin (sensitive part of the tooth) is exposed and left vulnerable Read More

Orthodontic Warning Signs

The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that parents understand the early warning signs of an orthodontic problem and recommends kids be evaluated by an orthodontist by age 7 – 8. Early evaluation provides both timely detection of problems and a greater opportunity for more effective treatment. Well timed intervention guides growth and development, preventing serious Read More

Baby Teeth Aren’t Falling Out?

When parents visit the orthodontic office of Dennis J. Flanagan DDS MS, it is not uncommon for them to worry if their child’s baby teeth do not fall out on time. Infants rollover, sit, walk, and talk at different stages of their development. The same is true when your child is losing baby teeth. There Read More

Is This Space Taken?

Everyone wants a full, toothy smile, but some people are missing teeth through no fault of their own. Whenever you see a person missing teeth, you probably assume that they have lost them somewhere along the line, either through an accident or neglect. However, that is not always true. At the orthodontic office of Dr. Read More

Benefits Of Straight Teeth

The Team at the orthodontic office of Dr. Dennis J. Flanagan DDS MS knows that there are many reasons why people want straight teeth. Not the least of these is the fact that crooked teeth are not the most attractive feature. While a nicely aligned smile can be the part of your looks that pulls Read More

Is thumb-sucking bad for my child?

The short, easy answer is yes. Now I could stop here because I just gave the answer to the question, but the answer wouldn’t be complete without an explanation. The bones in our body are not static and unchanging. Your bones are constantly remodeling and adapting. Bone does this in part due to forces that Read More

What are Self-Ligating Brackets?

You may have seen the term “self-ligating brackets” (SLB’s) during your online research about orthodontic treatment. What does that mean? You may have seen it used along with a description of “Damon System” self-ligating brackets. Damon System brackets are just one type of self-ligating brackets. They are not better than most other SLB’s, they just Read More

Itero digital laser scanner

We have some exciting new technology in our office! It is the Itero digital intraoral scanner. Kind of a fancy name. So what does it do? The Itero scanner takes the place of taking impressions (molds) of our patients. Most people have either had or know what a dental impression is. There are many types Read More

Choices, choices, choices!

In our practice, we like to put our patients first. It even says so in our mission statement. One of the many ways we put our patients first is by giving them options for how they can achieve the smile they have always wanted, or in many cases, very definitely needed. We can do traditional Read More

Expansion appliance- what is it?

What is an expansion appliance and what does it do? Some children are born with an upper jaw that is too narrow and small. As a result, it does not fit correctly with the lower jaw. This causes a crossbite of the back teeth, and sometimes even the front teeth. An expansion appliance is used Read More