4 Ways Smiling Improves Our Health!! :)

WE’VE ALL HEARD the old cliché that it takes more muscles to frown than to smile, so you should smile to conserve energy! That’s actually false. It takes a minimum of ten muscles to smile but only a minimum of six to frown, so the expression should really be “smile to burn calories!” But smiling will do much more for your health than just giving your face a workout.

Here’s four ways smiling benefits our health.

#1: Reduces Pain

Smiling releases endorphins, which are our bodies’ feel-good hormones. They serve as natural painkillers with no side-effects. What’s particularly interesting about this is that it’s the smile itself that releases the endorphins, not the attitude behind it.

Our brains are so hard-wired to associate smiling with joy that even a fake smile will get you the chemical benefits. So whenever you get injured, it really is a good idea to grin and bear it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyMHt1Gw5rE

#2: Relieves Stress

Another thing the endorphins released by smiling do for you is help relieve stress. A study in 2012 tested how quickly subjects’ heart rates could go back to normal after performing a stressful task. One group was instructed to hold a pencil between their teeth (which forces a smile) and the other was instructed to hold the pencil between their lips (which forces a neutral expression). The subjects with the biggest smiles recovered the fastest.

This goes back to the way our brains react to smiles. We don’t just smile when we’re happy; smiling can actually make us happy, which means you really can “fake it till you make it” when it comes to smiling!

#3: Boosts Our Immune System

Relieving tension and stress by smiling can have a profound cumulative impact on your health. It can make you more resilient against illness and it can even reduce your chances of getting cancer by lowering the number of stress-induced mutations your cells go through.

#4: Increases Longevity

Smiling doesn’t just make you look younger and more attractive; it can also add years to your lifespan. Taking advantage of every opportunity to smile (and then some) could make you live up to seven years longer!

Let Those Smiles Shine!

As adults, we average a paltry 20 smiles per day, while children will light up with a smile 400 times in that same day! Imagine the health benefits we could rack up if we could start smiling like we did when we were kids? Some people keep their smiles to themselves because they aren’t happy with the way their teeth look, but we can help you get and keep a smile you’ll be proud to show off.

Our biggest reason to smile? Our patients!

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

What Is An Orthodontic Assistant?

PEOPLE ARE COMMONLY CONFUSED about what the exact role of an orthodontic assistant is. We want to set the record straight (just like we do your teeth)! Our orthodontic assistants are an invaluable part of our team and practice–to be honest, we couldn’t get much done without them!

Orthodontic Assistants Are Specially Trained To Serve You

We are committed to training our assistants on the job to establish a trusting rapport & ensuring a positive dental experience with our patients; all while maintaining a clean and safe working environment per OSHA standards.  Throughout our patient's treatment, our team will assist Dr. Kevin with patient care, take impressions & 3-D scans & photographs, place & remove brackets, fit & cement bands, change arch wires and deliver orthodontic appliances.  As well as provide good oral hygiene practices, such as tooth-brushing & flossing techniques. 

Our assistants are trained & licensed through the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) to take X-rays with our digital 3-D Panorex & Conebeam Imaging System.  

Our orthodontic assistants are specially trained to serve YOU–our valued patients!

Our Patients Are Our Priority

Our priority is providing the highest quality of care to our patients. And we couldn’t do it without the amazing orthodontic assistants in our office! Do you have any questions for our assistants? Let us know in the comments below!

As always, thank you for choosing our practice. We love our patients!

www.coghlanorthodontics.com

Back to School!

It's that time of year again!

Summer is almost over and school is officially back!

BUT, just because you are going back to school doesn't 

mean you should forget about your Orthodontic Care!

Here is a list of supplies we recommend 

to keep at school if you have braces:

Travel toothbrush
Toothpaste
Floss and floss threaders
Flossers 
Wax
Interdental brushes
Retainer Case
Mouthguards

And a couple things to remember:
*NEVER take an appliance out and put in a napkin!
*ALWAYS have your retainer case!
(If you need one, stop by our office...They're FREE)!
*ALWAYS WEAR your appliance at school, if that's what Dr. Kevin told you to do!!
**AND MOST OF ALL, TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT 
COGHLAN ORTHODONTICS!!

Let's talk about AcceleDent

We all want our teeth to move fast during orthodontic treatment with as little pain as possible.  This is the aim of AcceleDent.  These effects are stated on the homepage of acceledent.com.

“Through the use of gentle mini pulses, called SoftPulse technology, bone remodelling is accelerated, allowing teeth to move up to 50% faster”.

“Faster tooth movement may decrease the duration of your orthodontic treatment and may help make your orthodontics more comfortable”.

Many patients are concerned with the cost of AcceleDent.

• Is it worth the cost?
• Why is there a wide range of prices from $700-$1400?
• What is the difference between Orthodontists who are Diamond (Top Provider), Platinum (Premier Plus Provider), Gold (Premier Provider), Silver (Preferred Provider) & Providers?
• Is there a difference in the product?

AcceleDent has Provider Levels:  Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver, & Provider.  These Provider Levels are based on the number of AcceleDent devices carried (purchased) by the practices.  The price difference will vary from Orthodontist to Orthodontist based on the volumes of devices purchased in a single sales order.  

There are published studies by clinical scientists supporting the use of AcceleDent, and those who prefer to take a more cautious approach.  Our office will continue to be a Provider of AcceleDent, but we want to encourage our patients to read the evidence published and decide for themselves if AcceleDent is the device for them.  

Below are links to some published studies.

http://kevinobrienorthoblog.com/acceledent-does-not-reduce-orthodontic-pain-another-trial/

  

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26496680

http://kevinobrienorthoblog.com/lets-talk-acceledent/

Did You Know?

Did You Know?  

Here are some interesting and fun facts about teeth and dentistry: 

• Dr. Edward Angle is the "father" of modern orthodontics.
• Dr. Charles Tweed was the first certified orthodontist in the U.S.

• Over three million miles of dental floss is purchased in North America each year.
• The average human produces 25,000 quarts of saliva (spit) in a lifetime. That is enough saliva to fill 2 swimming pools.
• Snails are very small but they have thousands of tiny teeth all lined up in rows.
• An elephant's tooth can weigh over 6 pounds. That is heavier than a jug of milk!
• Tooth enamel is the strongest substance in the human body.
• Dogs have 42 teeth while cats have 30 teeth.
• Giraffes have 32 used to chew and grind food; their teeth are positioned at the back of their skull instead of the front of their mouths.
• 78% of Americans have had at least one cavity by the age of 17.
• More than 300 types of bacteria make up dental plaque!!
• More people use blue toothbrushes than red ones.
• Like fingerprints, tooth prints are unique to each individual.
• The average woman smiles 62 times a day; the average man smiles about 8 times a day!
• The Blue Whale is the largest mammal on earth, but it eats only tiny shrimp because it has no teeth!
• Ancient Greeks used pumice, talc, alabaster, coral powder or iron rust as toothpaste!
• In 1866, Lucy Beaman Hobbs became the first licensed female dentist.
• In 1986, the winner of the National Spelling Bee won by spelling "ODONTALGIA" (which means toothache)!
• Kids laugh around 400 times a day, adults just 15 times a day!

Smile, Everyday!

Smile, everyday!  Smile, and you could live longer!  Studies have shown that smiling has positive benefits for both your physical and mental health; that smiling releases endorphins and serotonin – which will naturally help to reduce inflammation and pain.  In fact, smiling is a powerful immune booster and mood stabilizer.   Happy people live longer! 

Here are 10 reasons why you should SMILE everyday:

1. Smiling relieves stress
2. Smiling makes us look younger
3. Smiling elevates our mood
4. Smiling helps us stay positive
5. Smiling makes us attractive
6. Smiling is contagious
7. Smiling lowers our blood pressure
8. Smiling makes us feel good
9. Smiling boosts our immune system
10. Smiling makes us seem successful

A research team led by Elizabeth Lawrence of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill published a study documenting, the happier you are, the better your chances of living a longer life.  Happiness appears to be inversely related to perceived stress and may protect against illness through better immune response.  

Bottom line, keep smiling – it’s good for you.  And if you are looking to improve your smile, call us at 812-332-9269 or 800-595-9269 to schedule your Complimentary Consultation and Create your Healthy Hoosier Smile! :)

Safeguarding Your Smile! :)

In our office, we are ALL about safeguarding your smile, and keeping our patients' smiles healthy!  We believe in providing the highest-quality of care to our patients and we are committed to using the highest-quality treatment options to ensure healthy smiles.  That's why we use Opal Seal.  

Opal Seal is an advanced bond enhancing primer from Opal Orthodontics and is much like the protective dental sealant used by your general dentist, acting as a barrier to plaque.   It is used to prepare the teeth before we put your braces on and has the ability to deliver a constant, safe, low dose of fluoride to the enamel throughout your orthodontic treatment.  Along with excellent oral hygiene, Opal Seal will effectively improve your enamel health.

Here are 5 important ways Opal Seal helps to safeguard healthy smiles:

• Fluoride Releasing
• Maintaining Enamel Hardness
• Nonporous Barrier between plaque and enamel
• Esthetic Appearance since it is nearly invisible
• Fluorescence with a black light, which makes it easy to see during routine checkups

http://www.opalorthodontics.com

We encourage all of our patients to ask questions about how to keep your teeth clean and your mouth healthy during your orthodontic treatment.  We want to protect against decalcification (unsightly, white stains from poor oral hygiene) marks and Safeguard your Smile!! :)