Dr. Deb & Dr. Diane's Response to the Wall Street Journal Article

Wall Street Journal Article about Early Orthodontics:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703326204575616460332062620.html

The doctor's response:

Bravo to the Wall Street Journal for its front page article on early orthodontic treatment last month. It eloquently addressed our philosophy to treat only when necessary, and answers why we are not like other offices who may routinely propose multi-phase plans beginning at early ages.

That being said, we agree there are important indications for interceptive (Phase 1) treatment. As the article says, “Early treatment makes sense for an underbite or a narrow upper arch, problems that are easier to correct while the jaw is still growing. Treating patients as young as 7 or 8 years old with a "palatal expander" widens the upper jaw, so the upper teeth line up better with the lower teeth. This may make the second round of treatment, when the patient is a teenager, quicker and easier. Kids with crossbites also may benefit from such early treatment, although they too may still need a second round. We might also add that prematurely extracted teeth (due to crowding or decay) often require a simple appliance (space maintainer) to prevent loss of precious space.

The article continues, “For one of the most common conditions—a Class II Malocclusion, commonly known as an overbite, "overjet" or buck teeth—studies indicate there aren't measurable benefits to early treatment. Starting treatment early for this condition usually means a second phase of treatment is coming and with no guarantee it will be any easier than without early treatment. For this condition, early treatment also usually means longer overall treatment time and a higher bill at the end. Sometimes there are psychological reasons for correcting crooked or buck teeth early: A child may be getting teased, or a parent may worry the teeth will be knocked out.” This is the exception, not the rule.

The article concludes with, “Children who had early treatment did spend less time, on average, in the second phase of treatment. But taking both phases into account, their total treatment time was considerably longer. At the end, only small differences were noted in front-to-back jaw position between the groups” "There is no doubt about this conclusion," says Gregory King, professor of orthodontics at the University of Washington, Seattle. "It is no more effective to do it early than later. You end up in the same place."

These findings are not new to the profession, and speak to our sensibilities as practitioners and mothers. These are the standards we would apply to our own families, and hence to yours.

We invite questions to the article and our response. Please email any questions to info@amherstorthodontics.com.

What to Remember This Holiday Season

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on all the blessings God has bestowed upon us. It can be challenging this time of year to keep this thought front and center during our daily activities. So remember, when the boys come home from college with 3 months worth of dirty laundry and look part Neanderthal because they haven’t had a haircut since September and haven’t shaved in a month….shower them with hugs and kisses. When your 17 yo daughter comes home excited about the dress she bought for the semi and you want to throw a bathrobe around her and cover her up …tell her how beautiful she looks and give her one on your shawls. When you asked a relative to bring a pie for dessert and they show up with a Tabletalk pie (yes, they still make these)…serve it with a smile. When your mother continues to quip during Thanksgiving Day cooking, “you need to use more butter; not enough salt, add more salt” …give her a hug and tell her she is the best taster in the world. Above all, make a point this holiday season to find a quite spot, get down on your knees and give heartfelt thanks to God.

Every Kid Wants a Pet

So it's kinda hard to see the full details, but every parent (I think) has walked down the road of their kids wanting a pet. I've been a dog lover forever and would really enjoy a pup, BUT timing is everything. My daughter lately, has wanted a pug (wonder where she got that idea!). And of course, everything big sister wants must be a great idea, so my son wants a pug too! No, no, no. There isn't a pug in the aquarium! But there are 2 hermit crabs... Sharkie and Nemo. Well, since Sharkie and Nemo joined our clan, I have to admit that never having hermit crabs before, I was caught red-handed in the local Petco, purchasing their replacements 1 month later... Stay tuned. Have been watching Food Network for enticing crab recipes...

Homo Studentus Highschoolitatus

I’ve discovered a new species! This species evolved from what used to be my darling daughter. The creature is one who recently has been legally granted permission to operate a motor vehicle, has a weird predilection to consuming all things unhealthy including gasoline and has no concept of basic neatness. I know one of these inhabits our domicile because evidence is everywhere. I find Reeses wrappers, Dunkin Donut napkins and McDonald’s paper bags strewn about my car and the needle on the gas gauge is always pointing to ‘E’! The creature also must be thinking on a more elevated plane and can’t be slowed down with the mundane like understanding that the house and car are not extensions of its school locker. Dirty socks, jeans, sweatshirts, tattered notebooks, crumbled papers and chewed pens are now commonplace in my once tidy vehicle and home. Threatening to hide the keys to both seems to illicit a primordial response of eyes rolling back in its head, an ugly scowl and frantic finger movements while holding a cellular device. Oh where, oh where has my sweet baby gone?!

End of Summer Celebration

End of summer was celebrated by going to Lull Farm's Peach Festival in Milford. Thd kids enjoyed a jumpy house (won't be able to shake this one from birthday party requests now!), lots of yummy peachy treats, and music from their favorite - Amy Conley of Music Together in Milford!

The Return to College

At the beginning of the summer, I was so happy to have Homo studentus universitatus (HSU) back in the nest (minus the mess) and all three of my kids around. At the same time, I was already thinking about having to send HSU back to the place where the species thrives and I was dreading that another one of my offspring would morph into this creature. Don’t get me wrong, the rewards of having the species around are substantial… happy noises in a quiet house, my credit card feeling so fully and vibrantly alive, an accumulation of funny creature photos on my digital camera, a window into a complex society of social primates. Alas, the Homo studentus summer season is brief. No matter how much they have enjoyed the family nest, mom’s cooking and use of their own bathrooms, they will return to college and bide their time until their winter migration back. I, for one, look forward to their return!

HSU returns home from college...

The Homo studentus universitatus (HSU) has acclimated to its summer surroundings. The appearance of a large pile of dirty laundry in the corner of its dwelling is present. Plastic bins from its college habitat are still strewn about its territory and all flat surfaces are covered with its belongings. The bed covers are never on the bed so I’m not really sure where it has been sleeping but there are signs of slumber on various couches. When I wake up in the morning, I find evidence of what it ate during the night all over the counters in the kitchen (and on the floor).

Communication is limited with its parental units except when it is asking for the car or “What’s for dinner”. I’m assuming this is because its highly evolved brain can’t be weighed down with mundane questions like “How come you can’t hang up your clothes?” When I ask this, HSU just seems to shrug, like it has a weird itch on its back. No, I guess that brain is for churning out high GPA’s in the quest of getting into graduate school or landing a high paying job where you don’t have to work much.

Museum of Science with Diane and her kids!

Summer is such a great time to get out and explore new things! There happened to be a whale exhibit at the Museum of Science in Boston, so I took the kids. You can tell, the kids were caught at a dull moment in the photo! I can assure you that they ran around the exhibit having a great time! They crawled in and out of a model whale heart (an adult and 3 other kids were in there together), and listened to eerie whale songs. Such a cool place!

Deb's take on Modern Art

So I traveled to Washington, DC once again but this time to attend my 25^th dental school reunion. While I was there I went to the Hirshhorn (contemporary art) Museum. Now I’m not a big fan of contemporary art but I like to go and chuckle at what critics call “Brilliant!” Picture this…as part of the exhibit, a film clip was playing of naked women painting the front of their bodies with blue paint and then pressing themselves against a canvas making body prints. The artist (Yves Klein, French), wanted these “living brushes” to record the body’s cosmic energy. Needless to say, I had to pull my husband away from this exhibit! The poor artist died at 34yo of a heart attack…I wonder if it was due to the same heart palpations my husband was feeling while in the museum!

Dance Recitals and Summer Picnics

Summer's officially here with school out for most kiddos, including my 3 year old who celebrated her last day in Country Village Montessori School with a school-wide/family picnic. Pigtails commemorated the day (act of Congress - read on) and my son also had a great time roaming the playyard! Another clue that summer abounds - it's dance recital season, and our last Baby Ballet class at Kathy Blake's

was a dress rehearsal. Our first ever miniature bun! Sparkly hair gel! Tutu!!! She barely lets me comb her hair in the morning, so I prayed that the bun up-do would be straightforward... (Remember, you're reading the blog from the lady who wears no makeup, and hasn't bought hair gel in decades.) We survived and she loved her little red lips too!

Summer migration of Homo studentus universitatus

Well the summer migration has occurred. We traveled to Colgate University to collect our Homo studentus universitatus (HSU) We left Manchester optimistic albeit a bit tired. Our second son had his senior prom the night before. Tim had his friends over for a pre-prom gathering complete with parents, clicking cameras, endless cleavage (why don’t I remember seeing cleavage at my prom?) and luckily no breezes to create havoc with hem lines! They all looked so grown up and everyone got home safe and sound!

Upon arriving at HSU’s dorm, we noted incredible chaos. Trash littered the hallways, mold spores emanated from the carpets, beer bottles stacked in the corners (I thought the drinking age was 21yo??). I had to use the rest room but decided against it because I was afraid of the plague. We did get out of there in one piece but I’m not sure whose stuff we actually took home. I did not recognize some of it! We looked like the Clampets traveling down the NY Thruway with the windows open, while it was raining, because the stench was overpowering. I was anxious to get home and dreading it at the same time!

Having little kids is so great!

Having little kids is so great! I love the wonder on their faces when they discover something new! In the recent hot weather, I broke out the ole sprinkler. I took it forgranted that a 3 year old and a 19 month old have no idea what this is for (outside of watering the grass)! After watching them transfixed on the metronomic back and forth, I decided in full civvies that I had to be their fearless mommy. Off I leapt into the chilling cold, with streaks of water marked in my clothes! My son took off after me with glee and even stuck his face in it with me! My daughter, however, required a piggy back ride through the water, as she does not like getting wet! Oh to be young again!

Homo Studentus Universitatus in the wrong place at the wrong time

It seems that a small male grouping of the species was spotted walking, late one spring night, from town after devouring pizza (which is a basic staple of their diet) back to their hovel at the University when the creature, completely oblivious to his surroundings (thought he was back in Kansas aka Amherst) hid behind a tree and decided that the roots needed a little watering. Unfortunately, he was spotted by one of the small town’s finest, who’s mission is to quell any improper behavior in this little college town, and was slapped with a ticket and court date. The poor, naive creature was under the delusion that if he dons a tie and sport coat (which has been crumpled up in a bin underneath his bed since August) he will look like a responsible college dweller and they will go easy on him....

“How did you do today in court?” I asked, holding my breath. “Did you wear a nice shirt and comb your hair?” Exasperated, he says, “Mom, I could have shown up in my boxers and they would have given me the same fine. I can’t believe that I have to pay the same amount of money as a kid who was fooling around and ran out into the street, nearly causing a four car pile up!” Of course, I said what he didn’t want to hear, “Life isn’t always fair, dear.” While hanging up the phone I smiled to myself … another painful but important life lesson! (He would kill me if he knew I put this out there for all to read but he probably won’t find out because he doesn’t think I even know what a ‘blog’ is!!)

A Great Comedy Show!

Loretta LaRoche – if you haven’t heard her, you must. We had a staff event at her comedy show at the Palace Theatre on Saturday. The staff had a great time, and so did me and Deb! Not knowing what to expect, she was a great blend of comedy with traditional values and psychotherapy! It’s reassuring to know that women of different cultures are still women – we “obsess” and we are the same. What is different is the clothing! Smaller and more revealing over the years! Ai, Ai, Ai! Tsk, tsk, tsk!

Dr. Deb visits Washington DC...her old stomping grounds.

I attended the American Association of Orthodontists annual meeting in Washington, DC with my husband, Steve.

We took a little time from the three day convention to sightsee on bikes. We visited the monuments and the National Gallery of Art. While taking in the sights, I was still in “ortho mode” observing various profiles and making observations about what artists from various time periods liked to portray.


Just before leaving, we visited where I went to dental school, Georgetown. Even though the dental school closed its doors in 1999, all the buildings remain and have become part of a research facility for the medical school.

Dr. Diane is 4 Months into her Invisalign Treatment!

So I’m almost 4 months into Invisalign treatment (my total time is just over 1 year). My quick observations of my experience so far… 1) Don’t realize how thirsty I am until I take them out and my lips stick to my teeth! (The aligners are filled with saliva and your lips don’t stick to the aligners so you don’t realize you’re parched!) 2) VERY hard to tell progress from one aligner to the next, so we are giving progress shots every few visits – don’t lose faith! 3) Wish that I wouldn’t eat as much since I’m supposed to have these in 20-22 hrs/day! My very fast eating, has only gotten that much more disgustingly faster! 4) SO GLAD I’m going through this, as I would’ve never really understood the challenges our Invisalign patients endure!

A Surprise Visit for Dr. Deb!

Picture this… 9:30 pm Good Friday and I’m in our family room setting two 6 ft tables for Easter dinner (the dining room and kitchen tables have already been set-I started at noon that day) deciding if I’m going to search out the spare dishes or go for the Chinet when a scary figure flitted by the window. Well, I knew it couldn’t be the Easter Bunny –it was too tall and lacked a fluffy white tail- After a moment of disbelief (or consternation… I gave up his room to his grandfather, I had mailed his Easter basket four days before, and I did not have enough food in the frig), I realized that our homo studentus universitatus had made a surprise visit home!

It appeared at our door step with a white sack slung over its shoulder which it deposited abruptly as it entered the house. Of course, the sack was dropped right inside the door so everyone would either trip on it or have to walk around it. But who cared! We were all so excited to see him! (Well, almost all…his brother was thinking not only about his clean clothes and gas but now, his bedroom, too!). After the commotion settled and I fed it what I could, I noticed an unpleasant odor emanating from the doorway … I knew that I was about to enter battle. Either I was going to battle the beast and make it handle its belongings or battle the stench myself and take care of the rest of the inhabitants of the household and besides, the creature did look so tired and disheveled and he did just travel 6 hours… I just felt sorry for it… WHAT WAS I THINKING???

The Kids First Easter Egg Hunt

Spring has sprung! We were so blessed with great weather on Easter! My kids were able to do their very first Easter Egg hunt at Deb’s house, and got spoiled with lots of candy! I probably shouldn’t admit this, but it was Mei-Ling’s first jelly bean and first M&M, and she’s turning 3 next month! Fingers have been wagged at me for depriving her! Justin happened to swipe his first Skittle, and now the precedent has been set! What to do for her birthday??

Spring Migration of the Homo Studentus Universitatus

During this time of spring migration of the homo studentus universitatus, we have caught glimpses of this nocturnal animal. The homo studentus is not seen before noon and it is advised not to disturb it before then because it growls. Once it awakens, it moves slowly from its lair to a cushy chair where it takes up residence in front of the TV, under a throw blanket, clutching the remote. Its hygiene is questionable and appetite is voracious. It leaves a trail of crumbs and soda cans in its path. Luckily, the creature left after only a week but I know it will return in about 6 weeks for an extended period of time. I can’t wait!

Now, here is a query…why is he returning ‘home’ at all if, when filling out the census, we are supposed to report him to be “living” where he is going to school (a very small town in upstate NY complete with nice restaurants, boutiques and big, beautiful Victorian homes)? This seems ridiculous considering he is only there less than 8 months a year, he does not have a car, he lives on campus, he is not using any of the town resources and his parental units are paying for his room and board! Is it me??

Kid thoughts...

So funny that Deb and I are at different ends of the kid spectrum… I can remember meeting her kids for the first time, and how little they seemed. Now they’re adults! With my own little ones, I struggle with letting their “babiness” go (just love to squish them!), but at the same time want them to have independence… My daughter just started pre-school and loves it, and I love that I finally get some time alone with my son… I love how different they are, not just because of the boy/girl differences, but truly how they learn, express themselves, and do things is so fascinating to me. Sigh… I feel like I just had them.

Homo Studentus Universitatus

Blog, blog, blog sounds like blah, blah, blah…But here goes..I recently read an article that was published in the Chicago Tribune about a special species, homo studentus universitatus, aka the college student on break.

The article says that this creature returns to the parental nest several times a year for an extended stay that lasts anywhere from one to fourteen weeks! We have one of these!! The interesting thing is that our whole family looks forward to the arrival of this very social creature. (Well, almost the whole family…the creature’s brother just sighs and says, “There goes my clean clothes and gas.”) But within a very short period of time we are thinking that we should have changed the locks. We have just experienced the spring migration of the species. After I finish restoring normalcy to our house I will tell you more!

Giving to a Cause that Matters...

I’ve always had a soft spot for charities and really feel so lucky in life that it only seems right to give back to causes that matter and make real impacts in people’s lives. I’m so proud of some recent fundraising efforts that I was blessed to be member to.

Dr. Deb Starts Blogging

Blog. What a funny word. Dr. Diane, who is 15 years younger than I, is blogging about her Invisalign experience. What the heck can a 50 year old woman write about that has any interest to anyone, I ask?. The ladies at the office tell me to just try it. Write about anything, they advised. Like what??? Like what I made for dinner Friday night? How many loads of laundry I did over the weekend? Ahhh…weekend!

Dr. Diane is a Patient!

I’m excited about blogging! I’ve been emailing for ages and never understood what this meant! Hopefully, I’ll have something meaningful to share that you can connect with or laugh at! I also hope that you’ll get to know me outside of the office – and you can feel free to call me “Di” if you see me at Shaw’s or out and about town.