We've got a great BRACES-FRIENDLY Spring recipe!

Winter is over, and the weather is finally starting to get warmer. Our friends at the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) made an appetizing (and braces-friendly!) spring dish that is sure to delight. Remember, a healthy diet provides essential nutrients and helps you achieve the best possible result from your orthodontic treatment.

Soy Simmered Chicken Wraps

Ingredients:
• 3 boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 large onions, chunked
• Small flour tortillas (pkg. of ten) wheat or white
• (optional: 10-16 oz. of cooked chopped broccoli)
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup water
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1/8 teaspoon ginger
• 2 Tablespoons peach or apricot jam
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch

Directions

In a slow cooker, or a large pan on the stove, layer the onions and the chicken breast. Allow at least three hours in the slow cooker on medium, or at least one hour on the stove—the longer the better, but you don’t have to do anything to it while it cooks. Spoon out the chicken onto a cutting board, and with a knife and fork, shred the chicken as finely as you’d like. In a small saucepan, stir all sauce ingredients together over medium heat until the mixture starts bubbling, then let it simmer for five minutes on low heat to thicken. In a serving bowl, stir sauce and onion into chicken; if you’d like, add cooked chopped broccoli. Makes about six to eight servings.

Enjoy this great spring dish and have a great week!

--Your friends at Dischinger Orthodontics

You're Never Too Old to Treat Yourself to a New Smile!

Did you know one in every five orthodontic patients is an adult? We’re living longer and technology is improving, making orthodontic treatment an appealing and safe option for patients of all ages. As the trend toward treatment later in life grows, we’re seeing braces on parents as well as children – and even adult celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Gwen Stefani and Nicholas Cage have shown off their braces. It’s never too late to look and feel your best with Dischinger Orthodontics!

Can Braces Work for Adults?

People of all ages can benefit from orthodontic treatment with Drs. Terry and Bill Dischinger. The physical process for moving teeth is the same, young or old, which means it’s never too late to address issues such as an overbite or underbite, crooked or crowded teeth, or jaw disorders.

How Do I Get Started?

If you’re considering orthodontic treatment, we’ll make a consultation appointment with you. During this meeting we will perform a general assessment of your oral health, discuss options for treatment, and answer any questions you may have. We will also discuss matters of cost and insurance. The next step is an orthodontic records appointment in which we take x-rays, photos, and an impression of your teeth. This information drives your unique treatment plan.

What Are the Benefits?

Straightening your teeth can improve your smile, your self-esteem, and your dental health. Technologically advanced new treatments make it easier to identify the option that best fits your lifestyle. Modern techniques and materials have made braces and aligners more effective, comfortable and unobtrusive than ever.

If you think you might benefit from orthodontic treatment, give Dischinger Orthodontics a call, so we may set up a consultation to determine what type of treatment best meets your needs.

What’s on your reading list?

With the school year close to winding down for a lot of our patients at Dischinger Orthodontics, we wanted to remind all our patients about the importance of reading. Sure it’s easy to keep putting off reading this time of year, but reading is a vital step in brain development and literacy. And if you needed any more reason to read, May marks “Get Caught Reading Month.”

Today, we thought we’d ask: What's on YOUR reading list? What are some of your all-time favorites? Out of ideas for great reads? Ask us for suggestions, and Drs. Bill Dischinger, Terry Dischinger, and our team would be happy to provide a few. You may also ask a local librarian for some ideas on what to read next!

Happy reading! Be sure to share with us your book picks or your all-time favorite novels or literature on our Facebook page!

Dischinger Orthodontics Patient Appreciation Contest WINNER!

We have a winner for the Patient Appreciation Contest. Congratulations to the Mines Family! They won a one night stay at the Skamania Lodge and a dinner or brunch credit of $60.

The Dischinger Orthodontics' Patient Appreciation Contest happens twice a year. To participate, simply tell a member of the Dischinger Orthodontics' team during your next appointment that you would like to enter your parents into the Patient Appreciation Contest.

Feel free to give our office a call if you have any questions about this contest.

What's the difference between a Dentist and an Orthodontist?

"Dentists, Orthodontists, they're all the same right?" We hear our patients asking this question as they wonder about the difference between an orthodontist and a dentist. Before becoming orthodontists, Dr. Terry Dischinger and Dr. Bill Dischinger started out in dental school and earned a dental degree, just like your dentist. After dental school however, Dr. Terry and Bill Dischinger decided they wanted to learn more about orthodontics, which is one of nine specialties within the dental field. So they stayed in school for a few more years and became experts in orthodontics, which focuses on tooth and jaw alignment and bite problems like overbites and under bites.

Other dental specialties you may have heard of include endodontic (focusing on the soft tissue inside your teeth), periodontic (focusing on the gums and other tissues surrounding your teeth) and prosthodontic (focusing on restoring and replacing damaged teeth).

Isn't it nice to know there are dental experts here at Dischinger Orthodontics to help you through any type of treatment your teeth, jaw and gums might need?

The Oral Health Effects of Smoking

Everybody knows that smoking causes lung cancer, but did you also know that smokers and tobacco users are susceptible to a variety of oral health problems at a faster rate than non-smokers?

It’s true! Smoking is responsible for almost 75 percent of gum disease in adults; and, similar to smokers, adults who smoke pipes and cigars, as well as those using smokeless tobacco, are just as susceptible to gum disease and other tobacco related health problems.

As soon as you use tobacco products, you become more likely to experience any of these oral health problems:

• Oral cancer
• Gum disease
• Tooth loss
• Loss of bone in the jaw
• Gum recession
• Delayed/impaired healing process after oral surgery or any other treatment
• Decreased success rate of dental implant (tooth replacement) procedures
• Mouth sores
• Loss of your sense of taste and smell
• Bad breath
• Tooth and tongue stains

If you are interested in protecting your oral health, we strongly recommend you quit using tobacco products! The following steps are recommended by the Surgeon General to help you quit smoking and using tobacco:

• Get ready – set a quitting date and remove all materials from your home, car and office
• Get support
• Learn new skills and behaviors
• Get medication and use it correctly
• Be prepared for relapse or difficult situations

Dischinger Orthodontics can help by recommending different options to help you quit, and above all we will support you throughout the quitting process. We are dedicated to helping you protect your oral health – and quitting smoking is significant step in the right direction.

-Drs. Bill Dischinger, Terry Dischinger and team

April is National Facial Protection Month!

With spring here, many children, teens and adults will once again pick up the ball, bring the bat out of seasonal retirement, and lace up their cleats to hit the fields for the return of spring sports! April is National Facial Protection Month, and during this time, Drs. Bill and Terry Dischinger and our dedicated team urge our young athletes to play it safe when out on the field. According to the National Youth Sports Safety Foundation, children, high-school athletes and adults will have more than 5,000,000 teeth knocked out in sporting events this year.

Here are a few ways to ensure your mouth’s safety this spring, courtesy of our friends at the American Association of Orthodontists:

1. Wear mouth guards for contact sports such as baseball, softball, soccer and lacrosse.
2. Wear a helmet
3. Wear protective eyewear
4. Wear a face shield to avoid scratched or bruised skin
5. Be alert, even as a spectator

We hope that helps. Protective gear is vital for anyone engaging in tooth or mouth-threatening activities. If you have any further questions about any of these tips, please contact Dischinger Orthodontics. Stay safe and have fun!

How important is your smile?

At Dischinger Orthodontics, we are dedicated to using the most advanced orthodontic technology in order to provide comfortable, accurate, customized orthodontic treatments. Drs. Bill and Terry Dischinger and our talented staff have been creating beautiful smiles in the Lake Oswego area for years.

The bottom line is, we know having a beautiful smile is important to you. It’s important to us, too.

In fact, in a new poll conducted by Glamour Magazine, people were asked, “If you had to pick between having perfect teeth, eyesight or hair, which would you choose?

Well, 44 percent of folks out there are choosing teeth! In addition, the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, or AACD, conducted a study and found that 99.7 percent of those polled believed a smile is an important social asset. Respondents said straightness, whiteness, cleanliness, as well as the sincerity and sparkle of a person’s smile were all important factors not only socially, but career-wise as well.

Give Dischinger Orthodontics a call to schedule your complimentary consultation.

Dischinger Orthodontics' American Idol Season 10 Contest!

If you have additional questions about the contest, give our office a call.

Dischinger Orthodontics Case of the Month

Are you an adult that wants to have their teeth straightened but just can’t do the 1 to 2 years of orthodontic treatment that is required? You’ve also learned that the Invisalign treatment is just not the right answer because the crowding of your teeth is just a little more than you’re comfortable with and the canines need some significant movement; something that is very difficult to achieve with clear aligners.

Dischinger Orthodontics has a nice solution for this type of case. We place brackets on the teeth from first premolar to first premolar and we bond a wire on the buccal surface from the first premolar to the first molar in each quadrant to prevent any unwanted movements of the posterior teeth, thus holding their current Class I occlusion. Then we’re able to use the braces to quickly and efficiently move the anterior teeth from canine to canine. The patient then visits our office once a month and is able to finish their treatment in 4 months.

This is exactly what we did for Dischinger Orthodontics patient Scott, and it proved to be the perfect solution. He did not want to go through full orthodontics, yet we felt we couldn’t deliver a quality result using Invisalign in his case. As you can see by his treatment photos, the result was beautiful with a great occlusal result as well. Again, this was attained in just 4 months of treatment! The cost is, of course, less for this treatment as well, allowing adults to do something they have always wanted to do while also being affordable. This treatment is also ideal for patients that previously had orthodontics but have relapsed some.

Here’s what Scott said about his treatment:

“My orthodontic treatment was wonderful. It was done in such a short time at a cost I could afford. I really think this is a treatment that a lot of people out there would be interested in if they knew about it.”

To learn more about orthodontic treatment with Drs. Bill and Terry Dischinger, give our office a call.

What Will YOUR Smile Look Like After Orthodontic Treatment?

It is sometimes hard to believe the transformation your smile undergoes during orthodontic treatment. Dischinger Orthodontics loves to see our patients’ smiles light up when they see their new smile in the mirror for the first time. For those of you who haven’t yet started or finished your orthodontic treatment with Dr. Terry Dischinger and Dr. Bill Dischinger, have you ever wondered what your new smile might look like after treatment?

The American Association of Orthodontists, or AAO for short, has recently launched a new tool called “Virtual Smiles”, which shows what your smile might look like after orthodontic treatment.

Check out the Virtual Smiles tool, and call Dischinger Orthodontics to get started on improving your smile today!

Visualize your new smile with the Brace Painter!

Braces at Dischinger Orthodontics are more fun than ever! With the Brace Painter, parents and children are able to “paint their braces,” and visualize how teeth will look with different colors of bands.

Would you like to try out green and gold bands this March, without the commitment of an all-out St. Patrick's Day look? The Brace Painter allows for you to select different colors, and then assign those colors of bands to certain teeth. Now, you can visualize your braces before you even come in for your appointment!

As always, please let Drs. Bill Dischinger and Terry Dischinger know if you have any questions about the Brace Painter, or your orthodontic treatment at Dischinger Orthodontics. Have a great week!

Anyone, at any age, can benefit from Orthodontic Treatment

Braces aren’t just for pre-adolescents and teenagers anymore! Drs. Bill Dischinger, and Terry Dischinger will tell you that anyone, at any age, can benefit from orthodontic treatment, whether it’s correcting a problem not treated in your younger years, or catching a problem early.

To ensure the best overall treatment, the American Association of Orthodontists, or AAO, recommends that children receive an orthodontic consultation as early as age seven. If a problem is evident, taking action early can spare a lot of treatment and expense down the road.

If you never received orthodontic treatment when you were young, don’t worry! You’re never too old for a beautiful smile. Set up an appointment for a consultation at Dischinger Orthodontics and find out how orthodontics will transform your smile, as well as your life!

Which toothbrush should my child use?

Dr. Terry Dischinger and Dr. Bill Dischinger will tell you that brushing your teeth is one of the easiest methods of cavity prevention. But which type of toothbrush should your child use? When choosing a toothbrush, look for round-ended (polished) bristles that clean while being gentle on the gums. Choose one that is specifically designed for children's smaller mouths and hands. Also, look for large handles that can help children control the toothbrush. Lastly, throw out a toothbrush after three months or sooner if the bristles are fraying. Frayed bristles can harm your gums, and are not as effective in cleaning teeth.

As far as which toothpaste is best? It doesn't matter as long as it has fluoride in it. However, for small children who tend to swallow toothpaste, do not use fluoridated toothpaste. Make sure to touch each tooth and every side of that tooth. Also, you do need to gently brush on your gums.

To learn more about choosing the right toothbrush and toothpaste for your child, we encourage you to read this helpful article from Parenthood.com. Or, you may give us a call and we'll try to answer any question you may have about keeping your child's mouth as healthy as possible!

March Madness Contest at Dischinger Orthodontics!

Drs. Bill Dischinger, Terry Dischinger and the rest of the Dischinger Orthodontics team is MAD for March MADness! Join us by competing in our contest. Come into our office and submit your answers to these four questions:

1. Which team was “not” in the 2010 Final Four?
a. Duke Blue Devils
b. Butler Bulldogs
c. North Carolina Tar Heels

2. How many teams start the first round of the tournament?
a. 28
b. 64
c. 82

3. What was the 1st location of the Final Four in 1962?
a. Seattle
b. Houston
c. Miami

4. Which team has won the most championships?
a. UCLA
b. Kentucky
c. Indiana

After everyone has submitted their answers, a randomly selected name that has AT LEAST 2 out of 4 questions answered correctly, will win a $30 Gift Card to Dick’s Sporting Goods. Wait, there’s more! If the name chosen also correctly answers this bonus question, “Which team will win the 2011 Final Four?,” then we will DOUBLE the amount of the Gift Card to $60. Good luck everyone!!

Give our office a call if you have any questions.

-The Dischinger Orthodontics Team

Ask Dischinger Orthodontics: Who benefits from Incognito™?

Drs. Terry and Bill Dischinger serving the greater Lake Oswego area, are pleased to offer our patients Incognito. Our team is always receiving questions about Incognito, which is why we wanted to discuss today a few of the unique benefits of this new orthodontic treatment. To begin, Incognito is placed behind your teeth, rather than in a visible area. Because of this, no one will ever know that you are wearing braces! This unique type of braces is created using state-of-the-art technology and is entirely customized to the shape of your teeth. Hence, you can improve your smile efficiently and effectively in a discreet new way.

Who especially benefits from Incognito?

• Athletes
• Models
• Actors
• Musicians, especially those who play wind instruments
• Adult professionals

For more information on Incognito and treatment options at Dischinger Orthodontics, please give us a call today to schedule your consultation!

National Children’s Dental Health Month is here!

Each February for the past 61years, the American Dental Association (ADA) has sponsored National Children's Dental Health Month to raise awareness about the importance of oral health. Developing good habits at an early age and scheduling regular dental visits helps children get a good start on a lifetime of healthy teeth and gums.

For kids wearing braces, brushing and flossing can become more difficult, requiring extra time and vigilance to remove food particles that accumulate on and between the teeth and in braces. New options for braces such as Invisalign Teen, which is removable, make it easier for kids to maintain good oral health during orthodontic treatment.

If the health of your teeth is ignored during treatment with braces, the results can be significantly compromised. Drs. Terry and Bill Dischinger are available and happy to explain why effective brushing and flossing is one of the most critical actions needed from patients during orthodontic treatment. Have you visited us lately? Give us a call and schedule an appointment!

Parsley and Other Ways to Brighten Your Smile

At Dischinger Orthodontics, we see lots of patients concerned about their bad breath. So we want to educate you about what you can do to really keep your chompers clean and breath minty fresh!

Naturally, good oral hygiene is the first step. With proper brushing and regular dental checkups you can keep bad breath (halitosis) in check.

In the meantime, here are some home remedies to keep you smiling bright from Drs. Bill and Terry Dischinger.

Spice Up Your Life
Snack on some cloves, fennel, or anise after each particularly odorous snack.

Don’t forget the tongue
Lots of people brush their teeth regularly, but leave the tongue alone. One of the main causes of bad breath is food and plaque residue on the surface of your tongue. So give it a nice gentle brush-over too!

Watch your drinking habits
The worst options are coffee, wine, whiskey, and beer.

Frequent brushing
Carry a toothbrush with you so brushing after each meal is convenient and refreshing! Trust us, you’ll love the way it makes you feel. If you can’t brush, still swish around a couple sips of water to remove any lingering food.

Make your own Gargle
Gargling with a home mixture of sage, calendula, and myrrh gum extracts four times a day should ward off that bad breath potential.

Parsley’s there for a reason
Finish your parsley after you finish your dinner and you’ll find a refreshing breath enhancer. Hate the texture? Throw a couple sprigs in a blender to sip after each meal.

Don’t cut that cheese
The stronger the cheese, the stinkier your breath can become. Think about blue cheese and Roquefort? They really get the party started in your mouth and it’s hard to make them leave!

We hope you found this information useful!

-Your friends at Dischinger Orthdontics

Tell Dischinger Orthodontics what is on YOUR mind!

Week after week, Drs. Terry Dischinger, Bill Dischinger and team blog about important topics pertinent to orthodontic treatment care and your well-being, including innovative orthodontic techniques we offer. This week, we thought we’d step back and ask you, our wonderful patients and readers: what’s on your mind? What would you like to know about the always-changing field of orthodontics? What would you like us to focus on our blog in the coming months? Perhaps there’s something you’ve wanted to ask us for a while now? Let us know by posting here or on our interactive Facebook Page!

So… take it away and we’ll try to answer any questions you may have!

Our very own Dr. Terry Dischinger recently joined the Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) of Orthodontic Products. Orthodontic Products is a trade magazine for orthodontists that includes articles written by experts about the newest orthodontic treatment techniques.

Click on this link, Dischinger Joins Orthodontic Products' Editorial Advisory Board, to view the entire article.

Connect with the Braces Brigade!

At Dischinger Orthodontics, our patients want to get as much out of their treatment as possible. That includes asking a lot of questions and making sure they take care of both their appliances and oral health.

Would you like to learn more about what to expect during orthodontic treatment, from someone with firsthand experience? Well, our friends at the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) recently developed the Braces Brigade blog, where past, present, as well as future orthodontic patients from coast to coast document their (or their child’s) orthodontic journeys. The blog will serve as a source of guidance for others as the patients undergo orthodontic care.

Our team at Dischinger Orthodontics encourages you to visit the Braces Brigade blog to read these great and informative blogs—who knows, maybe you’ll learn a thing or two! As always, don’t hesitate to give us a call if you have any questions about the Braces Brigade or your own orthodontic treatment with Dr. Terry Dischinger or Dr. Bill Dischinger!