Many of today’s adults didn’t have a choice when the dentist recommended braces. They got the standard metal brackets that were all too visible when they smiled. The only thing they got to choose was the color of their bands.

Today’s children (and adults) who need dental treatment braces have many more options, including the traditional metal braces, clear braces, and Invisalign®.

Invisalign is nearly invisible when worn and can also easily be removed for eating and when brushing teeth. However, this type of treatment can also prove costly, and it isn’t right for every situation.

Your regular dentist can help you with a variety of tooth solutions -- from standard cleaning to cavity correction to root canal procedures. Chances are, however, your dentist can’t do everything. If you want to actually change your smile, sometimes you need to see a specialist.

In many fix-your-smile cases, that specialist is a cosmetic dentist. A cosmetic dentist focuses on performing services that improve the look of your smile. This may include professional whitening services, fitting you for invisible braces, putting in bridges, and placing veneers.

If you’re not sure whether you need a regular dentist or a cosmetic dentist, begin by calling your dental office and asking. If your dentist cannot perform the procedure you request, he or she can probably provide you with a referral to a cosmetic dentist in your area. Space Maintainers Laboratories (SML) can help with that too: 800-423-3270.

When you take into account the variety of sleep appliances on the market today and pair it with the fact that each and every patient has their own “dental landscape,” it becomes crystal clear that finding the ideal sleep appliance to treat your patient is not (and has never been) a matter of “one size fits all.”

So how do you know which sleep appliance is the right one for any given patient? 

To be successful in deciding upon the right sleep appliance, you need to know:  

Materials, qualities, design and functional specifics of the different appliances. Hard acrylic? Cad-Cam Appliance? Does it allow lateral movement? Is it easily adjustable for patient and/or doctor? How is it retained – ball clasps and clasps? Is it lined with thermoplastic material? Can you adjust it and realign it easily? Then…

What are the controlling parameters in relation to the patient? You will need to perform a full and complete dental sleep examination and a TMJ exam.  

SML can print your digital impressions into a physical working model. The printed model can then be used for appliance fabrication.
appliance fabrication process
TO SEND DIGITAL IMPRESSIONS OR FILES:

OPTION #1 - iTero LAB NUMBER #14305
To add SML to your iTero system, contact iTero Customer Service
at 1-800-577-8767    itero badge
 
OPTION #2 - STL FILES
Upload STL files to our SML Digital Portal - www.SMLglobal.sharefile.com
Call 800-423-3270 or go to SMLglobal.com/digitalportal to request access to our SML Digital Portal.

PRINTED MODEL OPTIONS
• Printed Working Model (for Appliance Fabrication)    $14.95 per arch
• Horseshoe Printed Model    $21.95 per arch
• Low-Profile Printed Model    $31.95 per arch
• Full Base Printed Model    $91.95 per arch  

DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES
Whether you're beginning to integrate appliance therapy into your practice or you're an experienced veteran at orthodontics, SML can create the diagnostic information you need to successfully complete your treatment.  

Evaluating and Managing Temporomandibular Injury Cases Fundamental, Clinical, Medicolegal Issues and Beyond
A must-attend 16-hour seminar

Course Description— This "How To" two-day seminar is designed for practitioners who are eager to stand out from the crowd and develop or enrich their expertise in handling temporomandibular injury cases.

Practitioners are requested to give an opinion on injury causation, explain the mechanism of injury, calculate the permanent impairment rating and estimate the cost of future care of an injured individual for the purpose of compensation. Hence, the practitioner must gain the knowledgeto properly and effectively address these requests.

Your younger patients will be going back to school this month. For those in high school and middle school that might mean returning to training for their sport of choice, including football, soccer, wrestling, and hockey. Parents of these students are likely willing to pay a lot of money for the best equipment and pads to keep their children safe, so don’t forget to remind them about investing in a quality mouth guard.

Generic mouth guards are available over the counter, but only a dentist can ensure a mouth guard that is specially fitted to an individual. Explain to the parents that a mouth guard sold by a dentist provides a better fit, which ensures better protection for the teeth. It may help to prevent concussions, as well – always a huge concern with contact sports.

Consider yourself a mouth guard expert. Don’t be afraid to speak up and encourage parents to invest in the best.  

In the world of dental appliances, you’ll find a variety of different types of springs and coils, including the Mattress Spring, Z Spring, T Spring, and the Helical Coil. It’s easy to overlook these small components, but the fact is they are often the main drivers that create the change which you and your patient expect from an appliance.

Helical coils in particular can help dentists and orthodontists accomplish a variety of key goals, including:

• Maintaining or regaining space lost after a tooth extraction
• Forcing an eruption
• Aligning teeth

SML (Space Maintainers Laboratories can create a variety of dental appliances that utilize helical coils. Two of our most popular appliances fit this profile.  The Modified Spring Retainer, relies on a helical coil to align incisors.  

With a population of 2.4 million people, the greater Vancouver area is the third most populous metropolitan area in Canada. This diverse, energetic, and wonderful city is known for its “livability” and quality of life.

No wonder so many people call it home. And on the subject of dental care, those people need it regularly – along with braces, splints, retainers, snoring appliances, and more.

If you are opening a new dental practice or cosmetic dental practice in or around Vancouver, it is vital that you partner with an experienced, accessible dental lab. At SML Global, we provide a full network of dental labs all around the world, including the one in Vancouver, British Columbia on West 8^th Avenue.

Babies are born with a natural inclination to suck on thumbs, fingers, pacifiers, toys, and pretty much whatever else they find. Regarding thumb sucking, most children slowly grow out of this habit -- usually between the ages of three and six. Some don’t, however, and as they grow older, their thumb sucking can become a problem.

By the time a child is six, thumb sucking habits could begin to cause new, permanent teeth to grow in crookedly. This condition is called malocclusion…and it may need to be corrected by an orthodontist. Long-term thumb sucking can also lead to speech impediments, such as lisping or problems in pronouncing “T” or “D” sounds.

There are plenty of thumb sucking remedies on the market, but one of the best options may be an appointment with your dentist. Several dental appliances have been created to stop thumb sucking habits, including the Blue Grass Appliance U.