Have you ever wondered how your orthodontist is able to create special devices that fit your mouth comfortably and precisely? Have you imagined a little workshop behind a curtain in your orthodontist’s office where elves work to hammer out customized retainers, space maintainers, arch developers, and other types of devices?

The truth is that your orthodontist is able to offer so many different types of orthodontic devices because he or she probably works with a third party oral appliance laboratory like those in the SML Global network.

SML labs receive your x-rays and models from your orthodontist.   

You may wonder what causes adults to require bridges or even full dentures. The truth is that many adults will eventually experience gum disease or tooth decay, resulting in the loss of teeth.  Another less common reason? Trauma from a fall.

Many adults today remain active throughout their lives. They play football and soccer, ski and snowboard down slopes, surf the waves, and scramble over obstacles on foot or the back of a motorcycle. MMA fighting anyone?

It only takes one bad fall to crack teeth or even knock them out entirely. A cracked or chipped tooth can usually be fixed with a veneer. If you lose several teeth as the result of a fall, you will likely need a bridge. Consult your family dentist or a cosmetic dentistry specialist to discuss your tooth replacement options. 

Temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD or TMJ) are very common, and many Americans experience some TMD pain at some point in their lives. It can be as innocuous as a mildly distracting throb in the jaw. It can also be as debilitating as a severe migraine or the inability to comfortably chew food.

How can one small joint cause all this trouble? While relatively small, the temporomandibular joint connects your jaw to the rest of your skull. It works like a hinge, allowing you to open and close your mouth…and when it doesn’t work properly, it can be devastating.

Dentists aren’t exactly sure why Temporomandibular Joint pain is so common, but they put the blame on everything from crooked teeth to tight neck muscles to the habit of teeth grinding.

If you are an adult over the age of 30, then you’ll remember that when you were growing up, there were only two options if your teeth were crooked. Either your orthodontist strapped you into big, gawky metal braces or your teeth stayed crooked forever.

Now, when you bring your children to the orthodontist, you may be surprised to discover that you have multiple types of braces to choose from. For starters, the metal braces are still around, but they are smaller now, and kids can pick the colors of their bands. Metal braces are the simplest and cheapest way to go.

If you don’t mind paying a little more, your child can choose ceramic braces with clear or tooth-colored brackets. These braces blend in much better with the teeth, though they can become stained if your children don’t take good care of them.

A final option is Invisalign, a series of 18 to 30 custom-made plastic aligners that nudge the teeth into place.  

If you are one of millions of Americans who suffer from sleep apnea, then treatment is crucial for your health. Without some kind of intervention, you could stop breathing hundreds of times a night, causing you to wake up exhausted in the morning.

The most common treatment for mild to severe sleep apnea is the use of a Continuous Positive Airflow Pressure (CPAP) machine, which provides slightly pressurized air through a mask that keeps the your airway open. Though CPAP is a very successful intervention, you may find the mask and its straps uncomfortable to wear. If you can’t find the right adjustment or have trouble falling asleep, you may want to try another solution for sleep apnea.

The NFL football season is in full swing, or shall we say, full smash. Part of the appeal of football is the sport’s unapologetic aggression, as players tackle, bump, block, and sack each other.

But things are changing. Over the past few years, football at every level -- from professional to Pop Warner -- has been forced to address growing concerns surrounding the frequency of concussions and the consequent long-term mental health risk.

Viewers at home have surely noticed how quickly players are taken off the field if a concussion is even suspected. Parents of players will notice more specialized (and expensive) helmets on the market geared toward preventing concussions. Even the lowly mouth bite guard has been studied to see if it might provide some answers in concussion prevention.

So far, evidence that mouth bite guards help prevent concussions or lessen their severity is scarce, but several small studies have offered promising results.   

Learn to Select the Ideal Sleep Appliance for your OSA Patients

WEBINAR: Thursday, November 19th — 6pm CDT 

Featuring Scott Veis & Rob Suter

You’re invited to Join OSA University for a Webinar on Learning to Select the Ideal Sleep Appliance for your OSA Patients.

Pre-Crimped, Pre-Contoured and Affordably Priced, SML STAINLESS-STEEL PEDO CROWNS are constructed of the highest quality medical-grade stainless steel.

A dentist is trained to tell early on if a young patient is developing dentoalveolar, skeletal, or neuromuscular imbalances. In spite of the fact that young children are not the most compliant of patients, this type of issue needs to be treated as early as possible.

The Frankel III device has shown an effective ability to influence arch development by changing the pressure created by surrounding soft tissue. The device is made up of a system of oral screens, which lie in the vestibule of the mouth. The vestibular shields and upper labial pads work to counteract the forces of the surrounding musculature that often restrict forward maxillary skeletal development and cause a retrusion of the maxillary anteriors.

Dentists have often observed that compliance with the Frankell III is relatively high, even in young children. Because device effectiveness depends upon a growing mouth, it is best used before the permanent bicuspids and cuspids come down.

At SML (Space Maintainers Laboratories), our network of dental labs can manufacture Frankel III devices for your young patients. Contact us today to learn more.  

Thumb sucking is cute…for a while. After a certain age, however, a thumb or finger habit can actually begin to dangerously disrupt tooth growth -- especially when baby teeth fall out and permanent adult teeth begin to grow in. Many adults today have less-than-pleasant memories of methods used to prevent thumb sucking – scoldings, slathered-on coats of bitter-tasting liquid… even corporal punishment.

Today, parents don’t need to punish or torture children to get rid of thumb sucking or a finger habit. Take your child to the dentist!

Your local dentist can fit your child with a special appliance, like the Blue Grass Appliance U. This innovative and simple appliance features a spinning roller that sits behind the bottom teeth. The roller makes it impossible for a child to suck her thumb, but she’ll soon discover that she can spin the roller with her tongue.