What are your 4th of July plans?

This coming Monday, July 4th, is Independence Day and the United States of America will be turning 235 years old! It’s a day to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence and also a time for every American to pay homage to our soldiers, past and present, who have placed themselves in harm’s way so that we may continue to enjoy our freedom.

Drs. André Haerian, Jennifer Ludwig, Eugene Simon and team will be celebrating this Monday and we would like to know, what are your plans for the 4th of July? Will you be out in the sun? Have you stocked up on fireworks? Are you going to grill up your favorite summer foods? Are you staying in town or heading somewhere else? If you have a 4th of July tradition, we would love to hear about it.

Whatever you plan to do, the office of Drs. Simon, Haerian, & Ludwig hope you have a fun and safe holiday! Feel free to upload your 4th of July photos to our Facebook page and let us know how your Independence Day turned out this year.

YOU GO, GIRLS!

We are happy to announce that we have two patients of Drs. Simon, Haerian, and Ludwig participating at the state level in the National American Miss Pageant happening the weekend of July 15th.

Both of these fine young women possess poise, sparkling personalities, and definitely light up a room with their winning smiles! We wish them both the best of luck and a great experience in Columbus.

-Drs. André Haerian, Jennifer Ludwig, Eugene Simon, and team

June is National Smile Month!

According to the American Dental Association, a person's smile outranked eyes, hair and body as the most important physical feature, which is why it's important for our team at Drs. Simon, Haerian, & Ludwig to support National Smile Month this June.

Show off your pearly whites by posting your favorite smile photos on the wall of our Facebook page. We look forward to seeing what you share!

Orthodontic Emergency Care with Drs. Simon, Haerian, & Ludwig

True orthodontic emergencies are very rare, but when they do occur we are available to you. As a general rule, you should call the office when you experience severe pain or when you have a painful appliance problem that you can't take care of yourself. We’ll be able to schedule an appointment with Dr. Eugene Simon, Dr. Jennifer Ludwig, or Dr. André Haerian.

You might be surprised to learn that you may be able to temporarily solve many problems yourself until you schedule an appointment with Drs. Simon, Haerian, and Ludwig.

The following solutions may help you relieve your discomfort:

Poking Wire: Using a pencil eraser, push the poking wire down or place wax on it to alleviate the discomfort.

Loose Bracket or Band: If your bracket or band is still attached to the wire, you should leave it in place and put wax on it. If the wire comes out entirely, wrap the bracket with a tissue.

Loose Wire: Using a tweezers, try to place your wire back into place. If doing this and using wax does not help, as a last resort use a small fingernail clipper to clip the wire behind the last tooth to which it is securely fastened. If your discomfort continues, place wax on it.

Loose Appliance: If your appliance is poking you, place wax on the offending part of your appliance.

Headgear Does Not Fit: Sometimes headgear discomfort is caused by not wearing the headgear as instructed by your orthodontist. Please refer to the instructions provided by your orthodontist. If the facebow is bent, please call our office for assistance. Surprisingly, headgear becomes more comfortable the more it's worn, so be sure you’re getting in the prescribed hours.

General Soreness: When you get your braces on, you may feel general soreness in your mouth and teeth may be tender to biting pressures for three to five days. This can be relieved by rinsing your mouth with a warm salt water mouthwash. Dissolve one teaspoonful of salt in 8 ounces of warm water, and rinse your mouth vigorously. If the tenderness is severe, take aspirin or whatever you normally take for headache or similar pain.

Remember, after alleviating your discomfort, it is still very important that you call our office as soon as possible to schedule a time to repair the problem.

A SCIENCE PROJECT TO SINK YOUR TEETH INTO!

Michael, a patient at the orthodontic office of Drs. Simon, Haerian, & Ludwig, recently finished his orthodontic treatment. Michael’s orthodontic treatment included removing his upper and lower bicuspids and also any remaining baby teeth. After the extractions, Michael asked if he could keep the teeth. No, he didn’t want to put them under his pillow for the Tooth Fairy; he wanted to do a science experiment. During his post-orthodontic consult visit, he told us all about it.

For the project, Michael soaked each tooth in a specific liquid to see how it would react with the tooth. He put Pepsi, Mountain Dew, coffee, orange juice and water in baby food jars and put each tooth in a different solution. After 17 days, he removed the teeth and photographed the results as a comparison to the photos he took of the teeth before the experiment.He found that Pepsi, Mountain Dew and orange juice affected the enamel while coffee only stained the enamel. Water caused no affect at all. All soda pops, whether sugar or diet, weaken the enamel of the tooth. Once enamel is weakened, bacteria can attack those areas to form cavities. Every sip of pop allows an acid attack to occur.

Michael graciously let us display the results of his experiment in our office so that other patients could see how soda pop can negatively affect the enamel of your teeth. We are pleased to have our patients utilize the knowledge gained from orthodontic treatment to help someone else, and we are very happy we put a great smile on Michael’s face in the process!

The office of Drs. Simon, Haerian, and Ludwig, wishing you a safe and relaxing Memorial Day Weekend!

Memorial Day weekend, a time to remember and honor the men and women lost while serving for our country. Memorial Day is also the unofficial start of summer, and for many folks, getting out of town for three days after being cooped up in the classroom or the office spells sweet, sweet relief.

What about you? What are you up to this Memorial Day weekend? Whether you are headed to a barbecue, a camping trip, or just hitting the great American open roads, we’d like to hear all about it!

Our entire team at the office of Drs. Simon, Haerian, and Ludwig wishes you a happy, safe and relaxing Memorial Day weekend!

Is Invisalign® really customized for each patient?

Yes, it is, and that’s part of what makes it work, says Drs. André Haerian, Jennifer Ludwig, Eugene Simon. To find out if you are the right candidate for Invisalign treatment, the first thing we do is to take an impression of your teeth as they are now and digitize it. Using special software, we look at the current positioning of your teeth and compare it to the way your teeth should look.

Next we use special software to map out the exact path your teeth will take from the beginning of your treatment to the end. Based on the results, a set of custom aligners are created just for your teeth. Throughout the course of treatment, you will be required to wear these clear, removable aligners one at a time; each one moving your teeth closer and closer to their final, perfectly aligned position. The best thing about it all? Nobody around you will even know you are wearing braces!

Drs. Simon, Haerian and Ludwig are some of the most experienced certified Invisalign® providers in Northwest Ohio/Southeast Michigan. If you have questions about Invisalign, or would like to find out if you are a candidate for Invisalign treatment, please give us a call.