No credible evidence supports the idea that chewing gum, jaw exercises, or the viral technique known as “mewing” can straighten crooked or crowded teeth. Teeth move in response to sustained, controlled pressure applied over months by an orthodontic appliance — not from muscle exercises or gum chewing, which don’t come
Most orthodontic issues can wait for a call to our office during business hours or an after-hours message, rather than a trip to the emergency room — true orthodontic emergencies that need immediate ER attention are rare, and generally involve injury to the face or jaw itself rather than a
Orthodontic treatment can genuinely improve certain speech issues — particularly ones related to how the teeth, tongue, and jaw work together — but it isn’t a guaranteed fix for every lisp, and it works best as one part of a broader plan that may also include speech therapy. Whether braces
Interproximal reduction, or IPR, is the careful, precise removal of a small amount of enamel from between two teeth — often less than half a millimeter — to create a bit of extra room during Invisalign treatment. Done correctly by a trained orthodontist, it’s a safe, well-established technique that doesn’t
A lip bumper is a removable orthodontic appliance that sits inside the lower lip and cheeks, holding them away from the lower back teeth so those teeth can drift slightly backward and outward — creating extra room for a crowded lower arch without extractions. It’s a fairly simple, comfortable device
Genetics is one of the biggest factors behind crowding, gaps, and bite problems — jaw size, tooth size, and the way the upper and lower jaws grow relative to each other are all substantially inherited traits, similar to height or eye color. That said, genetics sets the starting conditions; childhood
A twin block appliance is a two-piece removable device — one piece for the upper jaw, one for the lower — that fits together at an angle to gently guide a growing child’s lower jaw forward, correcting an overbite caused by a lower jaw that’s smaller or positioned further back
A deep bite — sometimes called an excessive overbite — is when the upper front teeth overlap too far down over the lower front teeth, in some cases covering them almost entirely when biting together. It’s corrected with braces, clear aligners, or in some cases a bite plate or growth-guiding
Invisalign attachments are small, tooth-colored bumps bonded directly onto specific teeth to give the aligner tray extra grip for more precise movements, while chewies are small foam cylinders you bite down on to help seat each new tray fully against your teeth. Neither one is optional decoration — both play
