"Hey, Dr. Guyer! Which toothbrush should my kid use?"

At Main Street Orthodontics, we'll always tell you that brushing your teeth - even during orthodontic treatment - is one of the easiest methods of cavity prevention. But the question remains: 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 hands and mouths. Also, look for large handles that can help children control the toothbrush. Lastly, throw out a toothbrush after three months or as soon as bristles begin fraying.

As far as which toothpaste is best? It doesn't really 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, make sure 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 at either our Niles or St. Joseph location, and we'll try to answer any question you may have about keeping your child's mouth as healthy as possible!

Really Getting the Nitty Gritty with the Sonicare Toothbrush at Main Street Orthodontics

We at Main Street Orthodontics recently met with a Sonicare representative who taught us many interesting facts about the Sonicare toothbrush.

For people who use a manual toothbrush, they on average only brush about 30 seconds! The recommended time for brushing is 2 minutes. The newest Sonicare toothbrush pauses every 30 seconds so you know when it is time to start brushing another section of your mouth. It also has three features, clean, sensitive, and massage. When using the Sonicare toothbrush you don't have to work as hard as you do with a manual toothbrush, the vibrations in the Sonicare toothbrush are powerful enough they do the work for you, all you do is glide the brush along the surface of your teeth and the Sonicare toothbrush removes all the plaque and build up for you!

Dr. Guyer personally uses the Sonicare toothbrush at home and would never switch to anything else. The best part of all is that Sonicare has two guarantees, they guarantee stain removal and a better dental check up or your money back! We realize that keeping your teeth and gums healthy during treatment is more difficult, our patients who are using the Sonicare toothbrush are finding great results.

Sonicare sells two kinds of toothbrush systems-- one without a sanitizer and one with a sanitizing system. The sanitizer kills 99% of bacteria and viruses. They both come with extra heads so the whole family can enjoy using the Sonicare toothbrush!! The one with the sanitizer is a little more expensive but some people feel it is an important item to have.

We sell both systems at Main Street Orthodontics for cheaper than all the stores, even Walmart!