My Blog
Posts for: February, 2017
Discover the advantages your whole family will enjoy when they visit us for care.
Our Rochester Hills, MI family dentists Dr. Debra Hibbeln and Dr. Mark Kowal know that visiting the dentist isn’t always a day at the spa, but it’s a crucial part of keeping you and your children’s smiles healthy for the long run. Besides maintaining the very best in dental hygiene it’s also important that you find dentists like us in which you can put your trust. Find out more about the wonderful advantages your family will reap when they turn to Hibbeln & Kowal Dental for care.
A One-Stop Dental Shop
We know you already spend the majority of your day running around, whether it’s dropping the kids off at school, heading to work, or going grocery shopping. We like to make getting dental care easier for the whole family. Here at Hibbeln & Kowal Dental we offer specialized and individual care for all ages, whether it’s your child’s first appointment or you just need to book your biannual cleaning.
We have the proper training to cater to the needs of children, teens, adults and seniors so you don’t have to spend more of your precious time running around to get the care you deserve.
Dental Care You Can Trust
Kids learn by example, so when they see that their parents or grandparents visit their Rochester Hills, MI, dentist regularly, this is a great way to instill good habits in your youngsters. Entering unfamiliar surroundings can be rather startling, especially for young children, but families that come in together to visit the dentist know our office and our staff and feel comfortable here. They soon know that they have a family dentist they can trust, which makes climbing into the dentist chair so much easier.
Prevention is Key to a Healthy Smile
We want to make it convenient for everyone in your family to get the care they need because no one should skip out on routine cleanings and exams. After all, these preventive measures are a great way to protect your family’s smiles from decay and gum disease. By coming in once every six months we can perform the cleanings, x-rays and exams necessary to keep your child’s growing smiles healthy and to keep your smile healthy, too!
Whether you have questions about the services we offer or you need to schedule your six-month cleaning, Hibbeln & Kowal Dental in Rochester Hills, MI, is here for your growing family. Give us a call today.
In her decades-long career, renowned actress Kathy Bates has won Golden Globes, Emmys, and many other honors. Bates began acting in her twenties, but didn't achieve national recognition until she won the best actress Oscar for Misery — when she was 42 years old! “I was told early on that because of my physique and my look, I'd probably blossom more in my middle age,” she recently told Dear Doctor magazine. “[That] has certainly been true.” So if there's one lesson we can take from her success, it might be that persistence pays off.
When it comes to her smile, Kathy also recognizes the value of persistence. Now 67, the veteran actress had orthodontic treatment in her 50's to straighten her teeth. Yet she is still conscientious about wearing her retainer. “I wear a retainer every night,” she said. “I got lazy about it once, and then it was very difficult to put the retainer back in. So I was aware that the teeth really do move.”
Indeed they do. In fact, the ability to move teeth is what makes orthodontic treatment work. By applying consistent and gentle forces, the teeth can be shifted into better positions in the smile. That's called the active stage of orthodontic treatment. Once that stage is over, another begins: the retention stage. The purpose of retention is to keep that straightened smile looking as good as it did when the braces came off. And that's where the retainer comes in.
There are several different kinds of retainers, but all have the same purpose: To hold the teeth in their new positions and keep them from shifting back to where they were. We sometimes say teeth have a “memory” — not literally, but in the sense that if left alone, teeth tend to migrate back to their former locations. And if you've worn orthodontic appliances, like braces or aligners, that means right back where you started before treatment.
By holding the teeth in place, retainers help stabilize them in their new positions. They allow new bone and ligaments to re-form and mature around them, and give the gums time to remodel themselves. This process can take months to years to be complete. But you may not need to wear a retainer all the time: Often, removable retainers are worn 24 hours a day at first; later they are worn only at night. We will let you know what's best in your individual situation.
So take a tip from Kathy Bates, star of the hit TV series American Horror Story, and wear your retainer as instructed. That's the best way to keep your straight new smile from changing back to the way it was — and to keep a bad dream from coming true.
If you would like more information about orthodontic retainers, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can learn more about this topic in the Dear Doctor magazine articles “Why Orthodontic Retainers?” and “The Importance of Orthodontic Retainers.” The interview with Kathy Bates appears in the latest issue of Dear Doctor.