Summer Fun and Spectacular Smiles At Stevens Orthodontics

We at Stevens Orthodontics know how to have fun, even during the stormy season we have been having in Tallahassee recently. Summer is a time for relaxation and celebration, and the Fourth Of July is the start of it all!



For the independence day celebrations earlier this month, we held a contest for our patients. Stevens Orthodontics works with many younger patients, and we know how much emphasis is placed on american history in the schools. Learning about your country is important to becoming a good citizen, and learning this at an early age is crucialt. Therefore, with all the patriotic celebrations of July 4th, Stevens Orthodontics decided to base the contest on questions about American history.

The winner received a gift basket full of all sorts of patriotic goodies. Congratulations! We had a fun time with this contest, and we hope you did too!

--Stevens Orthodontics

Cardiodontics: The Heart Mouth Connection

If you have been told you have periodontal disease (also known as gum disease or periodontitis), you're not alone. An estimated 80 percent of American adults currently have some form of the disease! Periodontal diseases range from simple gum inflammation to serious disease that results in major damage to the soft tissue and bone that support the teeth. In the worst cases, teeth are lost.

Gum disease is a threat to your oral health. Research is also pointing to health effects of periodontal diseases that go well beyond your mouth. So we at Stevens Orthodontics want to let you know some interesting facts and ways to treat the disease.

What is Periodontal Disease?

"Perio" means around, and "dontal" refers to teeth. Periodontal disease is an infection of the structures around the teeth, including the gums and the bones that hold the teeth. The earliest stage of periodontal disease is gingivitis – an infection of the gums. In more severe forms of the disease, all of the tissues are involved, including the bone. Bacteria that live and reproduce on the teeth and gums cause periodontal disease.

Symptoms of Periodontal Disease

Symptoms may include the following:
--redness or bleeding of gums while brushing teeth or using dental floss
--halitosis, or bad breath
--gum recession, resulting in apparent lengthening of teeth
--"pockets" between the teeth and gums indicating that the bone which holds the teeth in the mouth is dissolving
--loose teeth
Gum inflammation and bone destruction are largely painless. Hence, people may wrongly assume that painless bleeding after teeth cleaning is insignificant, although this may be a symptom of progressing periodontitis. If your hands bled when you washed them, you would be concerned. Yet, many people think it's normal if their gums bleed when they brush or floss.

Periodontal Disease Affects Your Health

Periodontal disease is a putrid, festering infection of the mouth. Bacteria and inflammatory particles can enter the bloodstream through ulcerated and bleeding gums and travel to the heart and other organs. In recent years, gum disease has been linked to a number of health problems. Researchers are studying possible connections between gum disease and:
--Heart disease: Gum disease may increase the risk of heart disease. Gum disease also is believed to worsen existing heart disease.
--Stroke: Gum disease may increase the risk of the type of stroke caused by blocked arteries
--Diabetes: People with diabetes and periodontal disease may be more likely to have trouble controlling their blood sugar than diabetics with healthy gums.
--Premature births: A woman who has gum diseases during pregnancy may be more likely deliver her baby too early and the infant may be more likely to be of low birth weight.

Combating Periodontal Disease

--See your dentist! See your dentist every six months for a checkup! Regular professional cleanings and checkups make you feel good, look good, and could be a lifesaver!
--Brush and floss daily. Take your time and do it right!
--Use an anti-bacterial mouthwash. Daily use of an anti-bacterial mouthwash helps to disinfect the teeth and gums, and reduces the number of bacteria.
--Straighten your teeth. Crowded teeth are nearly impossible to keep clean. Orthodontic treatment can greatly reduce inflammation and periodontal disease.

--Stevens Orthodontics

Awesome Review of Stevens Orthodontics!

Our patient has a great blog about social media and Tallahassee businesses. We are so pleased that he wrote an article about us! Check out his blog for all kinds of great articles, and check out the review of Stevens Orthodontics that he wrote below!

“Having spent much of my professional life centered in the customer service industry, my experience with a business or service tells me a lot about the future of that business. This morning I took my oldest to the orthodontist for a visit. She is on the last leg of treatment for her braces. The first time I visited the office, I was impressed with the small office set up. There was a TV in the way with a remote control for smaller kids to play video games and a larger TV mounted on the wall for parents while waiting. As added incentive to keep up with regular cleaning and care, the young patients are given tokens redeemable for prizes. I was dazzled by my new orthodontists.

Then they moved. Often when businesses move, the cost of upgrading and the move is beyond the scope of the budget. Not only did my orthodontists complete the upgrade to the building, but careful detail was taken into consideration in the service experience. Dr. Stevens must view his clinic’s service as a brand in and of itself. If my middle school daughter is willing to risk fashion ridicule by wearing her Stevens Orthodontist t-shirt to school, then Dr. Stevens has successfully created experience as a brand. Watch out Holister, Abercrombie, and Guy Harvey, DoctorSO is crashing the fashion party!

When I go to Stevens Orthodontics, I know that I have a fresh ground cappuccino waiting. If my youngest has to go with me to wait on her big sister, she will be completed entertained by a beautiful beach mural, or the plasma TV mounted at kid eye level, or the huge aquarium filled with colorful, exotic fish. If one of the little ones gets hungry, there is a mini fridge loaded with juices, fresh baked cookies on the counter. Dr. Stevens has successfully taken his orthodontics clinic to the next level.

You see, Dr. Stevens gets it. It is about the experience. It’s not just about the patient experiencing a positive and professional level of service, but it’s also about the experience of those who are waiting, enjoying the atmosphere and amenities.

How many times have you visited a place of business and experienced a less than satisfactory visit? There’s nothing more frustrating than going to buy your favorite item or product and having a blah blah blah experience. How many blasé experiences will it take before your favorite is no longer your favorite?

If you are a local business and you’ve spent a lot of time and energy building a great physical store, you can’t neglect the digital landscape either. Dr. Stevens understands that a comprehensive business will have a deep digital footprint, as well as a solid concrete foundation. Well done Doctor!”

Congratulations Melissa From Stevens Orthodontics

At Stevens Orthodontics, we want to say Congratulations to our wonderful staff member Melissa. After working at Stevens Orthodontics--and seeing how happy our patients are to get a new smile--Melissa decided to give it a try herself. She only had her braces on for 13 months, and she was able to get the smile she always dreamed of. So Congratulations on your beautiful smile Melissa from Dr. Stevens and the rest of us over here at Stevens Orthodontics!

How To Stay Young And Healthy from Stevens Orthodontics

Whether you’re 5 or 50, your health depends on your awareness of what’s good for you. But in a world filled with fad diets, blaring advertisements, and unintelligible ingredient lists, we at Stevens Orthodontics know it can be difficult to determine exactly what is good for you – and what’s not.

For straightforward guidance on how to live a long, healthy life, we recommend Brush Your Teeth! And Other Simple Ways to Stay Young and Healthy by Dr. David Ostreicher. The book sums up good health in six fundamental principles: hygiene, diet, attitude, exercise, sleep and personal safety.

Drawing on nearly three decades of experience as an orthodontist and professor of health and nutrition, Dr. Ostreicher definitively answers age-old debates, like the best way to prevent colds and flu (your mom was right: wash your hands). He provides straight talk on a variety of diet choices including salt, fats, carbs and organic food, and he documents the importance of regular sleep, stress reduction and positive thinking to your overall health. His suggestions throughout are simple, clear, and inexpensive.

Dr. Ostreicher advocates a back-to-basics, common-sense approach to staying young and healthy. We at Stevens Orthodontics couldn’t agree more, and we’d like to repeat the title of his book as our favorite piece of advice: don’t forget to Brush Your Teeth!

Stevens Orthodontics Are Continuing Their Education

At Stevens Orthodontics, we care about continuing education. In the dental and orthodontic fields, you have to stay on top of the latest technology and research to deliver superior care. But at Stevens Orthodontics, we go above and beyond just educating ourselves. We wanted to reach out to dental professionals throughout the Tallahassee area. So we hosted an OSHA compliance meeting for dental practitioners in the area. We had great results. Over 140 dentists showed up!

Check out these great pictures of our Dr. Stevens and his staff and the event.

Stevens Orthodontics Is Greening Their Practice

Dr. Lucas Stevens and Stevens Orthodontics know how important it is to protect the environment. That is why we make concerted efforts in our practice to make our office environmentally friendly.

We are paperless! Online record-keeping software allows us to cut down on so much paper waste.

We offer digital x-rays! Not only do digital x-rays reduce toxins and exposure to radiation for our patients, but we do not need to use toxic chemicals to develop the film.

We recycle! Reducing, reusing, and recycling helps out the Earth, but also keeps our costs down for our patients. So everybody benefits!

Next time you are in our office, tell us you care too, and we'll explain the great advances we make at Stevens Orthodontics.