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When new patients come to our office, most people are interested in the same thing—whiter, straighter teeth. There are a variety of different ways to achieve these goals, and one size definitely does not fit all. Some patients specifically want to know more about Invisalign, a clear aligner, tooth straightening service that our doctors can provide patients in-office. We love Invisalign, but in general, we love educating our patients about what straighter teeth can provide them, whether achieved by Invisalign or traditional braces. While straighter teeth might look better, we get excited about how they are going to function better as well. Teeth that fit together in a way they are not designed to are like using a tooth in a way you’re not supposed to—it’s going to break with misuse, which is what we see. Misaligned teeth often have chips, cracks, and wear facets from hitting each other. Over time, this wear can become quite significant and can lead to shorter, jagged, uneven teeth which are more likely to need crowns or more extensive restorative treatment to restore them back to their previous beauty. Straight teeth are also easier to keep clean—crooked teeth are harder to floss and spacing tends to gather extra food particles for later. Gums and teeth are happier and healthier when the teeth are lined up the way they are designed to be.

If you’re interested in if you would be a candidate for Invisalign, we offer a free consultation to evaluate your smile. At that visit, we are evaluating the alignment of your jaws as well as your teeth—basically, the way your jaws and teeth all fit together. Unfortunately, Invisalign is not the best option for every patient—complex cases are going to require more control of the movement of teeth than Invisalign can provide and would be best served with traditional braces completed by an orthodontist. Once we decide you would be a candidate for Invisalign, we would go over a treatment plan of the costs, financing options available, and would take impressions and pictures of your teeth. We would then use this information to create your ClinCheck, or the plan of movement of how we will improve your smile, aligner by aligner. After we take impressions, we would see you back in 4-6 weeks to deliver your first set of aligners. Aligners are typically switched every 1-2 weeks. Every 4-6 weeks after that, we would have an appointment to check in on your progress and evaluate the movement of your teeth. Once we are all satisfied with your smile, we would take impressions for retainers to keep that smile in place! We recommend retainers to be worn full time for the first 6 months and night time wear indefinitely—aka as long as you want those teeth to stay in place.

As with any decision, there are pros and cons. With Invisalign, I love that my patients can still eat what they want and still brush and floss like normal by taking out the aligners. Typically their gum health is MUCH better than my braces patients as braces brackets and wires are difficult to keep clean around and trap lots of food and plaque. The obvious is that they are less noticeable—the clear aligners are very low profile and much less noticeable than brackets and wires. Many of my adult patients have expressed that they would never straighten their teeth with braces because of the appearance… but could be talked into clear aligner orthodontics.

Unfortunately, with Invisalign, there are negatives too. Being compliant and disciplined with wearing aligners every day is extremely important to achieve desired outcomes. Since you can take them out, sometimes patients forget to put them back in. We recommend wearing the aligners at least 22 out of 24 hours of every day—the teeth need a constant force on them to move them to the desired location. When the aligners are out, they want to move back to where they were before. Taking the aligners in and out can be inconvenient if you are out at dinner or in public. Some describe it as a built in dieting program because you have to take them out every time before you snack and we recommend brushing before putting them back in so food isn’t trapped under the aligners. It’s important to store them in a case as well so they don’t get tossed out in a napkin or your dog doesn’t get ahold of it. As previously discussed, Invisalign cannot handle as complex cases as traditional braces so the outcome make not be perfect… but even slight improvements can improve your function as well as the esthetics of your smile and are better than doing nothing if you’re absolutely opposed to braces.

If you’re interested in learning if Invisalign is right for you, please set up your consultation today by calling the office at (219)929-9289 or clicking the ‘Schedule an Appointment’ tab above! For more information about Invisalign in general, check here: https://www.invisalign.com/.

Chesterton Family Dental is the general dentistry office of Dr. Mystie Pieters, Dr. Heather Hradek, and Dr. Robert Pieters located in Chesterton, Indiana.

By Dr. Heather Hradek

Yesterday was the first day of fall, which means Halloween is right around the corner! As a mom of two little ones and a dentist, I cringe at the sheer amount of sugar treats around this time of year! I end up throwing a lot of it away or hiding and eating it after I’ve put the kiddos to bed. This is good for no one… particularly our teeth and waistline. Companies are catching onto this and coming up with a lot of sugar-free alternatives for handout treats on Halloween. Not only is this a great idea for parents who are trying to figure out what to do with all the candy for weeks to come after Halloween, it’s inclusive for everyone, even those who have food allergies. You may have heard of the ‘Teal Pumpkin Project,’ which encourages households to offer treats that everyone can enjoy. Food allergies for littles can be a big bummer on such a big day in kid’s culture when they can’t participate in normal trick or treating, but the Teal Pumpkin project promotes awareness of these allergies and promotes inclusion for all. Simply place a Teal pumpkin on your doorstep to indicate you have non-food Halloween treats available. You can find these through Amazon, Target, Walmart, or simply painting a pumpkin if you are a DIY-sorta person.

All of these below options are available through Amazon with the attached links, but are obviously available in several local stores as well!

• Halloween stamps – I provided these for my daughter’s preschool class last year- I found a pack of 50 for $9.99!

• Play Doh Minis

•  Glow in the Dark Bouncy Balls

• Mini Flashlights– Bonus- it provides increased visibility of kids on the street as Halloween night gets darker

• Mini Glow Sticks – or any glow stick jewelry options!

• Stretchy Glitter Skeletons

• Halloween Stickers

• Halloween pencils with Fun Erasers

• Flashing Light up rings

• Glow in the Dark Slime– I don’t like slime in my house (gets stuck in carpet, hair, rugs, etc..)… hence my daughter loves it.

• Mini Halloween notepads – My 4yo daughter is constantly drawing pictures, practicing her letters and cutting, so we are always running out of notepads!

• Mini puzzle balls

• Halloween slap bracelets– Caution: likely to turn into weapons among siblings

• Halloween temporary tattoos

• Glow in the Dark Bugs- (also may be used to torture siblings)

• Mini fidget spinners– Endless hours of fun

• Glow in the Dark Vampire Fangs

• Wikki Stix – Bendable wax sticks allow kids to stick them together and create! Plus no mess or cleanup for Mom and Dad later! Great to throw in a bag for restaurants

• Hatch and Grow Eggs– – Place the eggs in water and after 24 hours, a spooky character will emerge!

• Bendable zombie action figures– I think even my husband would enjoy playing with these!

• Halloween slinkies

• Bubble wands- Everyone loves bubbles, from young to old!

• Jelly spike yoyo balls

• Halloween character finger puppets

Consider this, a giant bag of candy costs anywhere from $15-30 per bag and these alternative treats are even cheaper in some cases! I’m not saying you have to be a total scrooge and hand out toothbrushes and toothpaste, but hopefully a few of these ideas still keep the fun of Halloween without the tooth destruction or food allergies that follow! Someone with a food allergy will be thankful– it’s a simple act that means so much!

Chesterton Family Dental is the general dentistry office of Dr. Mystie Pieters, Dr. Heather Hradek, and Dr. Robert Pieters located in Chesterton, Indiana.

By: Dr. Heather Hradek

Vaping, ‘Juuling’, and E-cigarettes have exploded on the scene since their introduction and continued to gain popularity, particularly among teens and young adults because it was initially thought as a ‘cool, safe alternative’ to smoking cigarettes. People magazine showing pictures of various celebrities such as Sophia Turner and Bella Hadid using E-cigarettes has contributed as well to the growth. While e-cigarettes were initially developed as a way for adult smokers to quit smoking traditional cigarettes, they’ve actually caused a drastic increase in teen tobacco use instead. Teen use of tobacco products has increased an astonishing 38.3 percent—and it’s entirely to blame on e-cigarettes. While rates of other forms of tobacco use have remained static, use of e-cigarettes has increased by 1.5 million.

The facade of e-cigarettes being a ‘safe’ alternative has come crashing down recently as various state departments of health, including the Indiana State Department of Health have reported clusters of severe respiratory illness seen in teenagers and young adults who have reported vaping in weeks and months prior to the onset of their illness. These patients experienced symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, fatigue, fever, weight loss, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Evaluations for viral, bacterial, and fungal infections were all negative. The symptoms worsened over days or weeks prior to being admitted to the hospital. Some have required ventilators to breathe- actually 1/3 of the cases. Some have even died.

That’s right. As of the time of this post, there have been 6 deaths nationwide from severe respiratory illness associated with vaping. One of these deaths was in Indiana, so this hits close to home. The CDC is currently investigating 450 potential cases of this respiratory illness associated with vaping nationwide.

E-cigarettes are not harmless- the aerosol created contains harmful ingredients such as nicotine, volatile organic compounds, cancer causing chemicals, heavy metals such as tin, nickel, and lead, and diacetyl, a chemical linked to serious lung disease. Nicotine, as everyone knows, is highly addictive, but particularly in teens and young adults, can harm brain development, which continues until age 25. According to the manufacturer, a single Juul pod has as much nicotine as a pack of 20 cigarettes!

Unfortunately, e-cigarettes can have unintended consequences or injuries as well. There have been multiple reports of defective e-cigarettes causing fires and even explosions, which have lead to serious injuries! A recent article was published on CNN about a teen whose e-cigarette exploded in his face, shattering his jaw and displacing several teeth (link: https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/19/health/e-cigarette-vape-explode-teen-study/index.html?fbclid=IwAR1MgBNlhSUFpn5jBiC3x6EBhvPuqgLzybVjAr8ge38CCWL1arGzeK7PaOM) is one case of several thousand in past years. According to the article, a Texas man died earlier this year when the shrapnel from his exploded e-cigarette shredded his carotid artery and a Florida man died a year ago when his exploding e-cigarette sent a projectile into his head. There’s also the possibility of toxic acute nicotine exposure or accidental poisoning from swallowing, breathing, or absorbing e-cigarette liquid.

Basically, the moral of the story is while the vapor of e-cigarettes may contain fewer carcinogens, they are definitely not a safer alternative to smoking. If you don’t smoke, don’t start, even e-cigarettes.

By: Heather Hradek, DDS, FAGD

Whiter teeth are our patient’s number 1 request and thankfully we have several options to help them get there! We wanted to share the fabulous results our patient recently had with KOR Max in-office whitening! This is a combination of two weeks at home whitening with custom trays plus one in-office session with a higher strength whitening gel to improve several shades in a short period of time. If you have a big event coming up soon that you want to make sure your smile looks its best, give us a call to learn more at (219)929-9289

By Heather Hradek, DDS, FAGD

Being a first time parent isn’t easy. There’s so much to learn about… well, pretty much everything. As a parent of two young children of my own, I get it. I’m still learning everyday about what’s best for my kiddos to make sure they grow up healthy and strong. Even as a dentist, I’ve learned more about pediatric teeth since my kids have come along so I want to share so you can make sure your kids have healthy smiles!

Try to develop good hygiene habits early on, brushing twice a day with your child using a fluoridated toothpaste. Fluoridated toothpaste is important to help protect against cavities, particularly in the snack-based culture our kids are growing up in where they get a snack for every outing. Fluoride helps to rebuild teeth when cavities start to break them down. For children 2 and under, use a rice-sized amount. For over 2, use a pea sized amount. When you can trust that your child will spit, you can start to incorporate a fluoride mouthrinse. When back teeth start to touch, around age 3, start to incorporate flossing to prevent cavities in between teeth. We use disposable floss tools to help get flossing done quickly to minimize of them biting my fingers. There are various kids flossers such as Dino flossers or bright colors to make the job more fun. If there are big spaces between the teeth, a good brushing will suffice to help keep those areas clean.

It’s important to help your child brush to make sure they are learning properly as well. As they get older, they will obviously want to do it by themselves, but I tell my daughter I have to make sure she chased all the sugar bugs out, so I get the chance to brush too. They are old enough to brush by themselves usually by age 6, when they have the manual dexterity to write properly, but I would recommend continuing to monitor them doing to make sure they’ve got the technique down.

For younger children that fight the whole process in general, I recommend trying to make it a game with them. I would pretend to ‘see a sugar bug’ and chase it all around their mouth trying to chase it out.

Electric or rotary toothbrushes are an option for kids and technically will provide more thorough cleaning, but in general, it all depends on what your child is going to use the most. If you decide to go the electric route, spring for the higher end Sonicare or Oral B options as they do clean more thoroughly than the battery operated sold in grocery stores. The other nice thing about the electric brushes is they have a built in timer which helps to develop good habits to make sure we are all brushing long enough! 99.9% of kids (and adults) do not brush for the prescribed two minutes. You never realized how long two minutes was until you have a toothbrush timer holding you accountable!

 The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends a child’s first dental visit by 1 year old or 6 months after the first baby tooth erupts, so we are ready to see your child any time after that! At that visit, we will complete a lap to lap exam to evaluate their dental development and discuss diet, hygiene, and any questions you may have. We will also apply a topical fluoride varnish as well, which helps continue to protect teeth against cavities for up to 21 days afterwards! Even our local pediatrician has started applying fluoride varnishes at their ‘Well visits’ to help protect against cavities so even the medical doctors approve of their cavity protecting abilities!

Last of all, baby teeth matter! These teeth can’t be thought of just as the training pair. It’s important to care for your child’s teeth like your own because even though, yes, they will fall out eventually, these baby teeth are help with the growth and development of the jaws, maintaining space for those eventual permanent teeth. Because these teeth are smaller, the enamel is thinner so unfortunately cavities can grow very quickly. We try to treat cavities early, while they are small so as to minimize your child’s discomfort and make it more easy to maintain those teeth until it’s time for them to come out naturally. Untreated cavities can lead to scary abscesses and infections which can affect the development of the permanent teeth, but also can impact your child’s overall health. I talk more about this in my previous blog post if you want to read more here:

Chesterton Family Dental is the general dental office of Dr. Mystie Pieters, Dr. Heather Hradek, and Dr. Robert Pieters providing comprehensive dental care for the entire family.

If you don’t currently have dental insurance – or – if your employer is considering dropping your dental coverage, then we have great news!

Chesterton Family Dental now has an easy solution just for you.

We now have our own in-house patient membership club that provides all the rewards of dental insurance without the headaches. Every family member can join too!

For a small monthly membership fee, you’ll receive complimentary:

• Bi-annual dental cleanings
• Doctor exams (including any emergency exams)
• All scheduled or necessary x-rays

PLUS a special Member’s Only Discount (25% off!! *) on any needed treatment, including cosmetic services!

Even better, because our patient membership club is not insurance, there are:

• No deductibles!
• No yearly maximum benefits!
• No exclusions for cosmetic or elective care!
• No missing tooth clause!

It’s NOT insurance… It’s better than insurance.

Please visit our website at https://chesterton-family-dental.illumitrac.com/ for more member rewards, pricing, and to sign up today! Our own patient membership club is just one more way we strive to keep you smiling!

*25% off discount does not apply if Care Credit is used for payment

Chesterton Family Dental is the general dental office of Dr. Mystie Pieters, Dr. Heather Hradek, and Dr. Robert Pieters providing comprehensive dental care for the entire family.

By: Heather Hradek, DDS, FAGD

La Croix and other flavored sparkling waters. Prosecco and Champagne. Kombucha. Several of the most popular, trendy drinks right now have a common tie- bubbles! Everyone loves bubbles and the fizzy effervescence that tickles our nose… unfortunately, your teeth do not love the bubbles.

LaCroix. Spindrift. Bubbly. You’re always trying to drink more water so these flavored, bubbly waters seem like the perfect alternative, right? Unfortunately, the fruity flavoring is usually derived with citric and other fruit acids, which can cause tooth erosion- basically gradually, incrementally dissolving the hard outer surface of your teeth, leaching out calcium, leaving them more cavity prone. The carbonation in these drinks is derived by the addition of carbonic acid… that’s right, more acid. When all these acidic components combine, you have a delicious drink that unfortunately has a pH as low as 2.7. Tap water typically has a neutral pH of 7 for comparison. Stomach acid is a pH of 2. Yikes.

Pop, fizz, clink! Champagne and Prosecco are the iconic drink associated with celebration! The sales of these bubbly wines have skyrocketed in the past few years as trendsetters have helped created an association of these drinks with ‘living their best life’ and celebrating the everyday. Unfortunately, prosecco and champagne provide a triple threat to your teeth with the carbonation, acid, and sugar content.  The pH of prosecco typically lies around 3.25. As far as your teeth are concerned, choosing a Brut or dry Champagne or Prosecco will be a better option as the sugar content is lower. Nibbling cheese or some almonds while having a glass of bubbly is a great (and delicious!) idea as the cheese and almonds have a more basic pH which will help to neutralize the acidity.

Kombucha has been denoted as one of wellness foods of our generation. Kombucha is a fermented black tea chock full of prebiotics and priobiotics to increase the healthy bacteria in our gut and aid in digestion. Since kombucha is a fermented drink, bacteria is driving the fermentation process, and unfortunately, creates acetic acid as a byproduct. Due to the high levels of acidity created during the fermentation, the pH of well-brewed kombucha falls between 2.5-3.5.

As a dentist, I can say that I still enjoy all of these delicious drinks, but I have a few tips I use to help keep my teeth healthy. With the flavored waters, you can enjoy these once in awhile, but definitely don’t use these as your primary method of hydration—stay with tap water. If you decide to partake in any of these beverages, minimizing your time of exposure will decrease the time the acid sits on your teeth. Don’t swish your drink around your mouth. Using a straw can help minimize the exposure or just not sipping all day, every day. Every time you take a sip, the pH level in your mouth drops to an acidic zone and takes about an hour to reach a neutral zone again, so drink up and be done.

You may be tempted to rush off and brush right away to minimize the acid exposure, but that’s also not a great idea. The acidity from the drinks can soften the enamel, so scrubbing with an abrasive tooth paste and brush will be even more abrasive than normal, scrubbing away precious enamel. Drinking plain water after you are done is a better idea as this will help to rinse away the acids and sugars more quickly as well to neutralize the pH level. Also having these drinks with a meal is a great idea as your saliva is already flowing and helps rinse away the acids more quickly. Saliva is also full of acid neutralizing components to help dilute the acidic effects. As with all things, enjoy these in moderation to help keep your pearly whites sparkling!

Chesterton Family Dental is the general dental office of Dr. Mystie Pieters, Dr. Heather Hradek, and Dr. Robert Pieters providing comprehensive dental care for the entire family.

By: Dr. Heather Hradek

We all want white teeth, of course, but would prefer it to not be concentrated in white spots. Unfortunately there are several common conditions that can lead to white spots or staining on front teeth that can keep some people from smiling as much as they could. Enamel fluorosis is a common condition where the teeth have intrinsic white or brown spots or striations caused by disruption in the formation of the enamel crystals when the teeth are first forming. After braces are removed, some patients notice white spot lesions where plaque built up frequently around the brackets, leaving ‘braces scars’. Sometimes even a high fever or illness when a child is young can disrupt the formation of the teeth, leading to spots on the teeth.

 Most patients aren’t happy with these spots but have never been offered a way to treat them. Thankfully, there are some great cosmetic options available that are conservative and inexpensive! Dental enamel microabrasion is one of those options! Think of it as a facial for your teeth—it works through a combination of chemical and mechanical abrasion removing the outer, stained layer of tooth structure, leaving a smoother, more uniform appearance after the application. This treatment takes less than an hour, and to treat the whole mouth is less expensive than a single veneer, which is often the other option offered to treat these types of stains. The amount of tooth structure removed is very minimal- up to 0.2mm- which is significantly less than what is typically removed for a veneer also, so this is a more conservative option as well.

Since it is a thin removal of the outer layer, the results will vary by person, depending on the extent and depth of the discoloration, but for all the cases I’ve completed, the result is still more uniform and the spots less noticeable than before we started! Here’s an example of a case that was recently completed in our office:

Are you interested in learning if this would be an option for you? Call our office at (219)929-9289 or book your appointment online now using the ‘Schedule an Appointment’ tab!

Chesterton Family Dental is the general dental office of Dr. Mystie Pieters, Dr. Heather Hradek, and Dr. Robert Pieters providing comprehensive dental care for the entire family.

We are so proud to announce that our very own, Dr Heather Hradek received the honor of Fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry (FAGD) this past weekend at the Academy of General Dentistry’s Annual Scientific Session held in Uncasville, CT.

What does that mean for you and your family?

FAGD stands for Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry. Earning Fellowship takes dedication to dental continuing education (CE) beyond graduation. Only about 6 percent of general dentists in the U.S. and Canada are AGD Fellows. When you see a dentist with FAGD after their name, you can rest assured that they care about knowing the latest techniques and best practices in dentistry. AGD Fellows practice these techniques in a classroom setting multiple times a year — not every dentist does this.

To become an AGD Fellow, a dentist must:

• Complete over 500 credit hours of CE.
• Earn 350 of those 500 credits in live courses.
• Pass an exam equal in difficulty to board certification exams.

Thank you, Dr. Heather, for your commitment to practicing dentistry at the highest level!

By Dr. Heather Hradek

Visits from the tooth fairy are a rite of passage growing up in American culture, but where did this folklore start? Every recorded culture has various methods of acknowledging the loss of the first teeth. The first recorded ‘cash for tooth’ exchange is in Norse and Northern Europe tradition of ‘tand-fe’ or tooth fee paid by the parents when the child lost their first tooth. The Vikings believed their children’s teeth brought them good luck during battle! In Medieval England, it was a superstition to burn the baby teeth to protect them in the afterlife or from witches. In Spanish and Hispanic-American cultures, the Ratoncito Perez, or Perez Mouse in English, originated in Madrid in 1894 and is told that this mouse will exchange a tooth left under a pillow for a small gift.

The actual tooth fairy tale, however, is quite recent and American in origin! The first recorded version of the tooth fairy was written in 1927 by Esther Watkins Arnold in a three act play written for children. Our modern version of the magical fairy came into popularity after World War II, which was a time of economic prosperity and as Disney fairytales, including that of Pinocchio and Tinkerbelle, gained popularity.

What is the going rate for teeth these days? According to a 2013 survey by Visa, American children receive an average of $3.70, although some use the tooth fairy to promote dental health, telling children that healthy teeth receive a larger reward than those with cavities. In our age of Smart Phone technology, there are even apps available to take photos of the tooth fairy as well as Visa has a tooth fairy calculator app to help you determine the going rate for a tooth based on your gender, education, household income and size, and age.

The range for losing the first tooth is quite large—while most children lose their first tooth around 5-6, they can lose it as early as 4 or as late as 7. Sometimes front teeth may come out earlier if there has been trauma to the area from a fall. As the permanent teeth move up towards the mouth, they cause resorption or breakdown of the root of the primary tooth, causing it to get loose or ‘wiggly’. Typically children lose the first 8 front teeth by around age 8. The rest of the baby teeth, from the canines back, are typically lost around ages 10-12.

Baby teeth matter and are important space holders for the permanent teeth that will replace them. Losing teeth prematurely can cause the teeth around it to shift and block out the permanent tooth from erupting into place. If a baby tooth has not been lost by age 7 or has been lost and it has been over a year since the permanent tooth has come in to replace it, let your dentist know so they can take an x-ray of the area. Sometimes extra teeth or cysts can prevent the permanent tooth from coming in. Don’t force a tooth out if it is not loose as it could cause the tooth root to fracture—instead have your child focus on eating crunchy hard snacks such as carrots, apples, or nuts. If you do help your child with their wiggly tooth, make sure to wash your hands beforehand, grab a piece of gauze or Kleenex, and expect a little bit of blood… and don’t forget to put it under the pillow!

Chesterton Family Dental is the general dental office of Dr. Mystie Pieters, Dr. Heather Hradek, and Dr. Robert Pieters providing comprehensive dental care for the entire family.