Staying connected with Lach Orthodontic Specialists

At Lach Orthodontic Specialists, we embrace technology, whether it’s through the innovative treatments we offer, our high-tech web site or our Facebook fan page. As you can probably tell, we love connecting with our patients online, whether it’s by sharing news on our blog or communicating ideas on our fan page. For social media to work, we understand that conversation is vital, and that’s why we invite you to join in and tell us what’s on your mind. Although social networks are hugely popular these days, we know they’re unpredictable and ever-changing.

While we take a little time to research how to best use social media, we thought we’d ask you, our loyal patients: How would you like us to use our social networks? What would you like us to share on our blog? Please post your thoughts or give us a call!

A few Halloween safety tips

Trick-or-treat! In the spirit of October’s sweet and spooky holiday, Halloween, Lach Orthodontics would like to remind all of our patients to be safe while celebrating with friends and family. The American Association of Orthodontists, or AAO, has provided trick-or-treaters with some tips for a ghoulishly good time.

A few Halloween safety guidelines:
• Young children should always be accompanied by an adult
• Carry a flashlight
• Wear a light-colored or reflective costume
• Choose face paint over masks for young ghosts and goblins
• Have an adult inspect all treats before the children dig in

Many treats can cause havoc for trick-or-treaters who are going through orthodontic treatment. If you happen to damage your braces, please give our staff a call immediately. Typically, small problems can be solved over the phone.

We wish you all a happy, safe, and spooky Halloween!

Top Ten Tips for Keeping Your Braces Clean

Keeping your teeth clean is more important than ever when you have braces. Food bits have more spots than usual to hide in your mouth, so you must be diligent in order to avoid bad breath, swollen gums, discolored teeth and cavities. If you remove plaque regularly during treatment, you'll experience better results and shorter treatment time. Keep plaque at bay with these top ten tips:

One tooth at a time. When you brush, take time with each individual tooth – at least 10 seconds each – and pay careful attention to the spots where your teeth touch your braces.

It’s all about the angles. Brush the tops of your teeth and braces with your brush angled down toward where they meet. Brush the bottoms of your teeth and braces with your brush angled up.

The tooth, the whole tooth, nothing but the tooth. While the front surface of your teeth may seem like the most logical to clean, it’s equally important to clean the inner surface of your teeth (tongue side) as well as the chewing surface. And be sure to clean along your gum line – a key spot for plaque buildup.

Step 1: eat, step 2: clean. While you’re in treatment, it’s important to brush after every meal. Bits of food can easily get caught between braces and teeth, and these food bits interact with bacteria in your mouth to cause decay. The longer food is in contact with your teeth, the greater opportunity for plaque to form. If you are eating somewhere that you can’t brush, thoroughly rinse your mouth with water.

Like a Boy Scout, always be prepared. The easiest way to be sure you can brush after every meal is to get in the habit of taking a toothbrush, toothpaste and floss with you wherever you go. Designate a special container just for your teeth-cleaning tools and keep it in your purse, backpack, or laptop case.

Remove the moving parts. If you have elastic bands or headgear, remove these parts before you brush or floss.

Fluoride is your friend. Fluoride helps prevent cavities. Be sure to brush with fluoride toothpaste, and rinse with fluoride mouthwash.

Pointy brushes reach tiny places. Interproximal brushes (sometimes called proxa brushes or interdental brushes) are cone-shaped and come in very handy for reaching spots around your braces that standard brushes can’t.

Find the floss for you. Regular floss works for some patients, but others find it easier to work with a floss threader, which helps you get the floss into tight places. Other patients like an all-in-one product called Superfloss, which comes with a stiff end for easy threading, a spongy section for cleaning wide spaces, and regular floss for narrow spaces.

Make time for the pros. It’s your job to take care of the everyday cleaning. But make sure to visit your dentist regularly while in treatment, to get the deep, thorough cleaning that only a professional can provide.

Hope this helps!

-Lach Orthodontic Specialists

An Important Message from Lach Orthodontic Specialists

Over the past 19 years, it has truly been a privilege and a distinct pleasure to work with some wonderful and amazing families in helping create so many beautiful smiles in our community. However, over the past several months, we have been aware of some unscrupulous individuals who have been creating repeated false and misleading statements on the internet about our practice. Since that time, we have been monitoring the situation very closely and have positively identified the persons responsible for this criminal activity. Our research thusfar indicates that it is only 2 or 3 individuals that are actually responsible for creating all of these false statements and reviews about our practice. We are in the process of a complete and thorough investigation that will ultimately lead to full prosecution of these few individuals for the crimes they have committed.

As you know, we continue to request patient feedback on actual experiences with our office so that we will continue to monitor and improve our services to you. You may provide us your feedback via our website at www.Lach-Ortho.com . Just click on “Active Patient” on the center tool bar on our home page and go to the section under “Patient Satisfaction Survey” in order to submit your comments directly to us. You may also fill out a yellow patient survey slip at your next appointment visit with us or notify an office assistant that you would like to speak to someone and we would be happy to talk to you. Due to the extraordinary technological advances in the field of orthodontics over the years, we have grown very accustomed to creating high quality smiles in a fraction of the time, with far less discomfort and inconveniences than ever before. Along with these immense changes, we realize that your expectations of us as your preferred chosen provider of orthodontic services in our community have also changed. Our overall goal as an office is to continue to find ways to improve our services and deliver according to your evolving standards and expectations. As a result of some of your previously expressed concerns, we have recently implemented several office protocols which we feel will better address your needs.

Since treatment times are much shorter than in the past and appointments are much fewer, we realize that your opportunities for interaction with our staff and doctor have also been reduced. As a result, we would like to now offer routine progress review appointments with me for one on one discussion regarding any and all aspects of your ongoing orthodontic care with us. We believe that these added appointment times will create the optimum forum to foster quality communication between the doctor and patient which will lead to a greater understanding of the progress toward planned treatment goals.

In addition, we have developed community forum meetings which will take place on the first Monday of each quarter in order to address these and all of our office protocols in a closed panel format. At these meetings, we will ask our invited panel of patients and parents to provide us with valued input as to how we can better help serve the needs of our patients. We also are hopeful that this will also lead to greater understanding and awareness of some of our office functions and educate patients and parents on some of the resources that they may not be aware are available.

Our convenient office location allows parents many opportunities to patronize neighboring establishments such as Publix, Kiwi Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt, Blockbuster, etc. In order for me to address any and all of your concerns with treatment personally, please allow us that opportunity by meeting with me chair side at every visit. Our clinical staff are instructed to invite all parents back in the treatment area at every visit and will document your attendance and all questions in the patient chart prior to our important meeting time together. We would like to ask both parents, if at all possible, to be present at each visit in order to address all concerns at once and refrain from leaving the office until the appointment is complete.

As always, I am also available by phone anytime just in case an unanswered question or concern arises. You may also reach me via e-mail at info@Lach-Ortho.com.

We sincerely hope that these newly instituted office protocols will help better address your concerns and exceed your expectations from us. We thank you again for the opportunity and privilege we are given to work together with you.

--Dr. David Lach

Ask Dr. Lach: Why is it so important to have straight teeth?

Some people wonder why Dr. Lach and his team at Lach Orthodontic Specialists work so hard to give our patients straight teeth. Of course it’s nice to have a smile full of evenly aligned teeth, but did you know that straightening your teeth can keep them healthier? Straight teeth lead to better oral hygiene, increasing your chances of keeping your own natural teeth for a lifetime.

Straight teeth are less prone to decay, because they collect less plaque—the sticky colorless substance that forms on our teeth and leads to tooth decay; and they are easier to keep clean!

If you’re wondering whether your teeth might cause problems because they are out of alignment, give us a call to set up a consultation. Dr. Lach and team can help you decide whether or not you will benefit from orthodontic treatment.

Happy New Year from the entire team at Lach Orthodontic Specialists!

What are patients saying about Dr. Lach and Lach Orthodontic Specialists?

Last week the team at Lach Orthodontics asked you, our wonderful patients, what you liked best about our practice. We got back some pretty great reviews and thought we'd share a few with you. Happy holidays!

"Dr. Lach seems very knowledgeable about the latest technology in orthodontic treatment." ~ Dallas A.

"Staff is always very friendly and nice. I love the ease of getting into their office if we encounter emergencies." ~ Adreanna C.

"There's no long wait. I'm in and out." ~ Rachel W.

"Clean, convenient location, friendly staff and state-of-the-art technology." ~ Angie Z.

"I have recommended a dozen of my friends and family to Dr. Lach - he ranks #1 in my eyes!" ~ Cheryl L.

What do you love about Lach Orthodontic Specialists?

From your very first visit to Lach Orthodontic Specialists, Dr. Lach and his team strive to provide superior treatment in a pleasant, friendly atmosphere. Have you been especially impressed by Dr. Lach? Did our team go out of their way to make your day? Do you love your new smile?

Whether you’ve just come in for a consultation or your family has been visiting our office for months, we’d love to hear your feedback on our networks. Or, you can tell us by giving us a call!

Happy Wednesday!

SureSmile makes the rounds on ABC’s “The Doctors” -- Dr. Lach

On a recent episode of ABC's "The Doctors," Dr. Thomas Lee of Oxnard, California, was interviewed in front of a live audience and demonstrated SureSmile technology and discussed treatment benefits for orthodontists and their patients. Dr. Lee's 14-year-old patient, Nina, who had just completed SureSmile treatment, was part of the segment as well, and spoke positively about her SureSmile treatment experience.

SureSmile is a software program that facilitates the precise positioning of a patient’s teeth placement for orthodontic braces. Did you know Dr. Lach is a certified SureSmile provider? Give us a call and ask for more information!

--The team at Lach Orthodontics

Meet Dr. Lach

Dr. Lach is a top graduate of the prestigious University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Dentistry, widely known nationally and internationally for its excellence in dental education. He went on to receive his orthodontic specialty training and a Master of Science degree from the University of Louisville. He helped pioneer the study of using computers to predict the movement of teeth as a result of wearing braces.

Dr. Lach has also contributed to the enhancement of dental education as a member of the clinical teaching faculty at the University Of Florida College of Dentistry in Gainesville, Florida. In addition to his membership in the American Dental Association, Dr. Lach is also a member of the Florida Dental Association, the Dental Society of Greater Orlando, the Southern Association of Orthodontists and the American Association of Orthodontists.

Dr. Lach supports many local charities and volunteer organizations, including the March of Dimes, Shriners Hospital for Children, and the UNC Mexico Project, which is a program he founded in 1987 to provide dental care for needy and underprivileged orphaned children in Mexico.

Outside of the office, Dr. Lach is an outdoor enthusiast and enjoys many outdoor activities including boating, water skiing, fishing, going to the beach, and golfing. He is a former collegiate Division I and semi-professional soccer player and can sometimes be spotted on weekend afternoons at a local soccer match, as a player, coach or simply as a spectator. Dr. Lach loves spending time with his family. He and his wife Hope have 3 children: Grant, Bryce, and Emmie, and a golden retriever named Sanford.