When Should my Child Stop the Pacifier Or sucking thheir thumb?

Ok, so I thought I would do something a little different for today's blog post. I get a lot of questions about when children should stop sucking their thumbs or pacifiers.

"What do I do if my child sucks their thumb?"

First don't get too worked up if they are still young! Thumb-sucking in infant and toddler children is extremely common and really should not be a cause for concern. Some doctors think that it is better to give the child a pacifier so that later a pacifier can be taken away more easily than a thumb :). As far as when to worry about thumb sucking or pacifiers, most children will stop the behavior on their own before it creates any orthodontic problems. Typically, most orthodontists, myself included, think it is best if children have given up the pacifier or thumb habit by the age of 4. Prolonged thumb sucking or pacifier use after the permanent teeth have started to erupt (age 5-6) can cause orthodontic and dental development problems.

An anterior open bite occurs when the front teeth do not overlap or touch when the child closes their back teeth together so you can look through the space and see the tongue, this may develop as result of the habit if it persists too long.

This patient had an Open bite-

Notice the back teeth touch but the front teeth do not overlap at all.

Also the sucking may cause a narrowing of the upper jaw and the upper back molar teeth to sit inside the lower back molar teeth. This is called a posterior cross bite and occures as a result of the pressure from the checks as the child sucks while the permanent teeth are coming in.

This patient had a Posterior Cross Bite-

Notice how the upper jaw is narrow and the upper teeth sit

inside the lower teeth.

A third situation that can arise is protuding front teeth. The teeth end up coming in in front of the thumb since it is in the way of their normal position. This means that they stick out too far, sometimes have spaces, and are in danger of being broken due to a fall or sports mishap.

This patient had protruding upper front permanent teeth from a thumb habit-

Patient was 7 years old.

Today's comments challenge:

Post your most creative name for a pacifier or a creative way that you talked your child out of the habit?

I will start: Binkie, Paci, Plug :)

Sheetrock and Tot Shots Soccer

Today was an exciting day at Woodall Orthodontics...sheet rock went up on the walls! After trying to imagine what walls would like like in different places we were finally able to see what they actually look like. The office is coming together, once they complete the sheet rock, trim will be added, paint will be applied to the walls, & the hardwood floors will be refinished while outside they finish adding the new roof, replace siding, and create the parking lot. Before we know it we'll be opening our doors to new patients!

The front desk before the sheet rock went up:

The front desk with sheet rock:

Our soon to be state-of-the art Treatment Bay before sheet rock:

Our soon to be state-of-the-art Treatment Bay after sheet rock:

The sight of progress is terrific, and we know it means we're that much closer to meeting our new patients!

If you are excited to get started as we are, call us at 770-459-1956 and we can discuss getting you set up for a consultation!

After stopping by the office to survey the progress we headed to the soccer fields for more of that Villa Rica Tot Shot soccer entertainment....

Woodall Orthodontics Made the Paper!!

During the flurry of activity that surrounded us as we began construction (just 2.5 weeks ago!) we were honored to host a ground breaking ceremony at the future home of Woodall Orthodontics. This was just the first of many new and exciting milestones we have to look forward to on our road to creating a state of the art orthodontic practice that will (soon) be an instrument in creating beautiful smiles across West Georgia. As decisions are made and walls are built we are anxiously awaiting the day that we'll be posting about our ribbon cutting ceremony and community wide open house. For now, we will continue to choose paint colors, chair layouts, and hi-tech gadgetry as we anticipate our October grand opening.

Soccer and Electricity!

Construction of the office remains at the same point. Electrical work is still going on so there are not really too many exciting pictures to post. No sparks or flames so that is a good thing.

Today's post is about Soccer!! My nephews, Hudson and Layton, play little league soccer in Villa Rica. We try to go to as many games as possible. The amount of energy these kids have is amazing! So fun!

It is amazing to watch these 3-4 year olds play soccer!

Here is Layton making his way down the field!!

And Hudson with full control over the ball moving down the field!

Here is Hudson during a rest break for him during the game. What a great nephew!! Although I think we might have a little orthodontic work to do in our future. :)

Last but not least, a meeting of the minds after the game to discuss strategy and social issues of the day... :)

Woodall Orthodontics has Windows and a Birthday Party!!

So our windows are in and they look great! They add a lot of natural light to the treatment area!

Next is the window the added the new gable on the front of the building. The gable gave the building a more more symmetric look and you know orthodontists, we love symmetry!!

Last thing for today, is a PARTY! Everyone loves a party right? Last year my good friend was blessed with quadruplets!! Yeah four babies at once!! She was blessed to receive 4 healthy babies, a girl (Anna Claire) and 3 boys (Carter, Finn, Price). This weekend was their birthday. Sarah and I could not miss this party!!

Today I will post the before, tomorrow the after. Let's just say the cakes met their match! Can you guess that mom is a dentist?

The Sounds of Progress and Villa Rica Wildcats Football

First and foremost for today, my thoughts and prayers go out to those families that suffered loss due to the recent flooding in the West Georgia area. I have lived in Villa Rica my entire life and this is the worst I have ever seen.

The first thing I am excited to tell you about is the sound system for the office is going in!!! In the ceiling speakers in most every room. We will be able to play one thing throughout the office (suggestions anyone?) or we will have the ability to play different things in different rooms. Also the volume can be adjusted per room as well. Maybe on some days, we can have Ipod day and have patients pick a song or 2 from their Ipod and be the DJ for their appointment time!! Who knows, but I plan to have fun with this addition!!

The last thing for today's post is Villa Rica Wildcats football. We made it out to the game last week and it was a blast. Sadly, it had been a while since I had been to a game, but it was great to get back in the stands. The stands were pretty packed and the Wildcats beat Lithia 45-0!! Here are a few pictures from the Wildcat victory!!

And the Villa Rica Wildcat Marching Band sounded great at Halftime!!

And last but not least a little bit of construction to hold you over! Windows for the treatment area are coming soon!!!

Have I mentioned how excited I am to get started!! Straight, healthy, beautiful smiles here we come!!

Excited for the Future!!

Finally the sledgehammers and destruction has come to an end. I was surprised to see that the electrician had started with the wiring needed to transform the building into a state of the art orthodontic office!

Soon the wiring for the digital x-ray machine will go in. I am really looking forward to having a digital x-ray machine! Digital x-ray machines cut the exposure of the patient to radiation by more than half. It also will allow me to see images instantly so that means no waiting for the x-ray to be developed and shorter visits.

Just a little sample of the work I saw going on today!

Last but not least! The fireplace! It has been the source of much debate. Several of my advisers want me to cover it up and sheetrock over it. I am torn as my office is a 60-70 year old house in Villa Rica and I want to leave some of the charm of the home as it was built (of course I want to clean the fireplace up a bit). As of today, it stays... :) Anyone of my friends out in cyberspace have an opinion?

One Step Closer To Straight Teeth & Villa Rica's Gold Rush

Wow! This weekend was a whirlwind of activity for Woodall Orthodontics. From laying out the electrical plan in the office to enjoying Villa Rica's Gold Rush festival and making our office "official" with the installation of our sign we sure were busy.

This is kind of like Where's Waldo? Where's Dr. W?

Humans weren't the only ones trying to keep it cool....this pup was sportin' his shades while his owner shopped the vendors. While we can't claim this one as ours, the Woodall Orthodontics Australian Shepherd and mascot, Bailey, is sure to make the blog soon.

Yes! We are scheduling appointments...we can't wait to be open and meeting our patients.

Contact us by phone: 770.459.1956

Contact us by email: smiles@woodallsmiles.com

Progress on my Orthodontic Office!!

We did not work on the office today, but I did not update the blog yesterday so here is a combo post. Saturday more progress was made in removing the big tree! It is finally all the way down and the last things to do are remove the huge trunk and grind down the stump. I hope it is possible to remove a slice out of the trunk so that I can make a children's table for the reception area.

No, that is not my flip flop!! It is my lovely wife's! We did not have any other object to use to show how huge it is!!

Below is a picture of some of the reclaimed heart pine boards that we removed from the office and hope to recycle back into the office!

I am blessed to have very talented and very helpful friends!! Today me, my wife, and our good friends Wes and Candy worked on my temporary sign. Being a group of perfectionists, our sign started out as a simple square and ended up much much better as we passed around ideas. We got the design finalized and went to work cutting it out! Here is the final shape of the sign.

Stay tuned for updates on the sign and the office building updates!!

I am super excited to get started in my hometown and to have the chance to give my patients beautiful straight, healthy smiles!

Renovation begins!!!

The renovations for Woodall Orthodontics began today!! I am going to try to post daily updates on my website. To check the latest post goto www.woodallsmiles.com/blog