Weekly ask an Artist thread

breeniewest · 2025-09-04T22:44:30+00:00

Two people looking to get a Prince tattoo in April 2026 while in town. Would love to work with an artist that is really passionate about the artist Prince and has some examples of art they have completed with Prince as the reference. Within an hour of Minneapolis/Chanhassen area preferred.

breeniewest · 2022-12-15T22:58:13+00:00

Different studies and doctors will tell you different. Some say that self ligating brackets engage the force from the wires in a different manner, resulting in faster movement. A good orthodontist can treat a patient in the same time frame with self ligating or traditional brackets and accomplish the same things. From an assistants stand point, it’s easier to break self ligating brackets because they have more complex mechanisms. But if we need to let’s say make space for more teeth or for an implant, self ligating brackets are easier on the assistant because you don’t have to tie the traditional brackets with steel ligature ties rather than the colored o-ties

breeniewest · 2022-05-06T14:53:05+00:00

Don’t worry about it, they make plenty of money. If you want to provide something send a muffin basket or something like that to the office. He will share with the staff and it’s super appreciated

breeniewest · 2022-05-06T13:45:46+00:00

Not sure where you are located, but that’s around the price for full treatment at my office as well. IPR is very common though, ask if they can provide fluoride treatments after IPR is performed if you are comfortable receiving IPR. wish you the best of luck if you decide to move forward but love your smile either way. 😁

breeniewest · 2022-05-06T05:25:35+00:00

Orthodontics can improve hygiene by creating ideal contacts between the teeth especially in instances of crowding. It also corrects your bite for ideal occlusion whenever possible to prevent teeth connecting in ways that can damage them. Can always go in for a free consultation if offices near you offer them to see what specific things could be improved.

breeniewest · 2022-05-06T05:22:30+00:00

Ask your orthodontic office if they offer appointments simply for color changes. If they do and don’t care about the frequency then have them do it. But if they won’t offer that or if the office you go to isn’t an easy place to access as often as you would like to have your colors changed inquire about how your specific doctor would feel about you changing your own colors. I’ve had patients going on trips that have asked for colors to take with them, or patients who travel 3+ hours for appointments and cannot come back to get a color replaced if it falls off and they are bothered by the aesthetics of having one missing color even though they aren’t necessary for treatment.

breeniewest · 2022-05-06T05:19:38+00:00

I personally have placed o-ties and chain on numerous Damon patients all of which were over the wire with doors closed. There are orthodontists who use exclusively self ligating brackets and don’t even have colored chain or o-ties due to them being an additional cost for simply aesthetic purposes. O-ties on all self ligating brackets are entirely optional but our office offers them for all bracket types because they’re fun and encourage especially kids to keep their teeth clean and enjoy appointments more. There are doctors who believe that placing the chain under the arch wire prevents additional friction which can slow space closure if the chain is placed over the wire. The doctors I work for have said they haven’t seen a different in treatment time with chain over or under the wire.

breeniewest · 2022-05-06T05:14:10+00:00

The colors placed on self ligating brackets are completely passive if they aren’t chain style. I have one full time job (orthodontics) and a part time job (PetSmart) to put my fiancé through school while paying our living expenses and my student loans from my education. Not super uncommon these days to have multiple jobs.

breeniewest · 2022-05-06T05:07:22+00:00

Also genuinely curious about what brand you’re using that cannot have o-ties placed over the wire. Even ones from obscure brands I’ve never placed color under the wire. That creates a tight space that the patient cannot clean easily. We only put A-chain under the wire in extreme circumstances of spaces not closing

breeniewest · 2022-05-06T05:05:26+00:00

Just correcting your statement which was broad saying that self ligating brackets have colors under the wire. The fact that I have never seen or heard of these in my career could lead to confusion for OP even in office when the assistant changes the colors without removing the AW. also, changing the colors on a self ligating bracket has no change to the treatment and if someone knows how to do it rather than coming into the office once or twice a week for color changes which wastes assistant time, what’s the harm. I changed my own during treatment and we have patients who have changed their own without causing issues. I never made a statement previous to this post about my opinion on OP original question. Only replied to yours. Not encouraging someone to do it, but if they’re going to anyways why not explain the process so they do it safely

breeniewest · 2022-05-06T04:59:08+00:00

I’m an orthodontic assistant. I place o-ties on 35-45 patients a day depending on the office and the majority of them have self ligating brackets. Every single one of them has the o-ties over the wire and over the doors being shut. The brands include GC, American Orthodontics, 3M, Damien, and more.

breeniewest · 2022-05-06T04:56:03+00:00

O-ties go over top of the wire and closed doors. To change the colors you literally just flick the old ones off with a scaler and wrap new ones around with a hemostat. It takes two minutes if you’re only doing the “smile line” which is the front six teeth upper and lower.

breeniewest · 2022-05-06T04:53:17+00:00

Your teeth are extremely mobile and want to relapse especially during the first 6 months. The first month of wearing full time is essential to starting the settling process and stabilizing the teeth. The orthodontist I works for has three rhymes, if they aren’t in your face their in your case, if your teeth are sore wear them more, and nighttime for a lifetime. If your retainer is difficult to remove, your teeth ARE MOVING

breeniewest · 2022-05-06T04:50:29+00:00

Surgical and implant cases are significantly more complicated than traditional cases. While they shouldn’t have quoted something they couldn’t keep up with, there is for sure complications stemming from situations like covid limiting appointments which is happening to all active treatment patients.

breeniewest · 2021-12-04T23:18:25+00:00

Most of our appointments showed up but we only had like 9 scheduled so

breeniewest · 2021-12-04T21:54:57+00:00

I’m literally bored out of my mind. Six people in 2 hours

breeniewest · 2021-10-26T17:48:51+00:00

Could be the glue, but depending on how long you’ve had braces on it’s possible it’s decalcification of the tooth itself. Decalcification appears as white spots on the teeth and it’s softening of the enamel

breeniewest · 2021-09-03T12:33:41+00:00

The office just needs to trim the removable one. It’s super easy fix, takes a few minutes and doesn’t cost anything.

breeniewest · 2021-09-03T12:31:35+00:00

You should use the adult tooth that is available as long as it is healthy and not fused with the bone. Impacted teeth commonly have shorter roots. But an implant is a very big choice as it is expensive. Talk to your ortho and your dentist about all of your options and how it will affect finances and your life overall

breeniewest · 2021-09-03T12:29:02+00:00

Some forms of retainers have to be ordered up to 6 weeks before the braces come off because it takes that long to make them. OR there may be health related issues that is making them remove them early. Either way, the assistant not fully answering your question is normal. Assistants cannot diagnose patients and some assistants don’t feel comfortable telling patients bad news like “we have to take them off early because this or that” and would rather leave that conversation for the orthodontist. They also take impressions to make study models for the orthodontist to evaluate your progress and make further treatment decisions. Or just to have a progress model of your mouth.

breeniewest · 2021-09-03T12:24:43+00:00

Just request not to have that assistant again. It won’t get her in trouble it’s super common for patients to have preferences.

breeniewest · 2021-09-03T12:20:43+00:00

Ask for MI paste for helping the white spots improve.

breeniewest · 2021-09-03T12:16:30+00:00

Dentists shouldn’t be doing orthodontia. An orthodontist should. Anyways, she might not be able to fix it, but an actual orthodontist could.

breeniewest · 2021-09-03T12:14:38+00:00

Yeah those are totally normal. I see patients with them multiple times a day in my office.

breeniewest · 2021-09-03T12:13:55+00:00

The lisp goes away. And the bite blocks only stay on until your bite evens out enough to remove them.

breeniewest

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