Blog

Dr. Randol Womack and our team at Affiliated Orthodontics want to spread the word in the Peoria, Glendale and Phoenizx AZ areas that October is Orthodontic National Health Month. It is never to too soon or too late to undergo orthodontic treatment to achieve a beautiful healthy smile that lasts a lifetime.

The purpose of Orthodontic National Health month isto draw attention to the fact that everyone needs to be evaluated for orthodontic treatment. You are never too young or too old if your bite or smile needs correction.

American Association of Orthodontics recommends that parents start early and all kids be evaluated 7 – 8 years of age. During the growing years of 7 – 10, kids undergo a major growth spurt that goes hand in hand with the eruptive pattern of their teeth and development of jaws.Read More

Have you ever wondered just how long braces have been around and how they have come to be the way they are today? As far back as 500 B.C., Greek scholars such as Hippocrates and Aristotle have thought about ways to straighten teeth, but no progress was made in the field until the early 1900’s. Though orthodontics is less than a hundred years old, amazing progress has been made in this relatively short period of time, especially at Affiliated Orthodontics.

A few different men are generally credited as the “Fathers of Orthodontics.” One was Norman W. Kingsley, a dentist from New Jersey who wrote a “Treatise on Oral Deformities” in 1880 that laid the groundwork for much of what was to come. Another was J.N. Farrar, who was the first dentist to come up with the idea of somehow using force at timed intervals to move teeth. But the father of orthodontics deserving the credit is dentist Edward Angle, whose “Treatment of Malocclusion of the Teeth” was published in 1907 and made great strides in the field. In addition, Angle founded the School of Orthodontia in 1910 and went on to design several of the first orthodontic devices, such as the ribbon arch and the edgewise appliance.Read More

The Baby Boomers are a generation like no other. In addition to growing up in the tumultuous sixties and seventies, they were the first to experience the full benefit of modern medicine, changing attitudes about nutrition and exercise, and the advent of plastic surgery.

As a result, they have been able to maintain a youthful appearance far longer than any other group (at least most of them have!). However, there is a part of the Fountain of Youth that many boomers may be overlooking—their smiles.

Orthodontics have been around in some form for the better part of a hundred years, but the braces of the sixties and seventies were more costly and available to fewer people than they are today. As a result, many people who grew up in those days may not have the straightest teeth. It is a shame that folks who are otherwise able to look so young… for so long… are missing a piece of the puzzle.Read More

As dental professionals committed to the dental and medical health of patients in Peoria, Glendale and Phoenix AZ, Dr. Randy Womack and Dr. Larry Davis and the team at Affiliated Orthodontics are supporting the Oral Cancer Foundation and actor Michael Douglas to increase consumer awareness regarding the increase in oral cancer apparent today. Early diagnosis can reduce suffering and save lives through prevention, education, research, advocacy, and patient support activities.

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