I remembered when I was at Temple Dental School, about 30 years ago, I was telling one of my favorite instructors. Andrea Cohen that I was working on weekends and on breaks in our family’s moving business. She knew my father was a dentist and asked me why I didn’t go into orthodontics.
It took me a few seconds to put the two together: moving + dentistry = orthodontics.
See why she was one of my favorites?

When I graduated and started practicing in Bryn Mawr at Dillon Family Dentistry with my Pop we basically had one treatment modality that we offered and it was called Orthotain. I still do these type treatment. It is a prefabricated appliance that we size for a kids and instruct them to wear it for hours during the day with intermittent chewing into it. These forces help move the teeth into a more ideal form and relationship.
It worked really well and we still use it today in select cases.
As my journey in dentistry continues I find myself doing more and more ortho.
Invisalign made removable appliance orthodontics very popular by incorporating Computer Aided Design and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAD CAM). Before they came along we were using labs that made custom fitted aligners manually. We still use these products in some cases as their costs are much lower and we can do many cases for much lower fees making it more accessible for more people. Hence, more affordable orthodontics.
There are other products on the market that are offering different options including more control for the dentist and a variety of services allowing us to right-size the lab product to each individual patient.
The process has shown itself to be very effective, predictable and patient-friendly with better hygiene, esthetics and comfort.
We are also using it for teens and preteens.

What can I say, Dr. Cohen was a visionary!!!

If you would like to know if you are a candidate for comfortable, esthetic straightening of your teeth give Dillon Family Dentistry a call at 610-525-5497. We’ll be sure to let you know what all of your options are. We are often even able to offer non-orthodontic solutions such as bonding or porcelain veneers that might be better for you.