My son is getting braces. I am very concerned about him keeping up with his oral hygiene during treatment. Do you do anything special to help your patients maintain good oral hygiene?

Yes. Maintaining excellent oral hygiene during orthodontic treatment is so important to me that I have an oral hygiene department in my office with two dental hygienists on staff. No one else in the Four Corners offers both orthodontic and dental hygiene services in one location, and this convenience is one of the main reasons why parents choose my office for their children’s orthodontic care. While many offices have oral hygiene issues in almost half of their patients, less than 5% of my patients have oral hygiene issues. My patients with oral hygiene issues are provided immediate access to care in my office to correct the problem and do not have to be referred out. This is both a convenience and a relief to parents. We also remove all wires from the braces when cleaning, which allows for improved access and improved cleaning. For more information, please call 1-800-4Braces.

Can any orthodontist give you a wide beautiful smile without taking out teeth?

No. Many orthodontists remove healthy teeth to achieve a straight, but narrow smile using traditional braces. I use the high-tech H4™ system of braces which allows me to achieve wide beautiful smiles without taking out teeth. I don’t believe in removing healthy teeth from a patient’s mouth, so I rarely take out teeth. I want all of my patients to have wide, healthy smiles. You can view some of the wide smiles I have achieved on my website, Herman4Braces.com. Call 1-800-4Braces if you want to get a wide beautiful smile without having any teeth taken out.

I read a column last week about how expensive it is to get dental care. Is the same true for braces?

Surprisingly no! Orthodontic treatment has actually become more affordable over the past couple of decades. Just like electronics become less expensive over time, so has orthodontic care. Today's passive self-ligation systems of braces are more efficient. These improved braces systems and better trained technical staff now make treatment very affordable. Add that to the fact that over a decade ago, I eliminated the $1000 or more down payment that was common in the Four Corners area. This step made it easy for many more people to start treatment. Call my office at 1-800-4Braces to find out just how affordable orthodontic treatment can be for you.