Parents and patients often come to us and say, “But aren’t braces just braces!… Unfortunately that is incorrect. There is a difference between a dentist who does orthodontics, such as a family dentist or children’s dentist, and a specialist in orthodontics. While it is legal for any dentist to perform orthodontic services, non-orthodontists have not had the additional 2-3 years of full-time specialty training that all dentists must have in order to legally and ethically call themselves an orthodontist. Dr. Guess completed his Orthodontic Residency training at the Ohio State University. He is one of only three orthodontists to be awarded dual Master’s degrees while attending the Ohio State University. He has taught courses at both UCLA and UCSF Schools of Dentistry. He has taught continuing education courses at the annual American Association of Orthodontics meeting for years. He has lectured at UCSF, Harvard University and Indiana University.
While no orthodontist can ethically claim to be “better” than others, our patients can be assured of the following differences:
We do not use headgear and have not for 13 years even though nearly 50% of orthodontists still do. Dr. Guess has developed a device that works from inside the mouth to quickly and comfortably move teeth and replace the need for headgear use.
Our office never recycles braces. Bluntly put, many orthodontists can save significant sums of money each year by removing braces from their patients and sending them to a “recycling” company. These used braces are then placed in other patients’ mouths over and over. Besides the fact that these braces become less accurate with each use, this is something that we would never do.
We do not have hidden charges in our office. Many offices charge for emergency visits to repair broken brackets (braces & wires), and missed or cancelled appointments. When any of these occur to a significant degree, consultations are scheduled to fix the problem or remove the braces.
Dr. Guess’ ideal is to create exquisite, natural looking smiles in the shortest time possible. At the same time he wants to make sure that the jaw joint position and the bite are correct. To attain these optimal goals, it is necessary to have the complete parental and patient cooperation.
Your safety is of utmost importance in our orthodontic office. Not only do we use hospital-grade sterilization machines but these machines are monitored by a company weekly to ensure they always work properly.
We maintain a position that being on-time for your appointments is critical. We make every effort to respect your valuable time.
- Appointments are usually every 6-12 weeks.
We have been extremely successful at achieving the following goals:
- Natural looking straight teeth
- Beautiful Smiles and Great Bites (fit of the teeth)
- Healthy Jaw Joints (TMJ)
- Relaxed Head and Neck muscles
- Relief of Pain through orthodontic treatment and acupuncture
Smiles Are Not Created The Same In Orthodontic Offices!
Just come in and ask for our Success Stories Book. Ask our past and current patients about their opinion of our results. Look at our Success Stories!
Dr. Guess uses a special combination of braces, special arch wires and clear aligners. These combinations can mean several important things to you:
- Less time away from school or work
- Fewer appointments
- Shorter time in the dental chair
- Faster, more comfortable tooth movement
This differs from most orthodontists who do not use high-tech appliances. In such offices where such technology is not being utilized, often you will need to be seen much more frequently (every 4-6 weeks) causing not only scheduling inconveniences to you but also significantly more discomfort when moving teeth.
Other Differentiating Factors in Our Office
We maintain a position that being on-time for your appointment is critical. We make every effort to respect your valuable time.
Each of our clinical staff members is a Registered Dental Assistant (RDA). In fact, the majority of our non-clinical staff members are also RDAs. Only RDAs can legally assist the orthodontist in various clinical procedures. Special training is required in order to receive a California State RDA License.
Our staff sparkles with enthusiasm and caring attitude toward our patients.
We are always available for emergency appointments even on non-patient days or evenings through our emergency pager system.
Special emphasis is placed on homecare which allows treatment to proceed in a timely manner. Excellent oral hygiene is our goal. To this end we provide you with all hygiene aids necessary to attain and maintain excellent care of your teeth and gums. But remember that optimal home care will help you minimize your need for restorative dental work for the rest of your life!
We will always communicate with you so that you will know exactly what is happening. We invite your questions and participation in your treatment. Finally our office periodically updates your family dentist so that we can achieve what is best for you.
Your initial consultation with us allows a systematic review of skeletal, muscle, periodontal (gums), teeth, occlusion (bite) and jaw joints (TMJ) is performed and entered into our computer data base.
Any radiographs (x-rays) taken are the absolute minimum necessary to allow proper diagnosis and screening. Our Roentgen(x-ray) machines are the safest available and are maintained monthly to assure absolute safety for you. We have invested significant capitol in advanced x-ray technology for the purpose of your safety.
About 30% of our patients are adults. It is not unusual for our office to see many patients at or beyond traditional retirement age. As long as bone and gum tissue are healthy it is never too late to obtain a wonderful cosmetic and functional result.
For those patients who have unexplained headaches, muscle tightness, difficulty opening their mouth, neck aches etc., our office may be able to offer them help. Symptoms such as these can be related to TMJ dysfunction or jaw joint problems. This problem can mimic many other problems and have often been misdiagnosed as stress, migraines, and arthritis or not diagnosed at all. For those who do not specifically come in for such problems, a screening examination is performed on all patients. Over the years hundreds of such patients have been successfully treated by Dr. Guess with braces and dental acupuncture for pain control.
The quality of care is Dr. Guess’ first consideration in his office. He uses the most advanced techniques and the best materials. He never cuts corners in order to save money and he never will.