How important is your smile?

Dr. Mike and our entire team at Hilgers Orthodontics are family-friendly! We proudly treat adults, teens, and children - no matter what your age, we believe you deserve a great smile.

And speaking of smiles, in a new poll conducted by Glamour Magazine, people were asked, “If you had to pick between having perfect teeth, eyesight or hair, which would you choose?

Well, 44 percent of folks out there are choosing teeth! In addition, the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, or AACD, conducted a study and found that 99.7 percent of those polled believed a smile is an important social asset. Respondents said straightness, whiteness, cleanliness, as well as the sincerity and sparkle of a person’s smile were all important factors not only socially, but career-wise as well.

Call us to schedule your orthodontic consultation! (623) 935-3908

Get to know your braces! From Hilgers Orthodontics

Should you need to call Hilgers Orthodontics in case you sustain any damage to your braces, we can help you more effectively if you can tell us exactly which piece is in trouble! Here’s a handy diagram and corresponding list of all the parts that make up your braces.



Elastic Tie: Tiny rubber band that fits around the bracket to hold the archwire in place.

Archwire: The main wire that acts as a track to guide the teeth along. It's changed periodically throughout treatment, as teeth move to their new positions.

Loop in Archwire: Frequently used for closing space left by an extraction. Many archwires don't have a loop.

Bracket: Small attachment that holds the archwire in place. Most often, a bracket is cemented directly onto the tooth's surface, eliminating the need for a band.

Headgear Tube: Round, hollow attachment on the back bands. The inner bow of the headgear fits into it.

Coil Spring: Fits between brackets and over archwire to open space between teeth.

Tie Wire: Fine wire that is twisted around the bracket to hold the archwire in place.

Band: A thin ring of metal fitted around a tooth and cemented in place. The band provides a way to attach the brackets to the tooth.

Hook: Welded or removable arm to which elastics (rubber bands) are attached.

Elastic (Rubber Band): Small rubber band that is hooked between different points on the appliance to provide pressure to move the teeth.

Hope this helps! Give us a call if you have any questions!

--Dr. Hilgers and team.

When should you call Hilgers Orthodontics?

Our friends at the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) have put together a helpful list that outlines when you should call Dr. Hilgers. Here are some early warning signs indicating it’s time to check in with us:

1. Early or late loss of baby teeth
2. Difficulty of chewing or biting
3. Mouth breathing
4. Finger sucking or other oral habits
5. Crowding, misplaced or blocked-out teeth
6. Jaws that shift, make sounds, protrude or retrude
7. Speech difficulty
8. Biting the cheek or biting into the roof of the mouth
9. Protruding teeth
10. Teeth that meet in an abnormal way or don’t meet at all
11. Facial imbalance or asymmetry
12. Grinding or clenching of teeth

Do any of these warning signs fit you? If so, give us a call as soon as possible!

Children and Mouthguards

Pat Smith, wife of Emmitt, encourages use of mouth guards

According to a recent survey by the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO), 67 percent of parents admitted that their child does NOT wear a mouth guard during organized sports such as football, baseball, basketball, soccer and lacrosse. The statistic validates an unsettling trend: Orthodontists and dentists are seeing young patients suffer oral and facial trauma as a result of sports injuries.

Sadly, many of these injuries could have been minimized, or even prevented, if the child had been wearing a mouth guard. To help spread the word that mouth guards save smiles, Pat Smith, wife of Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinee Emmitt Smith and mother of four, has teamed up with the AAO to encourage mothers across North America to take the Moms For Mouth Guards Pledge. In taking the pledge, moms promise that their children will consistently wear mouth guards and other protective gear during competitions and practices.

As part of the AAO Sport Safety Program, the Moms For Mouth Guards Pledge is being launched in conjunction with National Facial Protection Month, in April. By taking the Moms For Mouth Guards Pledge online, parents and coaches can help to make sports play safer for kids while making a difference in the lives of other young athletes as well. Each time someone takes the Moms For Mouth Guards Pledge, the AAO will make a donation to the National Alliance for Youth Sports to help protect the smile of a child.

“Injuries to the face and mouth can happen in an instant,” said Smith. “That’s why it’s so important for kids, especially those with braces, to wear mouth guards and other protective gear while playing sports. Part of our job as parents is to help protect our children on and off the field and that’s why I’m leading the charge to get moms and coaches to take the Moms for Mouth Guards Pledge.”
One Signature Can Help to Save A Smile

According to the Centers for Disease Control, baseball, soccer, basketball and football account for about 80 percent of all sports-related emergency room visits for children between 5 and 14 years of age. The AAO survey also revealed that one out of every four (27 percent) parents said their child has sustained an injury during an organized sport that resulted in a trip to the emergency room. By taking proactive measures and requiring children to wear facial protection and mouth guards, parents and coaches can help prevent injury and keep young athletes in the game.

“Using a mouth guard is one of the most inexpensive and simple measures parents and coaches can take to help keep their kids safe during sports,” said Robert J. Bray, DDS, MS, president of the AAO. “As experts in helping patients achieve a healthy, beautiful smile, the last thing my colleagues and I want to see is a smile ruined by a preventable injury.”

Orthodontics - New York Business Journal

New York - Orthodontic treatment is the best option if you are looking for beautiful, straight teeth. Solution for Dental MalocclusionsDental inconsistencies when left untreated can cause serious health problems at a later stage. Through utilizing effective orthodontic treatment procedures permanent solutions can be obtained for dental malocclusions including crooked teeth, protruding teeth, overcrowded teeth, extensively spaced teeth, underbites, crossbites, overbites, and openbites. Elimination of these dental imperfections definitely provides you with a beautiful smile and enhanced facial charm. Moreover, perfectly aligned teeth guarantees excellent physical health, effectively eliminating gum diseases, tooth loss, irregular wear of tooth surface, speech impairments, and chewing and digestion disorders. Treatment Involves Two PhasesOrthodontic treatment procedures are mainly performed in two phases, the active phase and the retention phase. In the active phase procedures with dental braces are carried out to straighten your misaligned teeth. In the retention phase, procedures with retainers are performed to fix the teeth in their new positions. Orthodontists first make a thorough evaluation of your teeth, jaws and facial structure through x-rays, photographs and bite impressions. Based on the findings, procedures with ceramic braces, metal braces or advanced Invisalign invisible braces are planned. Orthodontic Braces – Available TypesConventional metal braces are fixed dental aligners that work with metal wires and brackets and are less expensive. Ceramic braces or tooth colored braces are extremely smooth, translucent and less visible. These braces will not get stained or discolored quickly, so they can be used for a long term. Treatment with Invisalign, the custom-designed aligners ensure exceptional results within a minimum time span. Compared to other aligners they are removable, enabling the patients to eat, drink, brush and floss normally. Besides, the invisible property of these braces would help you to keep the treatment details hidden from others. In most cases orthodontic treatment procedures can be completed within one to three years. However, depending on the complexity of your tooth anomalies and individual conditions this period might vary. The orthodontists recommend a review every four to eight weeks, to assess the progress of the treatment.In brief, advanced orthodontic treatment helps one obtain a beautiful smile and improved facial charm rather comfortably. Improved facial looks and superior overall health helps you to remain dynamic in life.

Cold & Flu Season

It’s that time of year again…cold and flu season! To promote healthy and clean environment in our office, we give a great deal of attention to sanitation and sterilization at all times.
For the protection of other patients and Dr. Hilgers and his staff, we always ask that patients reschedule their appointments if they have ANY type of cold or illness that can infect others.
Maintaining and protecting your toothbrush is also important to stay healthy during this flu season. To protect your toothbrush from harmful bacteria follow these simple steps:

• Wash your hands before and after brushing
• Allow the brush to air dry after each use, harmful bacteria dies after being exposed to oxygen
• Store the toothbrush in an upright position to allow water to drain so your toothbrush will dry faster
• Replace your toothbrush after every cold or flu or every 3-4 months when bristles appear worn
Hope this helps all of our patients or potential patients to stay healthy!!

Conventional Braces vs. Invisalign

Invisalign is one way to straighten teeth. The orthodontic correction is achieved through a series of clear, removable aligners or trays which are worn all the time except when eating, brushing or flossing. Each set of aligners are worn for about 3 weeks. As each aligner is replaced with the next set of aligner trays, the teeth are re-aligned little by little until the desired alignment is achieved. Of course the length of treatment and the number of aligners needed differ with each individual as everyone is different. COOPERATION WITH ALL THE TIME WEAR CAN NOT BE STRESSED ENOUGH!!! Before the aligners can be made, special models are made of the patient’s teeth and sent to an Invisalign lab where they are made. This involves additional costs.

When patients come into our office to learn about Invisalign treatment and if it is a right option for them, we try to educate them on the differences. We have found Invisalign treatment to be an option for those patients who have had orthodontic treatment in the past and did not wear their retainers as they should have and their teeth have relapsed some. What we have found to be true is, although patients have the best of intentions of wearing the aligner trays all the time, they don’t!! Anytime the teeth are moved or re-aligned, the teeth get sore. When the trays are removed for eating, brushing or flossing, and the teeth are sore, the patient does not want to put the aligners back in!! For the proper movement to be achieved the aligners must be worn 22 out of the 24 hours of each and every day or the next set of aligners will not fit as they should. Cooperation with full time wear is the biggest problem we have seen with Invisalign treatment.

We have found that most patients who come to see us regarding orthodontic treatment are most often best served with traditional braces instead of Invisalign treatment. When the braces are bonded or fixed to the teeth, the patient CAN NOT remove them, thus cooperation is not a factor! Dr. Hilgers can control the movement of each tooth with the wires and adjustments he makes to the wires. Also, the total cost of traditional braces is considerably less than Invisalign treatment as the lab costs to fabricate the aligners are eliminated. For those patients where esthetics is a concern, ceramic brackets are an option. These brackets are tooth colored, so they blend in with the color of the teeth, thus making them less noticeable.

If you are interested in speaking with Dr. Hilgers to see what we can do to re-align your smile, please give our office a call and we’ll schedule a NO CHARGE exam to answer all of your questions.

It Is Never Too Late For Braces

As each New Year begins, many people take time to reflect on the year gone by. Some make resolutions to change or improve themselves; others make a list of things they hope to achieve in the coming 12 months. For many people who aren’t happy with their smiles, a new year can also bring new hope as they consider tuning up their smile with orthodontic treatment. 2011 could be just the year for you to improve your smile.
If you have crooked teeth or a “broken smile” from gaps or missing teeth, you don’t have to suffer any longer. There is a reason more and more adults are choosing to wear braces. A straighter, brighter smile can really go a long way in boosting your confidence. No matter what your age may be, you are likely only a few visits away from straight teeth, and a better smile.

The number of adults who are electing to improve their smile with braces is increasing. In fact, one in five orthodontic patients today is an adult. The truth is crooked teeth or spaces from missing teeth can cause real confidence problems. Some people even avoid smiling altogether to hide their smile. If this describes you or someone you know, then you will be happy to know that you can learn more about how Dr. Hilgers can “remodel” your smile by scheduling an appointment to discuss your particular needs. With your initial consultation, Dr. Hilgers will be able to recommend the right treatment for you to get your self-confidence back. 2011 just may be the right time you treat yourself to straight teeth and a smile that really shines! We look forward to working with you!!

Access your account—any day, any time, anywhere!

Access to your account, 24/7. Sounds simple and convenient, doesn’t it?

Patients at Hilgers Orthodontics enjoy access to their account 24 hours a day, seven days a week—all through our website. You can look up your appointments and all of your account details at your convenience, all from the comfort of your own home! You can even receive appointment reminders through email or text messages!

You, too, may sign up for this convenient service on our website by clicking on the "Patient Login" button on our homepage. Please give us a call at our Goodyear, AZ office if you have any questions about getting started!