Ask Dr. Rey: What's the deal with retainers?

If you recently completed treatment at Rey Orthodontics, our entire staff would like to congratulate you, again! Now that your braces have been removed, Dr. Maria Rey will provide—or has provided you—with retainers. After braces are removed, teeth can shift out of position if they are not stabilized. Retainers, however, provide that stabilization. They are designed to hold teeth in their corrected, ideal positions until the bones and gums adapt to the treatment changes. Wearing retainers exactly as instructed by Dr. Rey is the best insurance that the treatment improvements last for an entire lifetime.

To learn more about the advantages of wearing retainers after your orthodontic treatment, please visit our website for instructions and read this helpful article about retainers from KidsHealth. You may also give us a call at 202-436-5432!

We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

A season of thanks

All of us at Rey Orthodontics extend our best wishes to you, our patients, referring doctors and families, for a wonderful Thanksgiving.

We appreciate the opportunity to work together with you in the creation of your ideal smile and look forward to the day when your treatment is completed and you join our family of beautiful smiles, which we create daily at our Washington D.C. office. It's a big food holiday, so be careful what you eat, especially with those braces!

Besides turkey, here are a few foods you can enjoy at Thanksgiving dinner:

• Mashed potatoes or other cooked potatoes
• Corn (if cut off the cob)
• Stuffing
• Yams
• Pumpkin pie and other desserts such as cake and ice cream (but make sure to brush afterward!)

If you are still in search of some wonderful recipes, our friends at the American Association of Orthodontists have lots of delicious recipes that will satisfy both your sugar craving and hunger now that the weather is cold. We hope you have a safe and fun Thanksgiving this year with your friends and family. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Rey Orthodontics!

Ask Dr. Rey: Do cold germs live on toothbrushes?

Fall is upon us, and with it comes the dreaded cold and flu season. After recovering from your cold, Dr. Maria Rey will tell you one of the most important steps you can take to avoid becoming reinfected is replacing your toothbrush!

Germs can linger on the bristles, and you risk prolonging your sickness by continuing to use the same toothbrush. Be smart - keep a spare, just in case! To protect your toothbrush from bacteria all year long, consider the following tips:

• 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 and dry faster

• Replace your toothbrush every 3-4 months. Worn bristles are less effective in properly cleaning your teeth, and can actually be damaging to teeth if used too long!

Hope these tips help! Feel free to call us at Rey Orthodontics if you have any questions or ask Dr. Rey on Facebook.

What do you enjoy most about fall?

It’s fall here at Rey Orthodontics, a time when our patients in Washington D.C., Bethesda, Silver Spring and Arlington begin making plans for Thanksgiving and the winter holidays. But before you go celebrating, we wanted to ask you, our wonderful patients, "How are you spending your time this fall?"

Our staff would love to hear about your favorite places for eating, shopping, and entertainment here in the greater Washington D.C area. We are interested in learning about what makes our unique community “yours.”

Feel free to post your responses on our Facebook page, or give us a call! Have a wonderful rest of the week!

What sets Rey Orthodontics apart?

At Rey Orthodontics, we are dedicated to helping you achieve a beautiful smile by providing you with the highest quality care, most advanced orthodontic treatments, and an open office environment where you'll feel comfortable!

Our commitment to excellence in orthodontic treatment and our approach—treat our patients as if they were a member of our family—is a great reason to visit us for your orthodontic treatment.

**Dr. Maria Rey and our team is focused on our patients, and we make sure that we're available when our patients have questions.

**Orthodontics is all about smiles, and we do what we can to keep our patients smiling by encouraging and supporting them throughout their treatments.

**We are committed to staying up-to-date with the latest orthodontic techniques and technology including traditional braces, Invisalign® invisible braces, Invisalign Teen™, In-Ovation® and more.

**Each treatment we provide is personalized to meet the individual needs and lifestyles of our patients, because we believe it's never too late to have a beautiful smile and we want your treatment to be as rewarding as possible.

**We are always available to answer questions, and with 24-hour online access to our web site, Dr. Rey and our team are able to stay in touch with our patients in between appointments.

Our office is conventiently located to serve many nearby communities, including Bethesda and Silver Spring, Maryland, Arlington, Virginia and Washington D.C. We invite you to schedule an appointment, and start smiling today!