Dental Education Lecture: Good Boy

Fig.1	Fig.3
Fig.2	Fig.4

Phillips is 13 years old.  His teeth are not so straight (Fig.1). Fig.2 shows his bottom teeth; the arrowhead points to the most crooked tooth.

Phillips is looking forward to having braces.  We tell him that we have a strict rule: we will not start braces until he improves his brushing.  Sure enough, he shows us that he is a good boy.  So we start braces.

Five to six months into braces, his teeth are much straighter.  More importantly he keep his teeth and braces perfectly clean (Fig.3 and 4).

Do you wish that you had such a nice boy?

Xin Wei, DDS, PhD, MS 1st edition10/31/2009, last revision 10/31/2009