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Show A 'bracing' alternative By DR. ED FILA Editor's Note: This weekly public Information In-formation column Is provided on a volunteer basis by health care professionals profes-sionals living in Davis County. A new device which straightens children's teeth without braces in one-half the time and at one-third the cost of traditional braces has been developed by Chicago Orthodontist Ortho-dontist Dr. Earl O. Bergersen. This new device, called the Occlus-O-Guide, was introduced nationally three years ago. It is now being used by 3,000 dentists. The Occlus-O-Guide looks like a clear plastic athletic mouthguard. It is worn four hours during the day and at night. The child bites into the device one minute at a time for half-hour segments totalling four hours during the day and sleeps with it at night. It is made of preformed pre-formed clear flexible plastic and fits nearly any young mouth. The Occlus-o-Guide works best on children between the ages of eight and twelve. It is a guide to the teeth as they grow instead of straightening them after they are mature. The most common orthodontic problems are overbite and overjet. These are functional and cosmetic problems which are corrected well by the Occlus-O-Guide. If this is done in youth, there is less chance of looseness and loss of teeth and joint problems later in life. Occlus-O-Guide offers savings in time and money. Teeth can be straightened in six to ten months compared with two years for braces. The cost is approximately $800 vs. $2,000 to $3,000 for braces. This is possible because the Occlus-O-Guide is designed primarily for the growing mouth. From eight to 11 years the fibers that hold the teeth in place are not yet fully developed so that the teeth can be moved into place more easily than later on. They are less likely to slip back at a later stage. Dr. Bergersen, developer of this program, says there are more than 6,500,000 children in the U.S. that need some form of orthodontics. Only 1,125,000 are receiving treatment. treat-ment. "The Occlus-O-Guide has enormous potential to help the child who cannot afford traditional braces," Dr. Bergersen concludes. |