At Hawks Prairie Orthodontics, rewards for keeping your braces in tip-top shape!

Dr. Ehrmantrout and team know how difficult it can be to get patients, especially the young ones, to take good care of their teeth between visits during their orthodontic treatment.

We reward patients by allowing them to earn Trout Dollars for our Trout Store! In order to earn all of their trout dollars they must be on time to their appointments, have great oral hygiene, nothing can be loose or broken and they must wear their elastics as instructed!

It is an awesome way to encourage kids (and adults) to keep up the good work! We provide great prizes from Starbucks cards to movie tickets!

Ask Dr. Ehrmantrout: What's the deal with Halloween candy?

To follow-up on our last post about October being National Orthodontic Health Month, we thought we'd discuss the negative effects Halloween candy (and candy in general) has on your teeth, especially while you're undergoing orthodontic treatment.

Even soft candy is bad when it comes to braces! Not only do the chewy, crunchy and messy candy's create issues but all candy. Sugar sits in your teeth and above, in between and under brackets and wires. The best thing is sugar free candies, but make sure they are not chewy. If they are hard, suck on them - don't chew whatever you do do not chew! But all in all we know there is no such thing as sugar free candy on Halloween, so best advice "Just be careful, and have fun!" :)

PS instead of all that candy Halloween, we encourage you to check out these braces-friendly Halloween recipes, provided by our friends at the American Association of Orthodontists.

Dr. Ehrmantrout and staff, supporting National Orthodontic Health Month

October is National Orthodontic Health Month, and we always appreciate it when it comes around! This year we have created Pumpkin carving kits with our Ortho health month in mind for all of our patients. Also, our office has a Halloween Dress up week!

Lastly, our staff is using the month of October to encourage more adults who want a perfect smile to consider orthodontic treatment with Dr. Zach Ehrmantrout at our convenient offices in Lacey or Olympia.

What's going on at Dr. Ehrmantrout's office lately?

We are newly located in West Olympia, conveniently by Starbucks, a popular hangout, as well as Westfield Mall! There are some really good restaurants around, like Red Robin. Our Hawks Prairie Location is also by some good food, like the Sushi Go Round and The Ram. Walgreens is right next door as well, which is a huge convenience. There are some cool events that go on this time of the year - a favorite spot of our patients is the Rutledge Corn Maze, which we are also incorporating into our current office contest!

Lastly, our entire staff will be attending the next Damon Forum in Florida this upcoming January! The whole staff will be attending various continuing education classes, including how to make the most out of your visits to our convenient offices in Lacey and Olympia.

12 early signs of orthodontic problems in children

Because Dr. Zach Ehrmantrout can spot subtle problems with jaw growth or teeth while a child still has primary or “baby” teeth present, the American Association of Orthodontists recommends all children get a check-up with an orthodontic specialist no later than age seven.

Some problems are not so subtle, and you may notice them early on. If you see any of the following signs in your child, please make an appointment with Dr. Ehrmantrout immediately. (If your child is younger than seven, it is not necessary to wait till his or her seventh birthday to visit our office.) We want to identify any problems as early as possible so that we can implement the appropriate treatment at the appropriate time for your child’s individual needs.

1. Early or late loss of baby teeth
2. Difficulty in chewing or biting
3. Mouth breathing
4. Finger sucking or other oral habits
5. Crowding, misplaced, or blocked-out teeth
6. Speech difficulty
7. Jaws that shift or make sounds
8. Biting the cheek or biting into the roof of the mouth
9. Teeth that stick out too far
10. Teeth that meet in an abnormal way or don't meet at all
11. Upper and lower jaws that don’t line up
12. Grinding or clenching of teeth

If your child is displaying any of these signs, please contact us and set up an appointment!

Dr. Zach Ehrmantrout, reminding you September is National Childhood Injury Prevention Month

Fall is almost upon us, which means it's a great time for Dr. Zach Ehrmantrout and our staff to remind our patients (especially you athletes) to take care of both your mouth and appliances while participating in contact sports, as well as leisure sports this fall. Let's face it: this is a busy time of year sports-wise, whether you're playing soccer in the local park or preparing for high school football.

With September being National Childhood Injury Prevention Month, our entire staff at Dr. Ehrmantrout's office want you to know that only by using a mouth guard can athletes with and without braces avoid serious sports injuries. So, the next time you're in for a visit at our convenient offices in Lacey or Olympia, we encourage you to ask Dr. Ehrmantrout for a mouth guard, and we will provide one! For more info on sports injuries and how to avoid them, check out this helpful article.

We hope you're having a wonderful and safe Labor Day weekend!

Love your smile? Then we invite you to review us on Google!

Happy Friday! Whether you've visited Dr. Zach Ehrmantrout for a week, months or even years, we'd love to hear your feedback about how our Olympia or Lacey office has fared during your orthodontic treatment. There are lots of places on the Web where you may share your reviews, but we'd like to direct you to our Google Local Page to write a review of us - it only takes a moment!

You may write your review here.

Thanks in advance and have a joyous and relaxing weekend!