We use the Damon System - Why does it matter???

Young and old, male and female, the Damon System delivers remarkable results. Dr William Thomas is an expert using this system. He has taught this system in multiple universities throughout the US and South America including Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Columbia.

The Damon System is based on a unique treatment philosophy that goes beyond straight teeth. Damon Doctors are trained to take the whole patient into account: the shape of your face, your profile, what you will look like into your 40s, 50s… and beyond.

Many people see a noticeable change not just in their teeth, but in their entire face. Often this result is without the use of 'palatal expanders', extractions, or surgery. The following are changes we see using the Damon System:

• A fuller, wider smile
• Better facial balance and aesthetics
• Smoother cheek contours which make narrow
  smiles look fuller and more inviting
• Fewer dark triangles within the corners
  of your mouth
• Straighter, less crowded & crooked teeth,
• Improved profiles…for a more youthful
  look at any age!

Many patients begin to see these dramatic results in as little as 10 weeks. Treatment that used to take 2-3 years and/or surgery, are now treated in 16-18 months and treated without surgery. The patient in this blog had 5 other consultations where he was told this exact plan: Surgery and 2-3 years. We used the Damon System, he did not have surgery, and finished treatment in 17 months. Evaluate the changes yourself - do you like the end result?

Visit our website (www.powaybraces.com), become informed, and come see us to see how the Damon System can help give you the smile you've always wanted.

Raffle for Ipod Shuffle / 100$ Best Buy Gift Certificate!

We are close to our Raffle for the Ipod Shuffle & 100$ gift certificate to Best Buy! To enter, simply become a fan on our FaceBook page.

Once we get to 100 fans, we will have two patients pick the winners from the first 100 fans on Facebook. You can find our link on the bottom of our Main Web Site page ~ all you have to do it click on it and it will take you right there.

If your not a member of Facebook, its a great time to learn about this terrific social networking program!

All of us at Dr. Thomas' Orthodontic practice wish you and your family a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2010.

New Thursday Hours

In response to many requests, our office will begin to offer early appointments on Thursdays - starting at 7am. Our new Thursday hours will be from 7am - 3pm to help families minimize time missed from school and work.

All of us at Dr. Thomas' Orthodontic practice wish you and your family a Happy & Fun New Year in 2010!

Our New Facebook Page & Santa's Visit Dec 22,23rd!

Don’t forget to sign up as a fan on our NEW Facebook page. The first 100 families / patients who sign up will be entered into our drawing for a I pod shuffle or a $100 gift certificate to Best Buy!!!

Our new Facebook link can be found on the bottom of our main website page – www.powaybraces.com

All you have to do is click on the link and it will take you right to our page. Sign up and become entered for the drawing.

Also, keep coming back to our site, Blog, and Facebook pages to keep updated with our raffles, games, and upcoming events.

Speaking of upcoming events, did you know Santa will be visiting our office December 22 & 23rd between 2-5pm? Santa has agreed to visit and take pictures will anyone who would like to have their picture taken with him. Appointment times are not necessary – come and meet Santa and have your picture taken with him!!!

Poway Braces Movie Night Dec 2009

What a fantastic turnout we had for our first Powaybraces Movie Night. 300 patients and their families attended a private screening of ‘A Christmas Carol’ staring Jim Carry. The 3D effects were amazing!!!

Thank you to everyone who attended & we look forward to our next movie night in the spring of 2010. Our next movie will be held in the largest theater so we can accommodate closer to 400 people. Visit our Facebook page to see more pictures from Movie Night – the link is at the bottom of our web site.

Bite Correction Without Headgear!

Our office, powaybraces, uses the Herbst appliance to correct difficult bite problems. The newest version of this appliance is so small that all of our patients say its really comfortable, easy to eat with, and is not visible when talking.

Correction of dental protrusion, upper front teeth sticking out, is often difficult requiring patients to wear headgear. Headgear has been used by Orthodontists for decades and works well.

Problem is, children for the most part, find it very difficult to wear, uncomfortable, and ultimately do not wear it enough to achieve full correction of the bite problem. Orthodontists then must resort to rubber band wear to achieve a reasonable result. Again, this requires a tremendous amount of patient cooperation and diligence.

An additional benefit to the new smaller herbst appliance is a reduction of treatment time. We are finding correction of these difficult bites can be achieved in 18-20 months instead of the typical 24-30 months with headgear. This alone is remarkable.

A final benefit to the new smaller herbst appliance is we can reduce the number of appointments lessening the intrusion into your busy life. During bite correction with the new herbst appliance, appointments are typically scheduled every 3 months apart. Since this bite corrector is cemented and works full time every day, the movement and correction is far faster than with headgear. And absolutely no help is required by the patient in having to wear anything – especially a headgear. This is the best of all worlds!

All of us at Dr. Thomas' orthodontic office wish you and your family a wonderful 2009 Holiday Season.

Poway Braces Movie Night

Reminder: Poway Braces Movie Night is this Saturday, December 5th! Tickets are available for Dr.Thomas' patients and families at our office. Tickets are on a first come first serve basis & we are close to having a sellout!!

We're so excited to host this event - our first Poway Braces Movie Evening. We have room for 250 people and includes one drink and pop corn!!!!

The movie we are showing is Jim Carry's 'A Christmas Carol'.

We wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving!

All of us at Dr Thomas' Orthodontic practice wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving. We want to recognize and extend our utmost thanks to our armed forces who protect us all around the world. It is their sacrifice, dedication, and extended time away from loved ones. Thank you so very much from Powaybraces!

Thanks Giving Contest Winner

Congratulations to Emily Carroll for winning our Thanksgiving contest!!!! We asked our patients to write a summary about what they were thankful for this Thanksgiving & the response was really heart warming. Emily did an incredible job!!!! The gift basket was full of goodies specifically for Thanksgiving.

Thank you to all of our terrific patients for contributing to this contest.

All of us at Dr. Thomas' Orthodontic practice wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Clear Aligners for almost Everyone!

Dr Thomas recently completed online training with a new aligner company called Clear Correct. Visit their web site for this exciting new clear aligner (non braces) therapy. www.clearcorrect.com

The training included advanced information about a new 3D scanning technique which enables the cost of aligners to be significantly reduced compared to Invisalign. Also, Teens may qualify for aligners if all of their permanent teeth are in and if they have bites that qualify.

Ask us about our new aligner therapy and if its a great fit for you.

Continuing Education is Critical Today

Our mission and responsibility at powaybraces.com is to constantly stay abreast of current information in all phases of orthodontic treatment. At the meeting we just attended in Atlantic City, updates on advanced 3D imaging, missing teeth, infection control and the H1N1 virus were just a few topics experts shared current information.

Our office is highly proactive regarding the H1N1 virus - we require any ill patient to reschedule their appointment and we request families to not bring ill children or adults into our waiting room. Hand disinfection containers /solutions are in our office for use by everyone.

Dr Thomas attends well over the minimum 25 hours a year of Advanced Continuing Education, required by the State of California Dental Board. He often attends or teaches 50-75 hours each year. Our next orthodontic meeting is the upcoming Damon Forum, to be held in Phoenix Arizona. This is one of the largest and most informative meetings in the Orthodontic field. Dr Thomas has taught at each of the past 3 annual meetings as a certified educator for the Damon System.

In addition, Dr Thomas is President of the Southern California Damon Study Club, a member of the Progressive Orthodontic Study Club, and has taught in many locations in North and South America.

Things To Know About Our Office

1. We offer advanced orthodontic treatment technology using the Damon system. This self-ligating system minimizes the friction, binding and discomfort normally experienced with conventional braces. The Damon system allows Dr. Thomas to create a wider more attractive smile without the extraction of permanent teeth or headgear.

2. We offer state of the art digital technology for diagnosis and treatment planning. We use a three-dimensional radiography system for bone scans and C.T. scans when indicated.

3. We offer laser-assisted treatment for tooth exposure or gum contouring to compliment each patient’s smile. Perfection is our standard.

4. We rarely use rapid palatal expansion devices (RPE) for the correction of cross-bites and or crowding. Gradual expansion is most often achieved using a fixed appliance in addition to the Damon bracket system for the most comfortable, efficient approach to correction.

5. The Damon System allows us to eliminate the need for molar bands during orthodontic treatment. Molar bands can collect debris, which can increase the chances for decay around the banded molars.

6. We truly care about our patients & customer service. Our reception room has a refrigerator full of cold water bottles, custom coffee machine, warm chocolate chip cookies, pop corn freshly popped, comfortable seating, and recent up to date magazines to read.

7. Our parking area had ample spaces to park. There is never a need to drive around and around looking for a spot.

8. Dr. Thomas is an innovator in advanced orthodontic technology. He is proficient in the use of temporary anchorage devices, also known as TADS. These are anchorage devices that allow Dr. Thomas to straighten teeth, correct occlusal cants, close spaces from missing teeth and upright molars without the use of headgear.

9. Dr. Thomas is an internationally recognized speaker for the Damon System and plays an integral part in new product development for the makers of the Damon System.

10. Dr. Thomas believes that retention is a critical part of orthodontic treatment. This is why we provide permanent lower retainers in addition to clear removable retainers for each patient. We strive to maintain the beautiful smiles we have created.

11. Dr Thomas is a published author in the Orthodontic Field - Clinical impressions; November 2009

$100 Best Buy Gift Certificate & i pod Shuffle Raffle

Powaybraces is having a contest for the first 100 patients / families who become friends with us on our Face Book page! The first 100 to make us their friend get entered into a raffle to win either a $100 gift certificate to Best Buy or an ipod shuffle.

Stay tuned or future fun events in our office!! Did you know we are having a Movie Night in December? See our previous posts about this upcoming event and how to receive your tickets.

Micro Implants (TADs)

Micro Implants (TADs)
One of the newest innovations to become available in orthodontics involves the use of Temporary Anchorage Devices (TADs) to move teeth. TADs are small attachments that Dr. Thomas places directly into the bone to provide absolute anchorage (stability) for tooth movement.

TADs are usually placed using a topical gel and a local anesthetic (no need for shots at all!) Most of our patients report absolutely no soreness from the TADs, although tooth soreness may continue due to regular orthodontic movements. TADs are used in situations where very difficult tooth movements are required, or in situations that would otherwise require surgery.

Continuing Orthodontic Education

We are proud to announce our very own Scarlett Thomas has been invited to speak as a guest lecturer at the Middle Atlantic Society of Orthodontists November 4th 2009! Its an honor to be invited to present material to Orthodontic Societies - Scarlett is no stranger to public speaking. In addition to her duties as Treatment Coordinator and Office Manager, Scarlett also runs a consulting business for Orthodontists - Orthodontic Management Solutions.

Over the last few years, Scarlett has been invited to speak to the American Association of Orthodontists, Damon Forum and the Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists

All of us at Dr. Thomas' office are excited for Scarlett as she contributes information to the orthodontic world. Visit our web site at www.powaybraces.com for more information about Scarlett and poway braces in general.

Halloween at PowayBraces.com

We had a really fun week - so many awesome costumes by patients & our team. Visit our FaceBook page to see more photos of the fun we had!! The first 100 patients / families to become our friends on Facebook will be entered into a raffle for an iPod Video. Contest ends November 30th, 2009.

A friendly reminder about our Poway Ultra Star Cinema Movie night!! December 5th Dr Thomas & his team have rented out an entire movie theater for the wonderful families who come to our practice. This is our way of saying than you for your support, friendship, and trust in taking care of your famies Orthodontic needs. We sincerely value & thank YOU!! Tickets can be picked up at our office at 13376 Poway Road (www.powaybraces.com).

Included with the movie night is one drink along with a bag of popcorn. All of Dr Thomas' team is really excited to share Jim Carry's 'A Christmas Carol' and have a great time. We hope to see you there!

New Web Site Layout

Thomas Orthodontics is proud to announce a new layout for our powaybraces.com web site! Our new site incorporates the ability to review testimonials, print medical history forms (to fill out prior to coming in to save your valuable time), information about treatment, new patient information, kids corner with fun games and links, and a log in screen for our patients to view and enter their account, photos, and treatment plans!!!

We also have incorporated a new Blog area directly on our site - one which allows us the ability to distribute information about our office quickly (soon to be linked to our web site). On the bottom of our new web site are links to a new Facebook page dedicated to our office!! Come join us and enter into our new upcoming raffle for an Ipod shuffle!!!! Bookmark our web site and Facebook and come back often to see what we're up to and our contests. Also come see who has braces on and who's getting braces off.

Our office is dedicated to the highest quality treatment in a fun and caring atmosphere. It's how we would want to be treated. All of us as Dr Thomas Orthodontics look forward to either seeing you again or meeting you for the first time. Sincerely, Dr William Thomas

Setting the Standard

It's always a great feeling when returning from a continuing education meeting. Our mission at powaybraces.com is to constantly stay abreast of current information in all phases of orthodontic treatment. At the meeting we just attended, updates on advanced 3D imaging, missing teeth, infection control and the H1N1 virus were just a few topics experts shared current information. We attend well over the minimum 25 hours a year by the California Dental Board - easily doubling this amount each year. In addition, Dr Thomas teaches at the Southern California Damon Study Club, Damon Forum, and other locations in North and South America.

Movie Night

Don't miss Dr Thomas' patient appreciation movie night Dec 5th! Drop by our office to pick up your complimentary tickets to see Jim Carry in 'A Christmas Carol'. We've rented out an entire theater for our patients to enjoy this show!

Advanced Continuing Education

We are attending an Orthodontic convention / meeting for advanced continuing education in Phoenix Arizona! The orthodontic meeting is focused on learning about latest research findings we can use to directly help our patients. Dr Thomas is constantly attending the most up to date meetings & courses to learn about current research / findings to help his patients. A terrific lecture attended was on self ligation braces - which is exactly what we already use in our practice (Damon Braces)!

Braces & Chocolate Chip Cookies

Did you know it is totally fine to eat chocolate chip cookies with braces?? At Powaybraces we not only like the idea, we bake them fresh and hot right in our office for patients and their famies to enjoy. Like the idea, we love it! Add to that a refrigerator filled with ice cold water or milk, and you have yourself a terrific way to spend time at the orthodontist. Dr. Thomas creates an enviornment where braces, fun, and great food combine to make your visit with us as fun as possible!

Movie Night Dec 5th, 7pm!

PowayBraces.com is having a movie night on December 5th, 2009! A ticket will be given to the first 250 patients who come into our Poway office and pick up their movie ticket! We are renting our the theater for our own private screening of Jim Carry in 'A Christmas Carol'. Come spend the evening with us and enjoy this very funny and fun film.

How do Damon Braces Work?

The Damon System is not just a new product, it's a new way of treating orthodontic patients. Conventional treatment all too often requires removal of teeth and/or the use of palatal expanders to make space. Although removal of teeth and the use of palatal expanders may be required, we have found their use is dramatically lowered with the Damon System. Another benefit is the elimination of elastic "rubber band" ties. While a mainstay of braces for years, their use greatly increases friction thereby slowing tooth movement - this directly increases the number of appointments required to correct a patients bite.

Damon passive self-ligating braces that eliminate the need for elastic or metal "ties". With Damon tie-less braces you can experience treatment without tightening.

Thousands of happy patients have been treated in our practice: Dr. Thomas' Poway Braces and we look forward to sharing the benefits of the Damon system with many more in the future!

Welcome To Dr Thomas' Blog

Welcome to the Poway Orthodontics page! We've recently installed new ways to stay connected to our office- Facebook, Youtube, and our very own blog! Visit us by clicking the icons at the top right of the blog.

We look forward to seeing you soon,
Dr. Thomas & staff