Health Safety Protocols

To Our Valued Patients at Surprise Smiles,

Welcome! We are open, looking forward to seeing returning patients, accepting new patients, and operating under normal business hours! The Arizona Department of Health Services (AZDS) is still not recommending any type of closures or modification in hours. We will continue to monitor information coming from both the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and AZDHS and keep you apprised of any changes or updates. We will stay on top of this information and bring it to you as soon as possible through our website, email, and social media.

As we continue to navigate through the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, our dentists and dental team want to assure you that we are continuing to do our best to make sure it a priority that we are following the latest health and safety guidelines from the CDC, specifically as they relate to the dental industry. We value keeping our patients and staff members safe and comfortable.

As part of our daily standard health and safety protocols, our office follows ‘Universal Precautions’ in order to protect our patients and our staff. These are precautions we have always taken, and are not new. By taking ‘universal precautions’ means we always assume that anyone could potentially be carrying a contagious and dangerous disease. We therefore follow strict guidelines to prevent the transmission of any potential disease, be it COVID-19 (Coronavirus), hepatitis, tuberculosis, HIV, or any other disease. This has been a standard of care we follow, per the CDC, in regard to blood borne pathogens.

These measures include:
• strict hand washing protocols

• use of (single use) disposable protective equipment and barriers

• thorough disinfection of exposed or potentially exposed surfaces after every patient visit

• disinfection and high-heat steam sterilization of instruments and routine monitoring of sterilization verification

• continued education on infection control

Specific to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) we have added in additional precautionary and cleaning measures including:
• disinfecting common surface areas every 30 minutes

• providing hand sanitizer in common areas

• screening everyone who enters our offices based on CDC recommendations

• offering preprocedural mouth rinse

As state and national health and safety regulations change and evolve during these times, Surprise Smiles is dedicated to monitoring and evaluating our dental practice and office space for any potential risks as we serve our patients and community. We strive to maintain an approach to our dentistry services that is both safe and beneficial to everyone we serve.

We strive to provide a safe, healthy, comfortable, and relaxed environment for everyone that comes into our dental office. We follow the American Dental Association’s Update to Office Procedures During COVID-19 in regard to safe office procedures, workplace hazards, and making decisions for best office practices. We stay informed on recent information given to dentists in this regard, as well as keeping up to date with any changes recommended by the CDC.

Please let us know if you have any questions in regard to our health and safety protocols here at Surprise Smiles. We recognize that it can be challenging during these unprecedented times of COVID-19. We all want to get back to our normal lives, and we will be able to do so, in a safe, wise, and healthy manner. We will be happy to answer any questions that you may have in regard to our dental practice health and safety protocols, cleaning, and disinfecting procedures we follow.

Thank you for continuing to be a valued patient here at Bradshaw Family Dental. We look forward to continuing to serve you and your dental needs through the various services we provide for you, from preventive dentistry, restorative dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, pediatric dentistry, sedation dentistry, dental implants and more!

Head Gear
Prescott Valley, AZ

Preventive Dental Tips provided by Our Expert Dentists in Prescott Valley, AZ at Bradshaw Family Dental

The interesting thing about orthodontic work is that every case is different. Some cases are fairly similar to a general archetype and others may fall well outside what we normally see. When your child is receiving orthodontic work at Bradshaw Family Dental, we may see fit to apply headgear braces under certain circumstances. These braces require that headgear is worn to help properly align the jaw while simultaneously straightening teeth. But what is headgear, and how does it differ from the regular bracket and wire braces?

What is headgear?

The term “headgear” refers to the external appliances that are used to help guide the growth of the facial and jaw structures. Traditional bracket and wire braces can move teeth about using their neighboring teeth as anchors – setting the limit of movement for teeth using traditional braces at the limits of neighboring teeth. But what happens when we need to move teeth into positions that are outside the confines of neighboring teeth? We need to use structures outside the mouth to provide a supporting anchor system that we can use to leverage teeth into the areas of the jaw that they need to be.

We understand that even traditional braces can be somewhat stigmatizing for children, headgear is often seen as a very obvious source of stigmatization. For those who are worried about the stigma that comes along with headgear, we would like to point out that our application of these systems almost always needs not be worn during the day. Typically, your child will wear the headgear during the night so they can avoid the social discomfort of wearing headgear to school.

Situations That Require Headgear

There are two basic forms of headgear that are used in orthodontics. Retraction headgear (AKA Class II correction) is used to retract the upper jaw or retard its forward movement to prevent overbite. Protraction headgear (AKA Class III correction) is used to move the upper jaw forward while stabilizing the lower jaw.

We treat overbite with retraction headgear on a much more consistent basis than we treat other varieties of orthodontic cases. This is often done to create more space for incoming teeth when there is crowding.

Headgear is only applied to children and teens because it affects the facial structure while it is still growing. At a certain point, our facial structures stop growing and the only thing that can change the jaw is a surgical alteration.

How Headgear is Fitted

There are two different varieties of headgear, the facebow, and the J-hook. The facebow headgear has a single strap that wraps around the back of the head. J-hook style headgear use wires that attach to the braces and has straps that fit over the head and around the neck. Each type of headgear is applicable for different reasons and circumstances.

Your oral health and that of your children are important to us here at Bradshaw Family Dental. If you would like to schedule an appointment, please call us today at (928) 277-0076. We look forward to seeing your smile!

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FAMILY GRAPHIC2 Bradshaw Family Dental Dentist Prescott AZ DR Zeiger

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Bradshaw Family Dental
& Smile Design Center

Prescott Valley
7136 East Pav Way
Prescott Valley, AZ 86314
(928) 277-0076

Prescott
172 E Merritt St.
Suite F
Prescott, Arizona 86301
(928) 443-1200

Head Gear - Prescott Valley, AZ • Bradshaw Family Dental
We can make many simple corrections to prevent an overbite or make more space for teeth coming in with head gear worn at night. Click through the link to learn more.
Bradshaw Family Dental, 7136 East Pav Way, Prescott Valley, AZ 86314 : (928) 277-0076 : bradshawfamilydental.com : 9/30/2024 : Key Phrases: dentist Prescott Valley :

Health Safety Protocols

Head GearPrescott Valley, AZ

What is headgear?

Situations That Require Headgear

How Headgear is Fitted

Head Gear
Prescott Valley, AZ