Good Neighbor Podcast: Port Saint Lucie
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Port Saint Lucie. Good Neighbor Podcast hosted by Benjamin John helps residents discover and connect with your local business owners in and around Port St Lucie, Florida.
Is your business serving the residents of Port Saint Lucie? Then, we need to talk! Visit gnpPSL.com to schedule your free interview.
Good Neighbor Podcast: Port Saint Lucie
EP# 279: From Childhood Smiles to Balancing Family Life | Dr. Marcela Radojevic's Journey with ION Orthodontics
What makes Dr. Marcela Radojevic with ION Orthodontics a good neighbor?
What if the key to your child's future smile lies in a visit to the orthodontist at age seven? In this episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast, we chat with the vibrant and passionate Dr. Marcela Radojevic—affectionately known as Dr. Rad—who's transforming smiles and lives at ION Orthodontics in Port St. Lucie. From her early days helping out in her father's eye doctor office to becoming a leading orthodontist with over 500 active patients, Dr. Rad shares invaluable insights into the world of orthodontics. Discover why early intervention can prevent a host of dental issues and learn the truth behind common misconceptions about orthodontic care.
When she's not shaping perfect smiles, Dr. Rad is a devoted mother juggling the complexities of raising two energetic toddlers. She opens up about her balancing act between a bustling professional life and a lively home life, sharing both the joys and the challenges. This episode is a treasure trove of professional expertise and heartwarming stories, perfect for anyone seeking inspiration or advice on managing multiple roles. Don't miss out on Dr. Rad's expert tips and personal anecdotes that highlight her dedication to both her patients and her family.
To learn more about Dr. Marcela Radojevic go to:
https://www.ionortho.com/
ION Orthodontics
772-777-8283
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Garfield Bowen.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you need of an orthodontist? Well, one may be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing you, Dr Marcella Radovick. How? Are you doing today? How are you doing?
Speaker 3:Well, I'm doing, well, how are you doing?
Speaker 2:Listen, we're excited to learn all about you and your practice. Tell us about your company.
Speaker 3:Sure Ion Orthodontics is on the corner of Port St Lucie Boulevard and Morningside Boulevard and we've been open for about five years now. Methodonics is on the corner of Port St Lucie Boulevard and Morningside Boulevard and we've been open for about five years now. I opened it from start no patients and now we've got over 500 active patients in the practice, from young kids to adults in their 80s.
Speaker 2:I know everybody calls you Dr Rad for short right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's much easier to pronounce.
Speaker 2:Okay, and it's Ion Author Dantix. So how did you get into this business?
Speaker 3:I always really liked the competence of giving people beautiful smiles. My father was an eye doctor, and growing up I would work summers in his office, and I learned very quickly that I preferred to work with the younger crowd, and so I pursued general dentistry first and then specialized in orthodontics for a few additional years after that.
Speaker 2:What are the myths and misconceptions of your industry?
Speaker 3:The biggest myth I would say I hear a lot from parents is that they don't think their child is ready to see an orthodontist until all of their baby teeth fall out. And that could not be farther from the truth. We actually recommend starting to see an orthodontist around age seven, and the reason behind that is not so that we can slap braces on every little kid, but because it's important to make sure that growth and eruption of teeth is going according to plan, that the proper milestones are being met and that teeth are coming in properly. And if all goes well, then, yes, the last baby tooth falls out. We let you know when the child is ready for treatment. That is probably the number one misconception. The other misconception I hear a lot is probably just that orthodontics is only for kids and we treat children, teenagers, adults and middle-aged and elderly, so we treat all walks of life.
Speaker 2:I went to school for accounting so I may be ignorant of the subject, but when you put braces on the baby teeth, how does that help the other teeth?
Speaker 3:Well, the purpose to put braces on a baby tooth is not to give them straight teeth, it's usually to use it as an anchor of some sort. But now we're seeing so many young kids walking around with like chronic congestion allergies in Florida. They're breathing through their mouth. Potentially they have like history of tongue ties where they're not developing the palate, and so what's happening is a lot of teeth are getting blocked out and not being able to come in to the position. So when one tooth comes in, two baby teeth fall out and then it just becomes kind of a traffic jam situation of permanent teeth. So the purpose of putting anybody under the age of 12 in braces is usually to help make space for the permanent teeth that are supposed to be coming in.
Speaker 2:So we got to prevent the traffic jam.
Speaker 3:That's exactly right, because if we don't prevent the traffic jam, it becomes a much bigger project in the future, a much longer project.
Speaker 2:Okay, so Dr Rad when you're not so busy with your practice. What do you like to do for fun?
Speaker 3:Well, I am a mother of two young toddler boys, a two and a three-year-old so they keep me very busy. I wish I had time for hobbies. I used to love playing tennis piano. I have other interests, but right now my boys are keeping me very, very occupied.
Speaker 2:I know my brother's two years older than me and we used to wear my mother out and I think we put holes in every wall we could find.
Speaker 3:Yep, we're at about that age where we're trying to not only keep holes out of the walls but keep heads from knocking into each other.
Speaker 2:So let's switch gears a little bit. Life often does its curveballs. Let's talk about one hardship, one life challenge, something that you went through. You can look back to the inside. You're better and stronger because of it. What comes to mind? You can look back today and say you're better and stronger because of it.
Speaker 3:What comes to mind? Well, garfield, I guess one of the things that comes to mind is my father I mentioned was an eye doctor in the Port St Lucie community for over 20 years and he was diagnosed with cancer in my first year of practice and I would say that was a pretty difficult challenge for me to manage because you know it meant showing up as a boss at work and happy, you know like pleasant and excited to be treating patients but kind of dealing with that personal, private hardship on the side. He passed it in my first year of practice, which definitely was a learning, I guess, of resilience, being able to kind of just move on with grief and sadness. And being able to memorialize his name in my practice was really meaningful because I opened my practice just next door to where his practice used to be and I think it's overall made me appreciate life so much more and realize that it's not always just about work but also about enjoying the life that you're living while you're doing it.
Speaker 2:It's tough I lost a father as well and you never really forget. But oftentimes you can think about what he would say or what he would do, or you know what advice he would give in this particular situation. So it's always a good thing to do?
Speaker 3:Yep, it's a good. He gave me a very strong legacy to follow in terms of patient care, and it's nice when I still get patients coming into the practice that were patients of his, so it's all when I still get patients coming into the practice that were patients of his, so it's all come full circle.
Speaker 2:I'm going to put you on the spot a little bit. I want you, I know there's a lot you want to say about your practice, but I wanted you to narrow it down to one thing, one thing that you want our listeners to remember about Ion Orthodontics eye on orthodontics.
Speaker 3:I think educating the public on essentially knowing that braces is not just about straight teeth.
Speaker 3:I know that that's usually the misconception also, that people just want braces and people think, oh, I don't need braces because my teeth are fairly straight.
Speaker 3:But I think the beauty of what we do at my practice is we've made it a goal. We've achieved the goal to be 100% custom, meaning I treat and plan everything on the computer, which is the beauty of technology. Now we don't just put braces on one by one and eyeball it and hope we get to the end with a nice result. Now we do very intentional planning on the computer screen where I'm able to 3D print braces to the end with a nice result. Now we do very intentional planning on the computer screen where I'm able to 3D print braces to the exact prescription and movement that each individual tooth needs.
Speaker 3:Or if we're going with Invisalign or aligners, we're able to basically pre-plan everything so that the patient can be in treatment shorter and have a more customized smile to that individual and what that person needs. I think it definitely differentiates us in the area because it's not a technology that everybody's using and I know sometimes I look younger and inexperienced. I've heard that before. I don't get it as often anymore, but now I think the one thing I do have that someone maybe older in the area might be different is that edge on the technology, as well as being able to give patients a beautiful smile in a more efficient manner.
Speaker 2:Okay, you still look younger, and my listeners are probably have one question on their mind right now, and that's how? How can we get more information on ion orthodontists?
Speaker 3:We are very present on all social media realms, uh. So if you're uh into Facebook or Instagram, uh, you can find us under Ion Orthodontics, as well as uh even my young kids, they find me on TikTok. We uh like to go on there and do some fun dances, but probably the best place to find me is online, on our website, wwwionorthocom, and you can actually book a free consultation right online. Book a slot to come in and chat with me just to see what options are. If anyone's ever been curious about what their teeth might look like, we have even like simulators, and I'd say probably that is the most convenient way to reach out to us or at least schedule an appointment. Even at midnight on a random Saturday night, you can schedule with me.
Speaker 2:For those that just want to punch the buttons on the phone, is there a number you'd like to share?
Speaker 3:Sure, Our, uh, our office number is 772-777-8283. And, um you can, you can text us as well. Uh, call us, and uh, usually we're very responsive.
Speaker 2:Well, Dr Red, I really appreciate you being on the show. I wish you and your business the very best moving forward.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much, garfield, it was a pleasure.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Port St Lucie. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpportsaintluciecom. That's gnpportsaintluciecom, or call 772-362-3840.