Good Neighbor Podcast North Atlanta
EP #101: Kaplan Orthodontics - Am I Too Old to Straighten My Teeth? with Dr. Jason Kaplan
Curious if you’re ever too old for orthodontic treatment? Join us as we sit down with Dr. Jason Kaplan of Kaplan Orthodontics to explore the transformative power of adult orthodontics. Dr. Kaplan brings a wealth of knowledge, revealing that age is no barrier, with patients even in their 80s achieving stunning results. He shares insights into the lifelong importance of retention and discusses the dual motivations of cosmetic and functional needs that drive adults to seek orthodontic care. As our dental appearance shifts naturally with age, discover how orthodontic treatments can enhance both your oral health and aesthetics, providing a comprehensive solution for a radiant smile at any stage of life.
In our conversation, Dr. Kaplan walks us through the diverse array of orthodontic options available for adults, from clear aligner therapy like Invisalign to traditional braces and even braces that fit behind the teeth. Learn about the evaluation process, factors influencing treatment duration, and the unique challenges faced by adults who’ve previously worn braces. Tune in for a wealth of knowledge and inspiration from Dr. Kaplan's expertise and community dedication.
Curious if you’re ever too old for orthodontic treatment? Join us as we sit down with Dr. Jason Kaplan of Kaplan Orthodontics to explore the transformative power of adult orthodontics. Dr. Kaplan brings a wealth of knowledge, revealing that age is no barrier, with patients even in their 80s achieving stunning results. He shares insights into the lifelong importance of retention and discusses the dual motivations of cosmetic and functional needs that drive adults to seek orthodontic care. As our dental appearance shifts naturally with age, discover how orthodontic treatments can enhance both your oral health and aesthetics, providing a comprehensive solution for a radiant smile at any stage of life.
In our conversation, Dr. Kaplan walks us through the diverse array of orthodontic options available for adults, from clear aligner therapy like Invisalign to traditional braces and even braces that fit behind the teeth. Learn about the evaluation process, factors influencing treatment duration, and the unique challenges faced by adults who’ve previously worn braces. Tune in for a wealth of knowledge and inspiration from Dr. Kaplan's expertise and community dedication.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Stacey Risley.
Speaker 2:Hello friends and neighbors, welcome to North Atlanta's Good Neighbor Podcast. Today we are back with Dr Jason Kaplan. He is the founder and owner of Kaplan Orthodontics here in Dunwoody and a repeat guest, one of my favorites because he's so easy to talk to, and I'm so happy to have you back, dr Kaplan Orthodontics here in Dunwoody and a repeat guest, one of my favorites because he's so easy to talk to, and I'm so happy to have you back, dr Kaplan.
Speaker 3:Oh, thank you, Stacey. It's so good to see you, and what most of your fans don't know is that there's another force behind this podcast, right, who is with us regularly, and this is Kiana. So I want to make sure I give a good shout out to Kiana, who always makes this so fun and easy for you and I, so I'm very glad to be back to be able to talk with everybody from Good Neighbor.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Well, I'll echo exactly what Dr Kaplan just said. This would not be possible without Kiana, and I am so thankful for her. She is behind the scenes, does all the editing and does the works. She's our production everything.
Speaker 2:We started by calling her a production assistant and that's just. I'm like that's just a fake title we need to give her. She does it all. She's the production guru of our podcast. So thank you, kiana. Well, back to Kaplan Orthodontics and to Dr Kaplan's also the expert contributor of Dunwoody Neighbors magazine. So I appreciate his ongoing sponsorship and support and that he gives great educational topics, talks about them related to his field, and in the current issue of Dunwoody Neighbors he has an article titled Am I Too Old to Straighten my Teeth A question I think a lot of us we're going to kind of delve into that and a lot of us are going to get some answers that we, including myself, have considered this very seriously. So, dr Kaplan, am I too old to straighten my teeth?
Speaker 3:You are definitely not too old to straighten your teeth, and I actually haven't met someone yet who is too old to straighten their teeth.
Speaker 3:So let's step back a little bit in time. For most of us who are listening to the podcast right now and for those of us who received braces, maybe in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and during those decades, the profession of orthodontics was still highly researched. There were a lot of people trying to figure out what is the best way to straighten teeth. And then the big question, the most important question, is how do we retain all of those corrections? So we had a period of time where people would wear their retainers full time for a while and then they would wear it a little bit less, maybe a couple of times a week, and then not wear it at all. The orthodontist would discontinue them from wearing their retainer or they self-prescribed no more wearing of their retainer.
Speaker 3:Dog got it, lost it at college. The stories go on and on, and what we learned is that teeth really need like a lifetime of retention. So here we are right now in 2024, and I'm seeing a lot of adults and I'm not talking people who are just my age, around 50. I'm talking about people who are in their 60s and 70s. My oldest patient actually happens to be turning 89 this year, so it's really incredible to see.
Speaker 2:Okay, so I have to say I'm going to interject and I'm so sorry to do that, but 89 is a patient of yours that is amazing. So I would have thought if someone had asked me, as someone who's 89, too old to have braces, I would probably have thought yes, but I'm so glad to know that I'm wrong.
Speaker 3:No, you are definitely not too old. I mean, it's really interesting because orthodontics, there's a big functional component to it, right? So adults will seek orthodontics because they're forced to or they'll seek orthodontics because they're not happy with the cosmetics, the way it looks, or there's a problem with the way they speak, or they've had some sort of trauma and they're working in conjunction, maybe in a multidisciplinary way, with other dental professionals.
Speaker 3:So whether it's their dentist to be able to get a crown, or to open up a space so they can have a bridge or an implant. A lot of times we have patients actually most of the time we have patients who are coming in because they just didn't wear their retainer, like I said earlier, and they want those teeth restrained and they're very particular about it. They say to me can I?
Speaker 3:just do the bottom or, you know, can I just do this one tooth?
Speaker 3:Well, the reality is, as we age and anybody who was born in those decades that I said earlier, but especially the 60s and the 70s, those of us who are, who are turning, going through the 50s and 60s right now we really understand how our bodies are changing, how we're losing a lot of elasticity in our skin. We're starting to see a lot more of our lower teeth because our lips, the elastic fibers that are within the tissues which help keep our tissues really taut sagging a bit, and so we're starting to see more things that we didn't realize, right. I mean, we're getting more of those age lines. So you know, when you start seeing these things about yourself and you're like whoa, I never really noticed that about my teeth before. Now there's an opportunity. It's always been there. It just hasn't been very popular, but now it's. It's more and more popular as people want to take care of themselves and they're working hard on on their bodies because they want it to last as long as possible on their bodies, because they want it to last as long as possible.
Speaker 3:Once an adult tooth is gone, it can be replaced, but it's so much easier and more affordable to keep your teeth.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, so you mentioned something that definitely applies to me. You said that you'll have questions from adults. Can I just straighten my bottom teeth? You know, and I am one of those that you, that you mentioned, who lost I, you know, I did wear my retainers pretty regularly until I lost one and I didn't have it replaced, you know, and that was after after college and then I, so I just never got it back and over time they've just slowly changed pretty significantly, and it surprised me that my bottom teeth changed so much, because you know, when I got braces initially, you know it was my bottom teeth were pretty straight and then my top teeth were the issue, but I of course had braces on top and bottom, and then my bottom teeth are the ones that have really shifted and moved, and so I noticed them a lot and I would be one that would be interested if you know I could just straighten the bottoms if that was an option.
Speaker 2:But I've been told and you can elaborate on this that the reason that's not an option is because it affects your whole bite and the answer to that question is no right.
Speaker 3:You don't have a new answer for me, do you? No, it's not. No, it's maybe and I hate to throw in the question mark about we love to have black and white when it comes to health care right, if you diet and exercise, you will lose weight. You know, we're not even taking genetics into consideration. You're definitely going to lose weight. You're going to have that body that you want at 50, 60, 70. But we know that that's not necessarily the case. Some of us have, you know, gone on exercise, you know exercise programs, and we work and we work and we're trying to eat, right, but we still have trouble getting over some sort of hump to be able to have, you know, the physique that we're looking for.
Speaker 3:And with teeth, the way that the body works is as you chew over time, your teeth have a natural tendency actually to move forward. So where most adults will not see a lot of upper tooth crowding, they'll see a lot of lower tooth crowding. They'll see a lot of lower tooth crowding and it's because of these teeth wanting to migrate forward and because of the upper jaw getting a little bit narrower. So we like to think about it in this way If you were a size eight shoe for your entire adulthood and all of a sudden you couldn't buy size eights, you could only buy size sevens. What's going to happen to your toes? They're going to get going to kind of fold on top of each other, going to stack on top of each other, and that's a similar thing that can happen with your teeth. If the upper jaw gets a little too narrow, there's not enough space for the lower jaw to be able to fit. So this is what you were referring to, stacey, with regard to bite.
Speaker 3:So we have to look at what's available and what then is realistic. Like, for instance, this morning out of Asian who came in. There was no way she was going to have treatment on the top whether it's Invisalign or clear braces or braces behind the teeth, it just didn't matter, she only wanted lower braces. So that's a limiting factor in what the orthodontic provider is able to do. So we have to use our education which most of us go to school for four years of dental school plus two to three years of an orthodontic residency and then we use our lifetime of experience to figure out how can we make this so that the patient has what she wants or he wants and without causing any other problems, in you know, without affecting their bite, without affecting their gum tissue, without affecting their bone. So a lot of science goes into it, and it's not just oh, I can straighten this one tooth. It doesn't always happen that way, because we have to take the whole body into consideration.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, and I'm going to have to come in and have you take a look at my teeth to see. So what are the options? What are the trends that you're seeing with your adult patients? As far as I know that you offer Invisalign and that there are another different options. Are the options the same for adults as they are for kids?
Speaker 3:Again every patient we will offer the option that we feel is best for them as a profession and sometimes it doesn't matter which way you go, whether it's a clear aligner therapy like Invisalign, or if it's braces.
Speaker 3:So if we go back to 2020, and I know those times were really difficult for a lot of people and some people it was a great time because they were on camera all the time for their work and they were able to wear masks out in public. So they sought opportunities to get their teeth straightened, whether it was with aligners or with braces, and so we saw a boom in adult treatment. That started around that time during COVID-19. And that has actually continued on. So people got braces and then they talked to their friends like, oh, you did Invisalign. Wow, that's amazing, I can straighten my teeth too.
Speaker 3:And so here we are in the orthodontic profession, seeing an elevation in the number of adult cases that are coming in for a variety of reasons, and it's not all because they have to. It's really nice to see patients coming in because they want to take care of themselves. Their dentist is telling them you're building up too much tartar calculus around your teeth. You're not able to clean them very well. You need to get them straightened. So those types of things things in addition to aesthetics is is really driving um adults to to help themselves and they should help themselves. They worked hard their entire life like take care of yourself. And so here we are, and and the orthodontist is now seeing a whole different type of uh of teen patient, right, the the really older teen patient in their 40s, 50s, 60s and even in their forties, fifties, sixties and even in their late eighties, right?
Speaker 3:So it's really it's really fun to be an adult and and treat adults, because we can joke about all the same kinds of stuff. I mean, my kids are I've got one kid in college and my other son is a junior in high school and I get to joke with all the parents about how late these kids stay up. Like why are you up?
Speaker 3:so late Like go to bed earlier, wake up refreshed, Like we, you. Why don't you put your clothes away, Like, why do they have to stay in the laundry basket? You've got to adjust your drawers, like these kinds of things and it it makes the profession so much more fun than talking to someone when you can talk with them.
Speaker 2:I could see that that would make a lot of sense, just that adult interaction and being able to relate to them. On stuff raising teenagers, lord, that was mine are 21 and 23 now, so you know, you know, but yes, I have been there for sure. I'm happy to survived and they're phenomenal.
Speaker 3:But I do want to stress that you asked about options, so the main options right now for orthodontics in general is clear aligner therapy, like Invisalign.
Speaker 3:There are other companies that make aligners, and each provider will choose what they feel is the best for lack of a better term tool in their hand to be able to provide the service for their patients Metal braces, clear braces, and there are some excellent providers of braces that go behind the teeth and, depending on the experience of that provider and the comfort for the patient remember, the tongue is there, and so something that's constantly up against the tongue may not be the most comfortable or maybe the best, because they're an actor and they don't want anything on the front so they can be in front of the camera. But there are braces that go behind the teeth that do a great job too. So we have lots of options for adults, but the provider that you visit will offer the one that they feel is going to be the best for you I was thinking, as you said, that they had braces behind the teeth, um, as an option.
Speaker 2:I'm like gosh, that's funny, I've never seen that.
Speaker 3:And I'm like, well, yeah, that's great, I should have just told on myself, just that I'm hoping your friends who have had braces behind their teeth are listening right now so they can say, oh, she never saw them. Like that was well worth the experience.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've never even thought I'd ever have heard of that. Even it's what I should have said or should have thought.
Speaker 3:No, it's great.
Speaker 2:No one's opened their mouth and shown me their braces.
Speaker 3:That's the whole purpose is not to see it.
Speaker 2:Right For cosmetic reasons, but that does seem like that would be really uncomfortable in your tongue, though, but I'm imagining that they thought all of that out when they made them.
Speaker 2:If someone is interested in perhaps getting just an evaluation to see, you know, like me, for instance, if it is even an option to do just your bottom teeth, or if you know what, what the options are, how long that we would potentially. I know that you can't predict that with 100 percent certainty, but you can give an estimate of how long. And here's another question for you If, if a you know if I've had braces in the past and so I like is the second time around, is it less, less? Does it take less time? That's a great question.
Speaker 3:Those are the questions we get all the time. Stacey, by the way. Great interview.
Speaker 1:I love it Okay, so let's start with adults.
Speaker 3:When I say we, I'm talking me and my team. We see adults who had treatment when they were in their teens and now they've had 30 or 40 years of change with their teeth. Their bone composition is a little bit different. They have a different amount of hardness to their bone. It also changes, or also depends, along ethnic lines. There are some populations that have very dense bone and it takes a little bit longer to move those teeth than others.
Speaker 3:We have patients that come in who have periodontal disease and need teeth moved. That's a different amount of force over time to be able to slide the teeth into the right spot. So everybody's a little bit different. And when you come into my office and I'm sure many other offices you will have an exam. They will evaluate how your gum tissue looks, count how many teeth you have, what is the condition of your teeth. Of course, if it's accompanied by a referral from the dentist or a periodontist who is a gum specialist, then they'll have some information on what it is they're trying to accomplish and then that information gets relayed to you. Today, for example, I had a patient come in who had treatment when she was younger and when I say younger, she's in her late thirties, right?
Speaker 1:now.
Speaker 3:She had treatment when she was 13. A fixed retainer was placed on her lower teeth, and sometimes those fixed retainers break or and they get altered in ways Some people call them permanent retainers by the way break or and they get altered in ways Some people call them permanent retainers, by the way and teeth can still move Right. And so she was coming in to find out, like what's going on here, like why did this particular thing happen? And so we have to, you know, put on our our, our sleuth sleuth hats and figure out, you know, what has transpired over these last 24 years, and that in itself is well worth the time just to come in and meet with the orthodontist to get the information that you need. And if it's something that requires collaboration with another dental provider, then we're on it. That's our job to be able to guide you in what we think is the right direction for you to have healthy teeth and keep them as long as possible.
Speaker 2:Okay, and so as far as the length of time I mean, that's going to vary case by case. Of course, A few months to a couple years even.
Speaker 3:You know, depending on the patient, what we're trying to accomplish. I mean, if it's somebody who needs jaw surgery, that takes us down one route. If somebody with a lot of crowding and they don't want us to take out teeth, that may be another length of time. But on average I think from looking at my stats, my adult patients are typically in treatment somewhere around the 12 month mark.
Speaker 1:We try to keep it low and very direct.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we try to keep it very direct. So if a patient comes in and says I only want to fix this, you know whatever this is and we can do that within a short period of time, even though they may have other issues we will share with them. You have this problem, you have lived with it X amount of time. Is it something that you would like to fix right now? If it's not causing another issue no jaw joint problems, or they're not wearing their teeth down or having any type of recession from their bite then we may choose a very short treatment time under a year, under six months in order to just fix that particular problem. But they may be in a situation that they only want one thing fixed but it requires us to fix many more things in order to get to that one deal. Kind of like you know you get a box of cereal and you have to go through a bit of that cereal until you get to the prize that's at the box. Do they still do prizes in cereal?
Speaker 2:Like we don't buy cereal with prizes in it, but it used to be. I don't even know, but it used to be. I should know because I really like Fruity Pebbles. Yeah, there, definitely used to be.
Speaker 3:So, just like that, where you have to spend some time, you know, to get into it, to prepare yourself to be able to get that tooth in its right position, or those teeth in their right position.
Speaker 2:Well, that does sound like an overall, because you said you would guess with your statistics that around a year is average for adults. Obviously, some cases can be much longer, I would imagine, and possibly even shorter. But is that about what is your average now for kids? I know when I was in braces they would say the average was like two, two to two and a half years, you know, and yeah, that number has changed even right now, I mean teeth still move at relatively the same rate.
Speaker 3:There are things that we can do to help accelerate it in general, but really, if somebody's coming in, their orthodontist is going to quote them between 18 and 24 months on a standard type of case not one where they may need to use rubber bands or another orthodontic appliance in order to fix and adults, really, when we're talking a 12-year program, we're not looking at major bite correction.
Speaker 3:For those folks, we're looking at something that's very direct in order to get that done. And for folks who need bite correction, then we're looking at definitely much longer time. I have plenty of patients who are adults who are in that 18 to 24 month range to be able to correct. And for those adults and this is important for the adults to hear this is really important you are paying for this yourself. This is all about you. So the more compliant you are, just like when you put your kids through treatment, the faster it will go. And when adults choose to go through aligners or not wear their rubber bands with their braces, it will extend treatment timeout. So compliance for adults is really the trick?
Speaker 1:I mean, it really is to getting done quickly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I would imagine that compliance with adults may be as difficult, or if not more so difficult, than with kids, especially if it's something cosmetic, if they're having to wear rubber bands, for instance you know I couldn't. There's no way I could have rubber bands in right now and doing this interview. No, I, yeah, no, I would tell you to take them.
Speaker 3:I would tell you to take them out for the interview, but all other times I would say, you know, when you're doing your editing and you're gathering your data and putting together your magazine, you should be wearing them during that time. Take them out for your meal. I think you get that like. The general idea is that we're humans, we have a certain biology and physiology and teeth are going to move. How they're going to move, we just have to make sure that we are. We have realistic expectations starting right from the beginning. The reality of it is is the more compliant we are whether we're 16, 60, the more compliance we have with wearing our rubber bands or aligners or keeping our teeth clean, then we are going to have a much better result and a quicker result than if we chose a different route and self-prescribed how we were going to wear our rubber bands or not take care of our teeth.
Speaker 2:Well, that all makes sense and definitely I'm pleased by some of these answers, personally Very, very happy to hear and that it is possible, depending on the person in their mouth, you know, to fix one particular issue and not necessarily have to get a full mouth of braces, necessarily you know that even it's possible. So, but before I had thought that you couldn't do just top or bottom because of the bite. You know the bite reasons, but I'm glad to hear that that isn't necessarily the case.
Speaker 3:Yeah, just partner with your orthodontist and make sure you're very clear with what it is that you would like to have accomplished, and then your orthodontist may tell you I'm unable to accomplish this the way that you want it because of X.
Speaker 2:And when you hear that, you know that this person is being genuine with you and really trying to guide you in in the right direction so what would be next steps for adults that are hearing this, that are considering, you know, braces and they want to have an evaluation of their, of their teeth and bite what's?
Speaker 3:so the the first thing that that I would recommend doing is calling the orthodontist and scheduling an appointment for a consultation. Many consultations are complimentary and so if there's anything that it costs you it's time and you have a problem that you want fixed In the time. Between making that phone call and scheduling that appointment, do a little bit of research on what it is that you may feel would be best for you, what you would like. That doesn't mean me as the provider. I'm going to tell you anything and everything can be done with this particular avenue. I'm not going to tell I don't tell every patient that comes in that Invisalign is the best option for you. There are some patients where I say that is the case, but many adults um, we, we are going a braces route because that is the more responsible way to take care of the patient instead of giving them exactly what they think they need right. But the more education they have, the easier the conversation is going to be well, thank you so much, dr kaplan and those of you listening.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you so much, dr Kaplan and those of you listening he's very humble, but call him, call Dr Kaplan. I've been working with him for two years now. May was the month he was our very first family that we featured.
Speaker 3:Happy anniversary to us.
Speaker 2:Wife Lee, and that's right. And their boys and one of your sons was studying abroad at the time, so you just may have to have you on for an anniversary issue, but such a great guy You're, so I love having you on. You're so easy to talk to, very just, authentic, genuine great guy, one of my favorite guests. I appreciate you being on again. Dr Kaplan, is there anything else you would like our audience to know?
Speaker 3:As of right now. No, I want everybody to have a great summer, enjoy it, get a lot of that sunshine and just enjoy time with family. And if we happen to bump into each other in my office, fantastic. If you happen to see me out, please say hello. I don't avoid folks. I really like hanging out with people and just schmoozing, so it's really good. It's really an amazing opportunity to be able to have these chats with you, Stacey.
Speaker 2:Well, I enjoy them so much, so I look forward to your next one. We'll have you back on in a couple of months when you have another article in Dunwoody Neighbors. So thank you so much for being here, dr Kaplan.
Speaker 3:Thank you for having me. It's always a pleasure.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. And that's all for today's episode Atlanta. I'm Stacey Risley with the Good Neighbor Podcast. For today's episode, Atlanta, I'm Stacey Risley with the Good Neighbor podcast. Thanks for listening and for supporting the local businesses and nonprofits of our great community.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast North Atlanta. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPNorthAtlantacom. That's GNPNorthAtlantacom, or call 470-946-7007.