Thinking About Getting Invisalign in Lakewood California?

Have you been considering Invisalign to straighten your teeth? As an ELITE Premier Provider of Invisalign in Lakewood, Northern Orange County, and Lakewood, California, I understand the excitement patients have when it comes to invisible aligners. Invisalign is a unique advancement in orthodontics, and I'm happy to put that invisible smile on the face of my patients! To learn more about Invisalign, check out this informative video I came across:

Get rewarded!

Get Points and Redeem for Great Prizes!

For as little as 3 points, you can start redeeming for great prizes. Look for additional contests throughout your journey to earn even more points! Visit our website often for the latest updates! You can view your points any time at www.drbrodskysmile.com, then click Patient Rewards on the menu. Enter your 9 digit Rewards Card number to see your current points, view the on-line Reward Guide and check for special contests and prizes.

How You Earn Points...

You can earn points several different ways, here is how:

Clinical Rewards - Earn 3-10 Points

• Having Diagnostic records the same day as your consultation - 10 points
• Having Diagnostic records on any other day then the consultation - 3 points

Clinical Rewards - Earn 1 Point

• Terrific Oral Hygiene
• Nothing Loose or Broken
• Wearing Appliances as instructed
• Brushing effectively after signing in for appointments
• Being on Time for your appointment
• Scheduling you next appointment before leaving the office

General Dentist Visitation - Earn 1-2 Points

• Seeing your Dentist or Hygienist for a cleaning - 1 point
• No cavities at your dental exam - 1 point
• Seeing Dentist as requested for treatment (extractions, restorations, chain, etc) - 2 points

Practice Building Rewards - Earn 2-100 Points

• Referring a friend or family member for a consultation - 100 points
• When your referral starts their treatment with us - 100 points
• Wearing our office T-shirt to your appointment - 1 point
• Participating in an office contest - 1 point
• Sharing a written testimonial about our office - 5 points
• Becoming a member on our “myspace” page - 2 points

Patient Leadership Rewards - Earn 1-2 Points

• For each “A” earned on Report Card - 1 point
• Community Service (5points for every 30 minutes)
• Personal Successes (Pt earns an award, article in paper) - 2 points

"Kids Club" Rewards - Earn 1-2 Points

• Each baby tooth lost - 2 points
• Recall check up - 1 point
• Bring in your drawing of the “Tooth Fairy” - 1 point
• Write a story about the “Tooth Fairy” - 2 points

Tooth Fairy pictures coming soon!

Are You Getting a Rebate Check from the IRS?

The Internal Revenue Service will begin sending more than 130 million economic stimulus payments starting May 2.

If anyone in your family or you have been considering orthodontic treatment this may be the time to visit our office and discuss how you can use your rebate for the down payment.

Below is some important information about "Stimulus" payments you might not know:

Payments will be made by direct deposit for individuals who have chosen to receive their 2007 income tax refunds through direct deposit. All others will receive their economic stimulus payments in the form of a check.

Stimulus payments will be sent out in the order of the last two digits of the Social Security number used on your tax return. Taxpayers may receive their checks at different times than their neighbors or other family members. On a jointly filed return, the first Social Security number listed will determine the mail-out date.

The IRS offers the availability of an on-line calculator on www.IRS.gov to help taxpayers determine if they are eligible to receive an economic stimulus payment and how much they can expect.

Welcome aboard - Dr. Van Allen

Dr. Miriam Van Allen was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychobiology from the University of California Los Angeles in 2000. After completing her undergraduate degree, Dr. Van Allen then attended the UCLA School of Dentistry, where she was president of the Alpha Omega dental organization, president of the student chapter of the American Association of Women Dentists, and vice-president of her dental school class. She received her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 2005.



After dental school, Dr. Van Allen moved to Colorado to complete her orthodontic specialty residency at the University of Colorado, Denver. During her orthodontic residency training, she received an advanced certification in Invisalign clear braces treatment and attended numerous lectures on orthodontic miniscrew implants, along with completing a research project involving digital modeling for orthodontic treatment plans. Dr. Van Allen enjoys enhancing her orthodontic knowledge by pursuing the most advanced proven techniques the orthodontic profession has to offer. In return, Dr. Van Allen is able to provide her patients with only the best of care in a compassionate manner.

Currently, Dr. Van Allen enjoys being back in Southern California, taking full advantage of both the sun and surf. She is a member of the American Association of Orthodontics, the Los Angeles Dental Society, the California Dental Association, and the American Dental Association. In addition to her involvment in both the local and dental communities, she loves the theater, dancing, traveling, and spending time with her family and friends.

We are proud to have her as a part of our team.

Pot of Gold Contest Winners

Congratulations to our six Pot of Gold winners!
They had the luck of the Irish as they searched the office for the forty Pots of Gold.
Our winners are: J. Girard, A. Jimenez, K. Hollisger, K. Padian, D. Chavez and J. Derouso. All winners will receive a $15 gift certificate for Target. Your gift cards will be mailed to you.

Upcoming Contests:
Soon we will be starting one of our favorite contests. Our patients will get to acknowledge their parents for Mother's and Father's Day.

New Technology in Our Office - Cone Beam 3-D Imaging

We are proud to announce that we are the only orthodontic office in Southern California with an iCAT2 Imaging machine. This state-of-the-art unit provides us with a 3-D x-ray scan of the head and has revolutionized the way we evaluate our orthodontic patients.


The 3-D x-ray scan allows us to look at any part of the skull in various aspects. The typical scan time is only 8.5 seconds and allows us to visualize the jaw joints, the dental arches and the face.

Certainly the iCAT system sets us apart and gives us a huge competitive edge. We are proud of the outstanding services and the quality of care we can provide to our patients.

One iCATscan can improve our diagnosis and treatment planning by providing us with multiple analyses that were not available to us before. It allows us to accurately assess tooth relationships from an amazing three dimensional image. We can use this information to plan treatment of impacted teeth , evaluate true root position and root length, diagnose TMJ problems, analyze arch length precisely, and fabricate virtual study models.

Using Cone Beam 3-D imaging in our office, unquestionably eliminates the quesswork inherent to our profession and results in better diagnosis and treatment planning.

Safety is always our concern for our staff and patients. With a low exposure rate a Cone Beam 3-D x-ray is comparable to three traditional panoramic x-rays. But the diagnostic images created from just one iCAT scan produces a panorex x-ray, lateral ceph, frontal ceph, TMJ series, numerous slices, anatomical structure information and interactive 3D volumetric renderings.

This is wonderful news! Cone Beam Imaging technology is reducing the amount of radiation to our patients and produces many more images from the one scan.

Types of Orthodontic Appliances in Lakewood, CA - Pt. 1

Types of Appliances

There are many types of orthodontic appliances available when choosing the best treatment to straighten your teeth. At Brodsky Orthodontics, we take your smile personally and work hard to ensure that you receive only the best orthodontic treatment available. As an orthodontist in Lakewood, California (CA), I understand the needs of my patients and their families. It is important to learn about all of the options available to you. As such, this is part one in a series of posts related to types of orthodontic appliances available at my Lakewood, CA orthodontic practice.

To successfully complete your orthodontic treatment plan, patients must work together with the orthodontist. The teeth and jaws can only move toward their corrected positions if the patient consistently wears the elastics (rubber bands), headgear or other appliances as prescribed. The following paragraphs describe the types of appliances that may be used during your treatment.

Separators (Spacers)

Separators are little rubber rings that may be placed between your teeth to push them apart so that orthodontic bands may be placed during your next appointment. The separators will be removed before we place the bands. To prevent separators from being removed prematurely, please avoid eating sticky foods and do not try to floss around them.

Palatal Expander

The palatal expander (widens) the upper jaw by putting gentle pressure on the upper molars each time an adjustment is made. Dr. Brodsky and his staff will instruct their patients how to adjust the expander.