Softly Brushing Your Way to Clean Teeth with Brodsky Orthodontics

Just as there are so many different types of toothbrushes to choose from, each brush also has a different type of bristle! There are generally three different types of bristles; hard, medium, and soft. We always recommend that our patients, especially children and seniors, use a soft bristled toothbrush.

Using a hard and medium bristled brush can actually harm your teeth and gums by stripping the enamel from the teeth and irritating the gums so that they become red and sore, and can even cause gum recession. If you do use a hard or medium bristled brush as a personal preference, we recommend using an electric toothbrush.

Soft bristles are much gentler on your teeth and gums, and while patients of all ages are recommended to use soft bristled brushes, they are particularly great for children, seniors, patients recovering from a dental procedure, and patients wearing braces.

Soft bristles, and even extra-soft bristles are every bit as effective when it comes to cleaning your teeth; in fact, if you currently use a hard or medium bristled brush, try a soft bristled brush next time you buy a toothbrush and we bet you won’t even notice a difference!

--Brodsky Orthodontics

Brodsky Orthodontics Around the Web

If you've ever visited us at Brodsky Orthodontics, you already know that we love connecting with our patients. We love the ability to communicate with all of you online too! Besides our web site and our blog, Brodsky Orthodontics is on many other networks too!

* Become a "fan" of Brodsky Orthodontics on Facebook

* View and comment on our photos on MySpace

See you around the web!

--Brodsky Orthodontics

20th Annual Skate Depot Summer Party, with Brodsky Orthodontics

This past Tuesday evening from 6-8pm, Brodsky Orthodontics held its 20th Annual Skate Depot Summer Party in Cerritos for all of their patients. Approximately 350 patients and friends showed up for this fabulous event. The evening started with a free skate around the ring. After about one hour, everyone did the “hokey pokey” and turned themselves around. The evening concluded with a raffle where 10 lucky patients won a gift certificate to Golden Spoon.



Many Brodsky Orthodontics team members were seen slowly making their way around the ring. Both Dr. Charles and Dr. Brodsky made multiple appearances skating around the ring. Dr. Charles decided to go with in-line rollerblade skates, while Dr. B chose to go with the more “traditional” skates. Thankfully, neither doctor was seen falling.

Thanks for attending this wonderful exciting event. If for some reason anyone was unable to make it this year, we look forward to seeing you on skates next August.

Summer Fun with Brodsky Orthodontics!

Its summer here at Brodsky Orthodontics, a season full of vacations, adventures and great memories. Whether you are headed to a barbeque, a camping trip, or just having fun in the sun, we want to hear about it! Leave a comment on our blog and tell us about your summer!

Happy Travels,

-From Brodsky Orthodontics

Brodsky Orthodontics at the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, California

Last weekend Dr. Charles Brodsky and two of his Invisalign Teen patients represented Brodsky Orthodontics at the 2009 US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, CA. They got to explain their experiences to other teens about wearing their aligners while the spectators waited in line for autographs from professional surfers Peter Mel, Connor Coffin and Jamie Sterling at the Invisalign Teen booth.



Invisalign Teen aligners fit into a teenager’s lifestyle easily. Now teens don’t have to be self-conscious when they go to proms, take school photos, or post pictures online. Projected treatment time ranges from 12 to 18 months (approximately half the amount of time of conventional braces).

Many parents had valid concerns about what would happen if their son or daughter lost their aligners or what if they don’t wear them as needed. To alleviate parents’ fears, the Invisalign Teen product offers six free replacement aligners and a special compliance indicator on every aligner. At Brodsky Orthodontics, we find that teens who are not willing to wear braces are especially compliant patients because invisible trays that straighten teeth are cool and easy to maintain.



Dr. Joel and Charles Brodsky are not only Elite Premier Providers of the Invisalign System, but they have a special designation making them Teen Providers. No other orthodontist in a 15 mile radius has this special designation which indicates that they have not only been trained on teenagers, but have shown a high level of success in treating teens with the Invisalign System.

Gummy Tummy, from Brodsky Orthodontics

At Brodsky Orthodontics we know the rumors going around – mostly among young people – that once you swallow a piece of chewing gum it will stake a claim and take up residency in your stomach for at least seven years! We really hate to take all the fun out of the mystery, but the truth is that chewing gum, when swallowed, will enter the stomach and move through the digestive system just like any other piece of food and leave the body long before seven years! So, if you ever have accidentally swallowed a piece of gum, there is no need to worry!

This being said, gum does not have any dietary benefits, so while it’s not harmful to swallow, you still want to avoid swallowing it. If you are a gum-chewer, make sure you chew sugarless gum, because gum with sugar can lead to cavities. Sugarless gum still has the same amount of flavor, but with less cavity causing ingredients. You see, when the bacterium in your mouth breaks down sugar, what’s left behind is acid. This acid eats away at the enamel coating of your teeth, causing holes that we call cavities. Cavities can lead to other long term mouth problems if they are not treated in time, so it is best to try and avoid overexposing your teeth to too many harmful substances!

Happy (sugar-free) gum chewing!

--Brodsky Orthodontics

How To Stay Young & Healthy From Brodsky Orthodontics

Whether you’re 5 or 50, your health depends on your awareness of what’s good for you. But in a world filled with fad diets, blaring advertisements, and unintelligible ingredient lists, we at Brodsky Orthodontics know it can be difficult to determine exactly what is good for you – and what’s not.

For straightforward guidance on how to live a long, healthy life, we recommend Brush Your Teeth! And Other Simple Ways to Stay Young and Healthy by Dr. David Ostreicher. The book sums up good health in six fundamental principles: hygiene, diet, attitude, exercise, sleep and personal safety.

Drawing on nearly three decades of experience as an orthodontist and professor of health and nutrition, Dr. Ostreicher definitively answers age-old debates, like the best way to prevent colds and flu (your mom was right: wash your hands). He provides straight talk on a variety of diet choices including salt, fats, carbs and organic food, and he documents the importance of regular sleep, stress reduction and positive thinking to your overall health. His suggestions throughout are simple, clear, and inexpensive.

Dr. Ostreicher advocates a back-to-basics, common-sense approach to staying young and healthy. We at Brodsky Orthodontics couldn’t agree more, and we’d like to repeat the title of his book as our favorite piece of advice: don’t forget to Brush Your Teeth!