This office prides itself on offering very individualized care and a concierge service, offering dedicated care before, during and after treatment, as well as coordination of treatment that is adjunctive. We are detail-oriented and aim to make the process as smooth as possible!

We often hear that the best profession is the one you enjoy the most. For me, nothing could be more accurate. Orthodontics is the perfect amalgamation of art and science. I feel that my patients deserve my undivided attention and the highest quality orthodontic care available. The experience is just as personal for me as it is for you, thus I take tremendous pride in offering each patient honest, tailored, individualized treatment to achieve a beautiful, natural smile and an ideal bite, while having fun along the way! I want to make this process easy!

Everyone should love the way they smile and love the way they feel when they show off their new, gorgeous, confident smile! I aim to instill that confidence in all of my patients, both in children and adults alike. Im here to care for your smile, your bite, and for you.

As a native of Providence, Rhode Island, I appreciate great food and wish everything was only 10 minutes away :). My constant activity on the sports field and squash courts has not worn off as an adult; I love staying active (Pure Barre) and keeping healthy! If I am not with my patients, exercising, or re-decorating (love interior design), I am spending quality time with my husband and our awesome little girl! I have been in and around the New York City area for over ten years, and cant imagine a more fulfilling and exciting place to live. #lovethewayyousmile

Dont hesitate to ask Dr Blais about these things. She is happy to look early and oftentimes offer some advice that will allow your child to grow properly. She only intervenes when it is absolutely necessary at such a young age, but sometimes a very small change can a very large impact! #lovethewayyousmile

Phase I is Dr Bs favorite because it makes such a tremendous impact in one short year and can alleviate crowding that would otherwise call for extractions.Phase Iis the foundation building phase where we use simple appliances to address the bones and improve facial growth and development, setting up the facial growth pattern for success!! This is when beautiful faces are made! It lasts 12 months. It is started typically ages 5/6-9 but can still make an impact at age 10.

We are treating the whole person, not just the teeth. Its extremely important to remember that the health of the person is contingent upon the jaws being in good relation to one anotherit can affect how someone breathes, sleeps, chews and speaks.

Phase IIis for aligning adult teeth and improving smile esthetics and functionality. Timing can vary depending on the severity of the case. We use braces and Invisalign to do that. We can also address minor jaw discrepancies during this phase.

Expanders are amazing devices that help little ones starting at age 5-6 if needed and can be used into young adulthood (TAD expander). There are also adult expanders called MSEs which are able to help adults with narrow upper jaws and mild sleep apnea.

When activated, these devices expand the width of the upper jaw. The upper jaw sits on top of the lower jaw like a lid on a jar. Thus, a small upper jaw definitely affects the growth of the lower jaw. Expanding early sets up the proper boney foundation for proper sized jaws that are well-related to one another and can also relieve crowding. It makes room to avoid impacted canines, which are very tricky, and allows us to teach our children the lips closed, breathe through your nose mantra which is incredibly important for proper facial growth!

Why adult ortho? I say whynot? Why should age be the barrier that dictates whether or not we deserve to improve something? Because at age 60, it doesnt matter anymore? Everyone deserves to feel confident and happy, and everyone certainly deserves a properly functioning bite that is not causing more harm than good. Ive seen many patients sit in my chair and ask why their lower front tooth is so loose and then tell me that its been that way for a while! (This is a traumatic bite and is essentially slowly extracting the tooth and causing bone loss, aka a big fat problem).

Everyone should not only have a well-functioning bite but should love the way they smile! We need more smiling people in this day in age. The truth is, most adults put their children first, making excuses like, Im too old. Well, its not that bad, it doesnt bother me that much. Then we get to talking and I learn that most of the time no one likes how their teeth look in pictures or they tell they never smile. I hear this from younger patients as well. Smiling makes us physically happier; it is healthy to smile. Just think of that famous scene from the movie ElfSmiling is my favorite!. Its truesmiling actually brings on a physiologic change in your body making you feel better. I need you to love the way you smile!

Its ok, its not vain. Each of us deserves to feel happy, healthy, and confident in our own way, and you sure do deserve it after all those years of putting yourself last. Most of my adult patients are referred to me by other specialists who declare that the bite, the gums and/or the bone, or the teeth are deteriorating in some capacity and that in order to achieve their final goal (veneers, crowns, gum grafts, implants, etc), orthodontics must be done first (50% of the time after the Orthodontics is complete, a lot of the crowds, bondings or veneers are not needed). Orthodontics builds bone, saves teeth, restores the proper relationship between the teeth so the teeth can function properly instead of causing trouble, and sets up the proper foundation so those new veneers will last! Ortho provides a healthy foundation and in doing so can address airway issues, poor sleep, and tension headaches.

Can you believe that you might need to be taught how to breathe properly? And that by not doing so, your overall health could be impacted? Did you ever think that your childs craniofacial development would be poorly influenced by not breathing properly?

Who thought that something our bodies do involuntarily would require such practice? It turns out that the shape, size and functionality of our airways plays an integral role in how our faces develop which, in turn, helps establish an overall level of wellness as a child and as an adult.

Modern Habits and How Form Follows Function Lets begin by thinking about how our early ancestors functioned. They had wide, broad jaws, balanced profiles and could fit all 32 teeth in their mouths. They did not have crowding or malocclusions. Their facial form was a result of how they functioned.

Over the course of thousands of years, however, the introduction of new environmental stressors has changed the way our bodies function and develop. Heres an example: over time, our diet has softened with the introduction of sugar, refined foods and additives. This shift away from raw, whole foods that require masticatory (chewing) effort has led to smaller jaws, smaller airways, crooked teeth and breathing compensations. Poor posture and hanging our heads over phones for hours a day further feed into the need for breathing compensations.

Our 21st century faces, and the extraordinary demand for orthodontics in over 80% of the population, are the result of changes to how we breathe due to environmental stressors. As a fellow colleague explains, the changing shape of the face is a function of soft-tissue dysfunction. Crooked teeth are a symptom of a larger issue. Its the soft-tissue dysfunction (the position of the tongue, oral habits, mouth breathing, snoring) that is creating the need for orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics.

What Does This All Mean? First, we must understand the extent to which the decreased function of our jaw muscles and improper positioning of our tongues can adversely affect facial form. Its a cycle the jaw muscles and the tongue work against you when you dont make them work for you!

Look around more closely and you may see breathing compensations in action. Is someone close to you experiencing interrupted sleep or regularly snores? Does your child routinely breathe through her mouth? Have you ever noticed a low tongue posture (the tongue sitting on the teeth instead of the roof of the mouth)? Does someone you care about speak with a lisp or swallow with his tongue in a forward position? These are all indicators of a small airway.

What does our appearance end up looking like when the tongue is not on the palate and our lips are apart when we breathe? We see longer faces, dark circles under our eyes due to a poor airway, upper and lower jaws that are small and set back, all of which create a convex profile (no chin) and possibly tooth crowding. It may also appear as if we have buck teeth and a huge overbite. But that is because our small upper jaw is adversely positioning the lower jaw down and back, instead of down and forward. Imbalanced jaws are stuck in a growth pattern that only worsens over time, all the while impeding airway space not a good thing for your child.

Lips Closed, Breathe Through Your Nose We want our upper jaw to be wide and our lower jaw to come forward so that our airway functions properly. Our bodies are programmed to grow the jaws down and forward, but only under the proper environmental circumstances. I like to tell my daughter: Lips closed, breath through your nose! This practice ensures that her tongue is properly positioned on the roof of her mouth and can create a nice, wide upper jaw, acting as a scaffolding for all the permanent teeth.

As parents, we all aim to raise happy, healthy, thriving children. Your orthodontist, pediatric dentist and pediatrician should not be waiting until all the permanent teeth have fallen out to start treatment. We should be looking at tonsils and adenoids, breathing habits, sleep patterns and diets all from infancy.

Orthodontics is not just about straightening teeth. Its about creating beautiful, balanced faces that allow proper airflow and, in turn, promote overall health and wellness by eliminating soft-tissue dysfunction. Dont hesitate to consult your orthodontist to determine if early intervention can help your child breathe, look and function better.

Dr. Merissa Blais is the owner of Blais Orthodontics, PC, located in the village of Scarsdale. She received high honors from Columbia University School of Dental Medicine and completed her residency in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics at the University of Pennsylvania, training in both early intervention orthodontics and adult orthodontics. She is a graduate of Wesleyan University. Dr. Blais recognizes the importance of guiding healthy growth and development to create stable, functional bites, beautiful faces, and healthy and happy patients! She treats both children and adults. #lovethewayyousmile