Dr. Peters received his undergraduate, dental and orthodontic degrees from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He received the Alpha Omega Award for graduating first in his dental school class prior to earning a Master's Degree in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics in 1993. After graduation, Dr. Peters moved back to his home town of East Lansing to open his practice. Dr. Peters is a board-certified Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics, the highest accreditation issued by the specialty. He most recently was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Dentists, whose mission is to advance excellence, ethics, professionalism and leadership in dentistry. In addition, Dr. Peters is a member of the American Association of Orthodontists, American Dental Association, Michigan Dental Association and Central District Dental Society, where he served as president. Dr. Peters also volunteers his time as a member of the Mid-Michigan Cleft & Facial Malformation Clinic at Sparrow Hospital.
Brooke graduated from Waverly High School in 2015 and joined the Peters Orthodontics Team in 2018. She has a considerable amount of experience in customer service, having worked in various roles in the insurance and the recreational vehicle industries. Beside loving her interaction with our parents, patients and coworkers, Brooke loves animals and going for walks.
Meagan graduated from Gateway College in St. Louis, MO with a degree in Education. Since graduation, she has worked in the dental field educating patients on recommended treatment plans, as well as assisting patients with coordinating and maximizing their insurance benefits. In 2018, she relocated back to her hometown of Lansing, Michigan and joined Dr. Peters' practice. When she is not working, her two children keep her busy. In their free time, they enjoy spending time outside.
Bethany graduated with a B.A. in music in 1990. Two years later, she changed careers and entered the dental field. She has assisted in orthodontics and general dentistry since 1992. She and her husband, Brad, live in Owosso. In her spare time, Bethany enjoys participating in music at church, walking, cooking, traveling and making jewelry.
Vernita grew up in the Lansing area and began her orthodontic assisting career in 2014, joining Dr. Peters in 2019. A woman of many talents, she is also a licensed cosmetologist and is working on developing her own skincare line of products. In her free time, Vernita enjoys spending time with her two children.
Tearra was raised in Jackson and has been an orthodontic assistant since 1998. She loves to stay physically active outdoors, going for walks and riding her bike. When she's not in the office, Tearra loves spending time with her family.
Upon completion of your active orthodontic treatment there is much to celebrate. However, all of the work is not done. Regardless of your age, the positions of your teeth remain responsive to the application of pressure. This is the mechanism that allows us to move your teeth with orthodontic appliances. The ability of the teeth to respond to outside forces generally lasts throughout life. This is a benefit for patients that decide to undergo orthodontic treatment later in life. Unfortunately, there are many forces outside of orthodontic treatment forces that act on the teeth. These forces include pressures exerted by the tongue, cheeks or lips, habits and biting forces.
We do our very best to place the teeth in the positions that will be most stable. Unfortunately, since these non orthodontic treatment forces vary tremendously for each and every patient, it is virtually impossible to assure that that the teeth are placed in a position of balance with regards to all the forces acting on them. This is why long term retention is critical to maintaining the treatment result.
When the retainers are initially placed, following completion of the orthodontic treatment, they provide the very important function of holding the teeth in one position for a period of time. This allows the surrounding bone and gum tissue to 'tighten up' and adapt. Generally 12 hours per 24 hours period is required during this phase, which lasts approximately 12 months. Compliance during this 'active wear' phase is critical to allow you to successfully move to the next phase.
One exception to this is the occasional use of an active or functional retainer, such as a series of clear aligners or a tooth positioner. These types of retainers will sometimes be used to fine tune tooth alignment of allow functional 'settling-in' of the bite.
Faithful wear of your retainers will ensure that you enjoy a long term benefit from your orthodontic treatment. It is also important to know that, even with full compliance to your recommended retainer regimen, some small amount of movement is considered normal.
The retainers are also not capable of restraining or controlling jaw growth and will not be able to prevent the effects of adverse jaw growth of the bite relationships. Fortunately, this type of adverse jaw growth rarely occurs. This can be a concern for patients who have a tendency for excessive lower jaw growth or for patients with asymmetrical jaw growth. We will generally continue to monitor the stability of your orthodontic result for approximately one year following completion of the active treatment. If the result is stable at that point we will dismiss you from our routine care and we will see you on an 'as needed' basis. If we are not able to decide on the disposition of your third molars, or 'wisdom teeth', during this time frame, we will ask your family dentist to continue to monitor these teeth.