When faced with the prospects of visiting a new office for any form of medical treatment, it is natural to have concerns about that office. Receiving a good recommendation from your dentist or a friend is a good start, but more specific information about the office and its staff might help to address your concerns.

We have provided this Virtual Orthodontic Office Tour in an effort to help you find the right office to best meet your needs. This tour will provide information about the background and experience of our staff, as well as a preview of the office facilities and the type of services we have available.

Each orthodontic office has a unique personality, philosophy of treatment and feel. If your dentist recommends more than one office to evaluate, we hope this virtual tour will be helpful in making the best choice for your individual orthodontic needs. We look forward to meeting you for an actual tour of our office.

Dr. J.L.Wasson and Staff

Shannon is our receptionist and I think you will find her to be very friendly and helpful in providing information and making appointments as convenient as possible.  She can answer questions about financial arrangements, insurance, treatment procedures or anything else; and will do everything she can to make each visit a pleasant and stress free experience. Shannon has worked in dentistry a number of years so she is quite knowledgeable and dedicated to our profession.

Our reception area is spacious and comfortable. We have up-to-date magazines and educational materials for those accompanying our patients. One of our goals, which we usually meet , is to have little or no waiting when you arrive at the scheduled time.

You will meet Dr. Wasson in our New Patient Exam Room. After getting acquainted, he will do a brief preliminary exam to determine the nature of your problem. He will then tell you his preliminary findings and whether or not you would benefit from treatment. With over 30 years in orthodontic practice and teaching part time at UT, he will give you knowledgeable and honest answers to your questions. If you are ready for treatment, we will probably recommend a more comprehensive study of your problem so we can construct a treatment plan that best meets your needs. This study might involve taking diagnostic records, which consist of study casts, photographs and X-rays.

Jennifer is taking a cephalometric headfilm on a patient.  She recently moved into our area, and we were quite fortunate that she chose to join our staff as she has had several years experience as an orthodontic assistant.  She relates well with our patients and her winning chairside manner has already made her very popular with our patients. The cephalometric headfilm is programmed into a high tech computer program that not only measures abnormal tooth and jaw positions, but can predict future growth to aid our treatment planning.

We are quite proud of our state-of-the-art imaging system which not only provides you with pictures of your condition now, but can morph your photograph to show proposed changes from treatment. This is especially helpful when considering alternate treatment plans so you can see which result you like best. It also helps motivate children to cooperate better when they understand treatment goals by seeing their pictures.

Next at the consultation visit, Dr. Wasson will go into a more detailed discussion of his findings and recommendations. This is when you will see the imaging results as well as the diagnostic mounted casts shown here. We place great emphasis on good functional results so our patients will have less chance of developing headaches and TMJ problems later on. You will also have the chance to see the type appliance you will be wearing and examples of treated results that were similar to yours. All this information will allow you to make an informed decision whether or not to accept treatment without any pressure or haste. Since orthodontic treatment involves a long-term relationship, we want you to be sure you are making the right decision before starting.

When you are ready, our business manager Pat will help you work out affordable financial arrangements that meet your needs and work with insurance when available. You will find Pat to be quite helpful since she is not only very experienced but has a knowledge of all parts of the office. Pat started with us in 1975 and has worked in several positions. After a few years off for her three children, she returned to replace Ann who retired after 22 years of devoted service. In a field where turnover rates are very high, we are indeed fortunate to attract such a loyal staff. With our T.O.P.S. orthodontic management software, Pat has instant access to your account and insurance information. With her extensive background in all phases of our practice, she brings special insight into finding solutions to any other concerns you might have. One area we are all concerned about these days is infection control. Our entire staff has undergone special training and the office volunteered and passed a state TOSHA inspection. We have a dedicated sterilization room where all instruments are ultrasonically cleaned then steam autoclaved for complete sterilization. Each clinical staff utilizes barrier protection (gloves as well as mask or face shield when indicated). Each treatment area is thoroughly disinfected after invasive procedures.

Jaclyn is our Environmental Safety Coordinator.  She oversees the infection control program in addition to her duties as a clinical assistant.  She has recently started treatment and shows how attractive our clear braces can be. One of our special interests is the detection and correction of oral habits.  Most people don’t realize the damage that mouth breathing, tongue thrusting, or thumb sucking can cause to the developing jaws and teeth.  Not only that, they can cause the teeth to relapse after correction with orthodontics.

Talisa is testing a patient’s tongue position with a UV light as part of a corrective program we have for tongue thrust habits. It as called Myofunctional Therapy and over the last 20 years , it has proven to be the most effective method of correction for this destructive and all too common habit. About half the patients we see have a tongue thrust habit, so this program is vital to the success of our treatment. Talisa is another staff member we are quite proud of. She has been in orthodontics over 15 years, spending most of that time with us as a chairside assistant as well as our Myofunctional Therapist. She is one of the most capable and dedicated staff members I have had the good fortune to work with. When a patient begins treatment or changes to a new appliance, thorough instructions will be given by Dr. Wasson or an assistant. Proper oral hygiene and care of the appliance are emphasized to maximize results and prevent future problems. We have found that oral instructions are much more effective when reinforced with written instructions and video presentations.

Talisa is using audio-visual materials to reinforce her oral instructions right in the operatory where a new appliance is being presented. With younger children, the parent will usually sit in on the instructions as well. A lot more children are being treated at younger ages with the advent of the growth guidance techniques we are now using to improve facial profiles and reduce the need to extract permanent teeth. The orthopedic appliances used for this are custom fabricated in our own orthodontic laboratory. There are many advantages in not having to mail laboratory cases out of town such as better quality control and much faster service.

Debbie has been our Lab Technician for 14 years and worked as a chairside assistant eight years before that. She has a background in art and truly is an artist when it comes to producing fine orthodontic appliances. Having her nearby to make final adjustments or repairs often saves our patients extra trips to the office. When we remodeled our lab several years ago, Debbie decided to bring in another technician so other orthodontists in the area could benefit by having their lab work done locally.

We were fortunate enough to entice Mary to join us shortly after she had moved here. She and Debbie formed the Mid-South Orthodontic Lab, making their expert services available to all area dentists. Mary is very well qualified, being a Certified Dental Technician, and has many years experience practicing her considerable skills as an orthodontic lab technician. She is now making the tooth positioners we give our patients when their braces are removed. This special step fine tunes the bite like nothing else I’ve ever seen and afterwards allows us to use the invisible retainers our patients like so well.

Dr. Wasson is showing a patient the set-up used to construct her hinge axis positioner. Wearing this appliance will finish her bite with great precision for the best functional and esthetic result possible. This is just one of many ways we go that extra mile to achieve excellence in everything we do.

We hope you have enjoyed our Virtual Orthodontic Tour.  As you can see, we have worked very hard to bring together an outstanding staff, the latest technology, and the experience and know-how to provide consistent, excellent results in a friendly and caring atmosphere.

Again, let me invite you to give Shannon a call so she can set up an appointment to meet us in person.  We’ll give you something to smile about.

 

                                                                                          Dr. Wasson & Staff

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