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
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Jenny 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 has been with us many years with some interruptions to care for her family. 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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
