We’re excited to provide an update on The Melina Project!

Melina is entering her finishing stage after eight appointments. She has had quite the journey: traverse skeletal expansion, level/aligning, arch coordination, overjet correction, and now – finishing/detailing. Melina is projected to have two more appointments before her appliances are removed. We will be sharing academic insights into Melina’s case in upcoming Melina Project updates!

Click here to read about Melina’s progress through past clinical updates from Dr. Shalin Shah and Dr. Ryan Tamburrino.

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Author: Ryan K. Tamburrino, DMD

Predictability. Consistency. These two words are hallmarks for the CCO System and keystones for orthodontic treatment. While the definitions of each are unique, their meanings have to be intertwined in a successful orthodontic practice.

Predictability means that the doctor can have a reasonable idea of the expected outcome prior to even beginning treatment. Consistency means this predictable result happens over and over, patient after patient.  Continue reading The Melina Project – July, 2015 →

Author – Shalin Raj Shah, DMD, MS

The orthodontic smile journey succeeds as much through careful planning and execution as it does by working in concert with the patient.  We thought it fitting that Meb and Hilary demonstrate finishing together is stronger and more impacting than what we may able to do alone.

Melina’s last visit to @Coesmiles was another productive team effort.  She was pleasantly surprised at the ease of removing the temporary anchorage devices (TADs), and Melina began the last leg in completing the Phase I leveling & aligning process.  Continue reading The Smile Journey: One phase at a time →

Author – Shalin Raj Shah, DMD, MS

A smile can say so much about a person’s unspoken thoughts: joy, happiness, pride, love, amusement, interest, care, and kindness to name a few.  The composition of that smile can also reveal so much about the individual: confidence, meticulousness, compassionate, successful, empathetic. It is why we as architects of that lifelong smile have a great responsibility to ensure that our planning, treatment, and end results reflect what so many people share with the world.  Everyone’s smile should reflect their greatness and beauty and be built upon a sound infrastructure.  Today, we continue on with the #TheMelinaProject and discuss the finer elements that go into the beginnings of diagnosing space requirements, and we provide an introductory look into diagnosing Melina’s other two planes of space: sagittal and vertical. Continue reading Building the Smile Puzzle: One beautiful piece at a time →

On the brisk morning of November 8th, the Center for Orthodontic Excellence (COE) had 106.1 BLI pumping, Melina kind of grooving, and the COE team jamming.  It was exciting to see Melina’s progress and the expression of her initial leveling/aligning arch wires.  We were ready to continue developing the smile Melina would love! Continue reading The Melina Project – Moving and Grooving! By Shalin Raj Shah, DMD, MS →

Thanks for following along with us through Melina’s orthodontic journey! Dr. Shalin Raj Shah gives an insight on her progress thus far… Continue reading Expansion – Did You Get It?! By Shalin Raj Shah, DMD MS →

Our team was excited to help Melina begin her smile journey. Melina’s first visit was the result of a careful and deliberate investigative process in understanding her etiologic factors and subsequently determining her diagnosis and treatment plan options (a normal process among all orthodontists). As we often tell parents, a thorough understanding of why we are seeing what we are seeing helps us determine the answers for stable and predictable treatment.

Over the course of the next two years, we will combine our diagnostic findings along with Melina’s treatment to create a journey of information, dialogue, and smiles. Orthodontics enjoys the analysis of 3 planes of space, and our Facebook post of Melina’s first treatment appointment will focus on her transverse dimension and the TAD-supported expander she received. More detailed information on how we diagnosis the transverse dimension is available when Dr. Tamburrino lectures on February 20, 2015 at Dentsply GAC’s Orthodontic World Congress . Continue reading The Melina Project – A Clinical Overview →