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Category "Art Show"

7th Annual Middle School Art Show features middle school student works in Vancouver, WA

Come and enjoy the beautiful art created by young artists!

Invite family and friends and join us for an Opening of our annual Middle School Art Show, taking place on Wednesday, May 1st between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm at our office located at 2702 NE 78th St. #106, Vancouver, WA 98665.

The exhibit will feature artworks by middle school students at Vancouver School of Arts & Academics, Jason Lee, Discovery, Gaiser, Alki, McLoughlin, Thomas Jefferson, King’s Way, and more. Select pieces available for purchase.

You’ll enjoy light hors d’oeuvres and drinks, network with our wonderful community and friends, and get the chance to hear about the artwork straight from the artists! FREE Admission.

The artworks will be available for viewing during our regular work hours through May 31st.

We are excited to see you there!

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Category "Our Office"

Braces are life changing!

close up dr photo 3-2014

Every once in a while I come across a review that hits me in the feels. 

This review is one that got me right where my heart is. There are so many reasons why we do what we do here at the modern orthodontist.  Some patients have strong clinical reasons for needing braces and correction. Some patients have a very clear esthetic reason for wanting braces. Most of the time patients have both, a clinical need as well as esthetic.  As a side note, I googled what “esthetic” means… I think you’ll appreciate this as much as I did…. “a set of principles underlying and guiding the work of a particular artist or artistic movement”  That is exactly what Dr Schnepper is. She’s an artist who creates beautiful smiles! That’s so cool!

As you read the review below you will see that these kids had both. What a life changing experience for them to have braces and feel so much more confident in themselves.  I hope you enjoy the review as much as we did.

 

“For those looking for a caring and family friendly orthodontist then I highly recommend modern orthodontist.  I had children who had teeth that were so bad that they were embarrassed to smile for any kind of photos. The people here treated my children with kindness and compassion and now a days that’s becoming a rarity.  I will always be a champion for them and recommend them highly.”

 

Do you know someone who needs braces? share this blog with them.  At the modern orthodontist we deliver exceptional care and connect with each of our patients. When you’re here, you’re family!

love from the whole staff 😉

vicki


Category "Our Office"

Retainer vs. Raccoons

I think that I may have trouble telling you this story since I was not there the whole time. So, because I do not wish to bore you with my musings of what might have happened or could have been, I think that I shall pass the pen over to my retainer itself to tell you of its exploits….

“It all began right after my lunch, my wearer had taken me (i’m a retainer) out of her mouth and placed me on the table while she ate”

All of this struggle could have been avoided had she but remembered to put me back in. Unfortunately for both of us, she forgot.  About an hour later her mother decided that the tablecloth was dirty and should be shaken out. So with that pretense, she took everything off of it (at least she thought she had) and carried it outside and shook it off on the porch. I went sailing through the air and landed, thud, on the deck near the steps.  She did not see me and went back inside with the tablecloth, shutting the door behind her. I lay there all day unnoticed, for indeed nobody had seen me, neither was I missed.

At last the hours were spent.

It was dark. The time had come again for my owner to give me a bath, scrub me clean, place me back into her mouth and head off into dreamland. I think that was when she missed me. I could dimly hear the sound of her feet, as she desperately scoured the entire house, looking for me. I wished there was some way I could summon her by saying, “Hey, I’m right here! On the porch! I’m fine! Come get me!”  I had to have lain there for at least half an hour before her father returned home, walking right past me, and joined in the search. At last, far into the night, everyone gave up, temporarily, and crawled into their beds for some rest.
But there was no rest in store for me this night. Soon after the house retreated into darkness, out of the forest came 2 of the cutest, most devious bandits I have ever seen. They ran up onto the porch together, playing with the water and their favorite little white shell, and each other. Then I was spotted. Their little eyes glittered with mischievousness as they ran at me, scooped me up, and felt me all over with their soft, hand like paws. I could feel them carrying me over to their “pond”. Next thing I know I’m under the water. Whao! That was cold!  I used to dislike getting bathed by my mistress. But that was like being in a Jacuzzi compared to this! I was dunked, washed and scrubbed with algae. They were not especially gentle with me so I knew that sooner than later I would weaken. At last, I could take it no longer! The stress was too great! I cracked. After that I do not remember much. Although I have reason to believe that they soon tired of me, laid me down, and scampered back into the trees. At last, maybe I could rest!

The rest of the night, though chilly, was much more pleasant than the hours before. I awakened the next morning to the sight of my mistresses father’s huge feet clomping past me on his way to work. He never saw me. Later I heard my mistress and her mother once again looking for me. Then, to my great relief, I heard her mother tell her about what she had done with the tablecloth. I heard feet coming toward me and the door creak open. A happy gasp and squeal of joy burst through the early morning air as I found myself once again in my mistresses hands. Although she scrubbed me thoroughly (I don’t think she likes the taste of algae) I didn’t mind quite as much as I usually did. What a joy it was to be back home where I belonged.”

 

  • B. Houtchens

(Just to give you a little background, the person who wrote this article is an actual orthodontic patient of ours. She had her braces taken off a few weeks prior to this story. She was instructed to keep her retainer in her mouth at all times, except when eating. We instruct our patients that when they take it out to eat they must put their retainer into a retainer holder to keep it safe.  More retainers are lost each year to being “thrown out” with the table trash.  When the patient called us and explained to us what happened we offered her the chance to write her story down so others can learn from her mishandling.  If the patient agrees to write their story then we offer them 1/2 off the new retainer fee. This story above is an actual exact copy of her very cleverly written essay.  We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. She got 1/2 off on her retainer fee and a good laugh from us (and a blog post).  HA!)

retainer


Category "Art Show"

4th Annual Spring Art Show featuring our local middle schools

The Art Show opens on Friday April 28th

Opening night will be from 5pm – 8pm.  Light hors d’oeuvres will be served.

Art will remain on display until May 26th

 

April 28th will be a night for the middle school kids to remember.  They will walk into our modern practice and see their art displayed for all to see. How many kids their age can say they are “showing artists?” Well, now these students from our local middle schools can say they are. I say this qualifies for bragging rights!!!  The students are working hard and will surely wow our guests with the one of a kind masterpieces they are creating. One art teacher contacted us to ask if her student can display some small sculptures he has created out of beeswax (from the bee’s he raises!) and of course we said YES! We can’t wait to see what he is creating 😉  This is what our Art Show is all about. We love showcasing how young artists use various mediums, in various ways, to create a wonderfully diverse show.

We are so excited to partner with Jason Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Alki, Vancouver School of Arts and Academics, Mcloughlin, Gaiser Middle School and Cedar Tree Classical Christian.

This is a great family event so bring ’em all down. The more the merrier. We want to show these students what hard work can produce. So invite your friends, co workers, family, etc to come to The Modern Orthodontist on opening night or any time within the subsequent 30 days and you will be amazed at the art you see.   FYI, some of the art that will be displayed will be for sale.  100% of the proceeds go to the artists.

                   SAVE THE DATE 

  • Friday April 28th from 5-8pm
  • 2702 NE 78th ST. Suite 106, Vancouver. 98662
  • light hors d’oeuvres served
  • specified art will be for sale.
  • Art remains on walls of our practice until May 26th. If you can’t make opening night don’t worry, we got you covered 😉 Come by any time during business hours.

Hope to see you all there!

~Vicki

Art Show 2016 Flyer

 

 


Category "Community"

Girl Scout Troop comes to visit The Modern Orthodontist!

Welcome Troop 40968!

We love opening our doors to the community!  It was so fun to have a local Girl Scout troop here to learn and explore and create with us. This is such a fun thing for us to do. It’s connecting us to those around us and it’s educating our community.  The first question we asked the troop was “who knows what an orthodontist is?” and their hands shot up! Most already had an idea of what an orthodontist was and so it was fun to build on their already budding knowledge and create a moment where they were able to increase their “know” and build on their foundation.  It was an evening of fun!

1st stop… lets go back to the clinic and have a pow-wow! and while doing that let’s discuss impressions and what we use them for in our office and how we do them.  In fact, lets all take an impression… OF OUR FINGER! ;)) here we go….

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3rd stop… back to the clinic where we all got to pretend to be the Doctor and put on her coat, gloves and (clean) face masks 😉  (who knew this would be such a hit!?)

 

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Final stop… lets have some education on teeth, flossing, braces, your smile, your confidence, your beauty, all the things that make you amazing! ….. and since we are into teeth…. lets start with your teeth ;))

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What a great evening spent with this troop who are interested in learning something new 😉

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Big Thanks to Troop 40968 for spending your Tuesday night with us. Let’s do it again really soon!

If you are interested in learning more about the SW Washington Girl Scouts here is a link that will take you to their website. Girl Scouts of SW Washington


Category "Calendar"

I wonder if they see themselves as “real artists?”

That’s a wrap!  Our TMO community calendar has been created and published and is already hanging on hundreds of walls in Clark County and beyond. Some of our artists gave calendars as gifts to grandparents, aunt, and uncles. Some shared with their friends.  I hope they all kept one for themselves 😉 A common thread with each and every one of these young artists was….  the smile on their face (and these were BIG smiles) when they saw their art work printed for the first time!!  We went into the classrooms of the chosen artists and each time, without fail, we had everyone’s attention until we pulled out the calendar and passed them around. We saw heads down and fingers frantically turning pages until they found THEIR art and the joy that escaped their mouths was priceless.  😉  Some might question why we do this?  This is why.  These kids saw themselves as “real artists.”  These kids saw their hard creative work printed in a calendar that people will be hanging in their homes or work place.  They instantly became relevant, legit artists and we love being a part of EVERY single part of the process.  The coolest thing was when their friends/colleagues/peers asked them to sign the calendar. How cool is that!?  They ARE real artists. period.

 

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The Columbian and the Vancouver Business Journal did an article on these calendars

A great deal of time and creativity goes into our yearly calendars. Every time we do them (and this is our 4th annual btw) we are surprised and impressed with the quality of art that is submitted.  While we shouldn’t be surprised, we continueally are. What’s most surprising to us is the age of our young artists and the abilities they have.  Such amazing talent.

The writer, Sarah, for the VBJ hit the proverbial “nail on the head” when she wrote in her article, and I quote, ” With a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and a minor in art, Dr. Schnepper had considered bucking the family tradition of dentistry (both of her grandfathers as well as her father and uncle were dentists) and entering into research. Her father had also imagined she would branch out, but suggested orthodontics because of her enthusiasm for art.”    So what does Dr Schnepper do? She transforms smiles into a piece of art.  She is talented, amazing, kind, generous and inspiring.  She inspired 100’s this year alone with this calendar and will inspire 100’s more next year, and the next and the next.

If you want to be in the 2017 calendar start your engines now….. we already have submissions and they just keep coming. ;))

 

Clark County: Artwork by Hannah Berrigan, a CAM Academy sophomore, that was one of 13 pictures selected for a community calendar by Dr. Gretchen Schnepper and The Modern Orthodontist.
Clark County: Artwork by Hannah Berrigan, a CAM Academy sophomore, that was one of 13 pictures selected for a community calendar by Dr. Gretchen Schnepper and The Modern Orthodontist.
Clark County: Artwork by Ellie Ritter, a sixth-grader at Tukes Valley Middle School, that was one of 13 pictures selected for a community calendar by Dr. Gretchen Schnepper and The Modern Orthodontist.
Clark County: Artwork by Ellie Ritter, a sixth-grader at Tukes Valley Middle School, that was one of 13 pictures selected for a community calendar by Dr. Gretchen Schnepper and The Modern Orthodontist.

Category "Community"

Halloween Candy Buy Back

Halloween 2015 here we come!

Every year the kids (and lets be honest here, some adults) spend a lot of their free time dreaming up the coolest costume ever!  What a thrill it is to dress up and do the annual trick or treating with your family and friends.  The community loves handing out treats to the super scary witch or coolest Mario or the latest super hero. halloween gools

If you’re anything like me…. all the candy that the kids come home with can be a bit overwhelming. I have 4 children and we get quite the haul.  If I’m honest here, my first thought is “I hope there is Reese’s peanut butter cups in there…” hahaha and then, my first RATIONAL thought is,… “I don’t want my kids eating all THAT candy!”

We’ve come up to a solution to that problem….. Candy Buy Back!

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What’s that you say?  Candy buy back is when you bring your kids WITH THEIR CANDY to our office on Monday November 4th between 9:00-4:30pm and we buy the candy from your scary witch, Mario.. or super hero (no costumes needed this time though)  😉  We will pay them $1.00 for EVERY pound they bring, up to $10.00!  We will take the giant bin of candy that we buy from the kids and donate it to the local firefighters!  And, just to sweeten the deal, we are donating $1.00 for every $1.00 spent to buy back candy, to a local charity in Battle Ground that offers housing and services for Homeless Women who are pregnant or have children. The name of the charity is Moms Place Maternity, you should look them up on Facebook 😉

1st Annual Candy Buy Back and it’s gonna be spooky… err scary…. err awesome!

….. now I need to find a costume 😉

-Vicki

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Category "Calendar"

Calling all artists!

“The human brain is built for art appreciation.”  The Wall Street Journal reports it’s a “natural biological process.”


The Modern Orthodontist (Dr. Schnepper and team) is calling all artists to create a piece of art  for our 2016 Calendar.

How cool would it be to have your art work displayed in our annual TMO calendar?  All submissions will be included. If you are selected to be featured on one of the months, not only will you win a prize, but you will also get enough calendars to give to all your classmates.

Please make sure you create your art (all medias accepted!) on a 8×10 page in landscape format. You can either bring it by the office or email it to vicki@themodernorthodontist.com

Because art is great for the brain and because your brain is used every single day, makes perfect sense that Dr. Schnepper would want to encourage that relationship and help you feel inspired and your art appreciated by being published in the TMO calendar!  It’s such a great feeling and experience to see your “work” displayed in such a fun and useful format.

I say we listen to the Wall Street Journal and get our art on!

calendars 2016 with kid

Stop in or call for more details!  The Modern Orthodontist 2702 NE 78th St. Vancouver, Wa 98665 360-260-5113


Category "Orthodontic Resources"

The Mysterious World of Orthodontic Insurance Including Delta Dental!

Confused about insurance for your orthodontist? You’re not alone. Many insurance companies, such as Delta, have a list of participating providers. If you go to a provider listed in your network you can usually save on your out of pocket costs. Some insurance companies offer PPO (preferred provider organization), a lower level participating provider which is not PPO, and non-PPO benefit levels. Each employer chooses their benefit level with the insurance company. The in-network providers have a separate agreement with each insurance company on the maximum they are allowed to charge for each service. Many of our patients save $300+ more than a patient who is not in a participating insurance.

Not all plans pay a different fee for non-PPO providers. Many insurance companies will pay the same benefit regardless of the provider status. 

The Modern Orthodontist participates in Aetna, Delta Dental Premier, Delta Dental PPO, Delta Dental Preferred, United Concordia, Cigna radius, Regence, and Guardian networks.  

We have an in office Insurance Coordinator, Levon, who will help navigate your questions regarding your insurance and will directly work with the insurance company to obtain your benefit for you.

Now on to the part of orthodontic insurance that differs from almost any other insurance benefit

-Orthodontic treatment is nearly always a lifetime benefit and does not renew yearly. It is usually separate from the dental benefit but may include some oral surgery procedures.

-The orthodontic insurance benefit is commonly a set dollar amount with a percentage.  The insurance will pay for the % of treatment up to the lifetime maximum dollar amount whichever is less. For example if your benefit is $1500 at 50% and your treatment fee is $400 it will pay 50% or $200.  But if your treatment is $3000 or more, no matter how high the fee, the maximum you will receive is $1500. 

-Nearly all insurance companies will make an initial payment when the appliances are placed then make payments over the length of treatment. They do this because the adjustment visits are not performed all at once. This means that if you lose or cancel your insurance before treatment is finished you may lose a portion of your benefit. Always check with your provider before canceling your insurance.

-Also some orthodontic benefits have a longer waiting period. So although you may have met the wait period for general dental benefits you may have to wait 6-12months longer before your orthodontic insurance benefit will begin making payments.

-If you have two orthodontic insurances, there is a coordination of benefits that has to be checked to see how the benefits will work together. Usually the birthday rule applies meaning whoever’s birthday is first in the year not which is older. If you are lucky they will coordinate and you will get the full benefit from both insurance companies.


Category "Our Office"

Check out our office…

What makes us “The Modern Orthodontist?” In part, it is Dr. Schnepper’s passion for art. She designed the office to look like a modern art museum. Throughout the office, we proudly display the art of local artists and students from the Vancouver School District.

We are also dedicated to providing the most up-to-date technology and treatment techniques. We have a 3D x-ray machine. By using this machine, we can take one image to create 2 x-rays, which reduces radiation exposure. The 3D x-ray also shows exactly how a tooth is situated in three dimensions, so we can see problems that might not be visible in the old 2D x-rays.

We use Damon brackets. These brackets have doors that hold the wire in. Since they don’t use the old style color ties, they have less friction and the teeth move easier. Although old ties get stretched out, the doors on Damon brackets do not, which means that they only need to be adjusted every 8-10 weeks instead of 6 every weeks. This can save up to 4 appointments over a 2 year treatment. Color ties sit against the teeth and create a place for plaque to hide. Damon brackets don’t have ties so it’s much easier to keep teeth clean.

We place brackets using an indirect bonding tray. We take an impression and then create a model. Dr. Schnepper then places the brackets on the model in the exact position needed for treatment. A tray is made that holds the brackets and all the brackets are bonded at one time. This means you don’t have to hold your mouth open as each individual bracket is placed. It’s more accurate for us and much more comfortable for you.

For patients who don’t want to wear braces we offer aligner treatment such as Invisalign or Orchestrate. For patients who have molars that are not in the ideal Class I position we have appliances that are worn in the mouth. This means no cumbersome headgear strap going around your head. We also offer Acceledent, an appliance which can speed up treatment time by 30-50%.

Our entire staff takes continuing education classes to keep up to date on new techniques and products so we can offer the best choices to our patients. All of us at the modern orthodontist strive to grow as professionals as our practice grows.

We combine modern technology with skillful artistry to provide you with the beautiful smile you deserve. It is our vision to provide this valuable service with an experience that wows you every step of the way.


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