Getting social with Dr. Hughes

We embrace technology, whether it’s through the innovative treatments we offer, our high-tech web site or our Facebook fan page. As you can probably tell, we love connecting with our patients online, whether it’s by sharing news on our blog or communicating ideas on our fan page. For social media to work, we understand that conversation is vital, and that’s why we invite you to join in and tell us what’s on your mind. Although social networks are hugely popular these days, we know they’re unpredictable and ever-changing. While Dr. Hughes and our staff takes time to research how to best use social media, we thought we’d ask you, our loyal patients: How would you like us to use our social networks? What would you like us to share on our blog? Please post your thoughts or give us a call!

April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month

Visiting your dentist during your orthodontic treatment will not only help keep your teeth and mouth healthy while you have braces, but will also help keep the rest of your body healthy. The fact is, every hour of every day in the U.S., someone dies of oral cancer, which is the sixth-most common diagnosed form of the disease. The five-year survival rate is only 50 percent, and oral cancer is one of the few cancers whose survival rate has not improved. Since April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month, we would like to take this opportunity to remind all of our patients about the importance of maintaining good oral hygiene while you’re undergoing orthodontic treatment.

Your dentist is specifically trained to diagnose, treat, and prevent oral health problems. Please let us now if you have any questions about your oral health during your next adjustment appointment. Take care of your teeth!

Connect with Dr. Hughes on Facebook!

At Hughes Orthodontics, we value the relationships we have developed with our patients in Alexandria and surrounding communities. Even if you only see us for your appointment on a regular basis, did you know that you can now connect with Dr. Hughes and staff on our Facebook page?

We invite you to “like” Hughes Orthodontics on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HughesOrthodontics. We share office news and updates on our Fan Page, so check it out! By Liking our page, you will receive updates from our office automatically in your news feed!

Also, we've been posting photos of our patients and Dr. Hughes' Tricks of the Month! You don't want to miss out on any of it!!

See you on Facebook and have a great weekend,

- Dr. Hughes and staff

Annual pumpkin contest at Hughes Orthodontics!

Our annual pumpkin contest has begun! Ever year Dr. Hughes grows a large pumpkin in his garden and the patient that comes closest to guessing the correct weight is our winner! The winner receives a pumpkin (not the one Dr. Hughes grew) and a pumpkin carving kit along with one of our custom logo items. Dr. Hughes will be taking pictures of the development of his large pumpkin throughout the summer and into the fall. He will harvest the pumpkin in early October and - hopefully - if it is a blue ribbon pumpkin he might enter it in a local pumpkin contest.

Dr. Hughes wants to know: Do you know where your retainers are?

If you recently completed treatment at Hughes Orthodontics, we’d like to congratulate you! Now that your braces have been removed, Dr. Hughes will provide—or has provided you—with retainers. After braces are removed, teeth can shift out of position if they are not stabilized. Retainers, however, provide that stabilization. They are designed to hold teeth in their corrected, ideal positions until the bones and gums adapt to the treatment changes. Wearing retainers exactly as instructed by Dr. Hughes is the best insurance that the treatment improvements last for a lifetime. Here are some things to remember when you receive your retainers:


* Wear your retainers full time, until the doctor instructs otherwise. Wearing your retainers at night ensures that your pearly whites won’t relapse.

* Take your retainers out when eating...and always put retainers in their case! (Most appliances are lost in school lunch rooms or restaurants.)

* Clean retainers thoroughly once a day with a toothbrush and only a small amount of toothpaste. Use warm but not hot water.

* When retainers are not in your mouth they should ALWAYS be in a retainer case.

* Retainers are breakable, so treat them with care. If retainers are lost or broken, give us a call immediately.

* Remove retainers when swimming or during any sporting activity in which the retainers could fall out and get broken or lost (cheerleading, basketball, etc.) or when you should be wearing a mouth guard (football, soccer, etc.).

We hope this helps! You can always contact our team by calling 703-360-8660 if you have any questions! Have a great weekend!

Hughes Orthodontics, reminding you to play it safe this spring

April, also known as National Facial Protection Month, is upon us, and for Dr. Hughes and our team at Hughes Orthodontics, that only means one thing: it’s once again time to remind our dear patients to protect their faces and pearly whites. Above is a helpful video from our friends at the AAO about staying safe on the ball field this spring.

According to the National Youth Sports Safety Foundation, children, high-school athletes and adults will have more than 5,000,000 teeth knocked out in sporting events this year. For our team at Hughes Orthodontics, that's just not acceptable.

We hope the above video helps. Dr. Hughes will tell you protective gear is vital for anyone engaging in tooth or mouth-threatening activities. If you have any further questions about any of the tips offered in the video, please contact Hughes Orthodontics. And remember to have fun and stay safe!

Smile, and you might just live longer! From Hughes Orthodontics

People with big smiles may live than those who don’t! That, according to a March 2010 study at Michigan’s Wayne State University. Dr. Hughes has known for quite some time that positive emotion has been linked to both physical and mental health, but researchers at the university did something quite interesting: they looked at photos of 230 ball-players who began their careers in baseball prior to 1950.

The players' photos were enlarged, and then studied their smile intensity (ranging from big smile, no smile or partial smile). The players' smile ratings were compared with data from deaths that occurred from 2006 through 2009. The researchers then corrected their analysis to account for other factors associated with life longevity, such as body mass index, career length and even college attendance.

The results? Researchers found that players who weren't smiling in the photos died at the average age of 72.9 years. Players with partial smiles lived to be 75. Those with big smiles, however, lived on average to be almost 80 years old!

Smile now, smile often and you might just live longer! Have you been perfecting your smile by visiting Hughes Orthodontics on a regular basis? If not, give us a call!

Don't be fooled! From Dr. Hughes

Today is traditionally known as April Fools' Day. Dr. Hughes and our fun staff would like it if you shared a story about a trick you played, or a friend played on you, on this silliest of days.

Feel free to post them here or on our Facebook page, and try not to get fooled today!

Tell Hughes Orthodontics what’s on your mind!

By now, you’re probably familiar with our blog-writing process: Each week, Dr. Hughes and our staff write about important orthodontic topics and your well-being, including the orthodontic treatments offered at Hughes Orthodontics. This week, though, we thought we’d step back and ask you, our amazing patients: what’s on your mind? What would you like to know about the always-changing and exciting field of orthodontics? What would you like us to focus on our blog? Perhaps there’s something you’ve wanted to ask Dr. Hughes for a while now? Here’s your chance! Let us know by posting here or on our Facebook page!

Give us your best shot, and we’ll try to answer any question you may have!