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Ask th - n
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"Cosmetic braces for the teeth."
Ask the Orthodontist
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Dr. Nelson Hersh
and
Dr. Marsha Beattie
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Photos cou
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Dr. Keidan and Namgyal Sherpa share a smile with two fatherless children
they are sponsoring through school.
Building A
Foundation
Licensed Specialists
for Children
& Adults
West Bloomfield
Commerce Township
248.926.4100
Waterford
248-673-4100
Perhaps the most significant esthetic advance in orthodontics over the past
decade involves bonding brackets directly onto patients' teeth. Brackets are
tiny devices that are used to attach the main wire known as an archwire.
In the past, individual stainless steel rings, known as bands, were wrapped
around, and cemented to each tooth. Although this method was effective,
it made for a mouthful of metal that was often referred to as a "tin grin."
Today, use of bands is usually limited to the posterior or back teeth, where
they can sustain greater forces and serve as anchors to the wire. The front
teeth are treated to the tiny brackets, which can be available in clear, silver,
gold or even titanium. These less visible brackets all but eliminate the self-
consciousness that used to be associated with the larger metal braces.
These small brackets allow for lighter and more comfortable forces to be
applied to the teeth in addition to the benefit of easier oral hygiene for the
patient. Even the brackets can be extra small in size depending upon the
orthodontist's selection, usually based on his dexterity and size of his hands.
The new bracketing system can make placement of the orthodontic appliance
quicker and more comfortable. For many it can be made fun with the
different color rubber rings that hold the wire to the bracket. These colors
are changed each month and helps make orthodontics fun!
Parents with any orthodontic concerns for their child should consult an
orthodontist concerning the need for orthodontic treatment. As a dental
specialist, an orthodontist has elected to limit his practice to this specific
area or expertise and has received additional training by an accredited
dental school for advanced education.
Our state-of-the-art orthodontic facility is located in
West Bloomfield/Commerce Township. 2300 Haggerty Road, Suite 1160
248-926-4100. We are also pleased to announce a 2nd location in
Waterford (at the comer of Crescent Lake Road and M-59)
5133 Highland Road, 248-673-4100.
Local physician working
to help Nepalis help themselves
to a better life.
Dr. Richard Keidan
Special to the Jewish News
248-926-4100
inspiration for me.
www.hershbeattieortho.com
Turning Point
Nepal
I
first learned of Nepal at a campfire
in the Middle Atlas Mountains of
Morocco. It was the summer of
1980, the month in between finishing
medical school and starting my intern-
ship. My Rhodesian traveling compan-
ion described a mystical place in the
Himalayas where traveling from village
to village could only be done on foot-
paths. A place where historic mountains
such as Everest, Annapurna and Ama
Dablam were backdrops for villages full
of ancient temples and monasteries.
Little did I know then that this was
the first step of a journey that continues
today.
There is a saying, "One goes to the
Himalayas to see the mountains, but
returns for the culture.' In 1982, on
a sabbatical from my surgical train-
ing at William Beaumont Hospital in
Royal Oak, I went to Nepal to see the
Himalayas, but fell in love with the
people. Living in the most basic shelters,
eating the most basic diets, with no
access to clean water or toilets and little
access to health care or education, the
people were happy. I was invited into
their homes and lives, slept on their
straw mats, ate their rice and drank their
tea.
Their spirit and sense of contentment
drew me back 15 times. Nepal became
a sanctuary for me, a place that gave me
time to reflect upon what is truly impor-
tant — a place that provided energy and
In the fall of 2009, an opportunity to
return the favor appeared in the form
of Namgyal Sherpa. Despite grow-
ing up in circumstances described
above, Namgyal was a sirdar (chief
sherpa guide) on my remote trek in
eastern Nepal. Starting as a porter, he
had worked his way, both literally and
figuratively, up to summiting Everest
eight times and being the expedition
leader of the 2010 Extreme Everest
Expedition. On this expedition, Namgyal
and Nepali staff brought down more
than 4,000 pounds of garbage and mul-
tiple dead bodies from the "death zone"
on Everest, the part of the mountain
that is at an altitude of more than 8,000
meters (more than 26,500 feet).
Namgyal, too, wanted to give back,
in the form of medical attention for
Khotang, the district in which he grew
up. It was beshert! Following the advice
of an old friend, Buddha Basnyat, M.D.,
who is very involved in research, educa-
tion and public health in Katmandu,
Namgyal and I went on a fact-finding
mission to Khotang.
What we found was not encourag-
ing. Not only were medical facilities
not meeting basic needs, but also every
source of drinking water was contami-
nated with bacteria at a level unfit to
drink. Toilets were essentially nonex-
istent with no waste management in
place. The one-room schoolhouse served
90 children for grades one through
2 4 8 . 3 5 6 . 6 0 0 0
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Building A Foundation on page 42
February 17 • 2011
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