Our Blog

The Smile for a Lifetime Foundation plays such a big part in Dr. Benson's personal and professional life, and our office dedicates much time and and effort into our work with the foundation. We have all watched lives be changed thanks to the Smile for a Lifetime efforts, and changing lives is at the core of who we are at Benson Orthodontics!

The Smile for a Lifetime Foundation gives people who are less than fortunate to be able to afford orthodontic care the incredible opportunity to achieve an amazing smile with Dr. Benson's help! To learn more about our work with the S4L Foundation, please visit our Smile for a Lifetime page and watch the testimonials from our past scholarship winners!

This is why Dr. Benson always welcomes an opportunity to talk about the incredible impact Smile for a Lifetime has had in his practice. Next week, on October 14th, Dr. Benson will speak to the Nashville Area Dental Hygienists' Association on the Smile for a Lifetime Organization as well as the latest trends, techniques, and technologies in the orthodontic field.

Dr. Benson is looking forward to his chat with the NADHA and continuing to tell the amazing story of the Smile for a Lifetime Foundation! Be sure to check out the NADHA's website at www.nadhs.org to learn more about the association!

What does the month of October mean to you? For people in the northern hemisphere, October is when the weather starts to get a little chilly: heavy jackets might come out of storage and the summer clothing gets packed away. You might start making plans for the upcoming holidays or looking at the beautiful and changing autumn scenery. October means something a little different to our team at Benson Orthodontics because this is National Orthodontic Health Month. During October, orthodontic clinics all over the country work together to promote their services and inform the community about the important work we do.

National Orthodontic Health Month is an awareness campaign created cooperatively by orthodontists and other dental health professionals. During this month, we make a special effort to promote dental health and orthodontic health in particular. This is a great time to get your questions answered by dental professionals in your community and to learn more about exactly what an orthodontist can do for you and your family. Events held in connection with National Orthodontic Health Month are also an opportunity for us orthodontists to come out and meet community members. If you have never been to an orthodontist before, you might not know what to expect. Meeting one of us in person before your checkup is a great way to find out what kind of person you’ll be seeing during your appointment.

Meeting Dr. Bart Benson in a relaxed “meet and greet” atmosphere can be especially helpful for any young orthodontic patients in your family. Kids of all ages–and their parents!–can feel anxiety about going to the dentist. Getting to know the person you have an appointment with can make the experience a lot less stressful for everyone. We don't want anyone to avoid seeing a dental professional for regular checkups just because they don't know who we are. Just meeting and talking with the orthodontist you'll be seeing may be enough to make you feel more comfortable about your upcoming appointment.

Dental health is something that affects everyone; healthy teeth and gums contribute to a healthy smile and a lifetime of comfort and well-being. Orthodontists are just one of the various dental practitioners you could visit at some point in your life, so taking a little time to learn who we are and what we do is certain to be a helpful experience. We look forward to seeing you and your family this October at our Mt. Juliet or Lebanon, TN location!

Our friends at the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) have put together a helpful list that outlines when you should call Dr. Bart Benson to schedule an initial consultation. Here are 12 warning signs indicating it’s time to check in with us:

1. Early or late loss of baby teeth

2. Teeth that meet in an abnormal way

3. Mouth breathing

4. Finger sucking or other oral habits

5. Crowding, misplaced, or blocked-out teeth

6. Jaws that shift, make sounds, protrude, or recede

7. Speech difficulty

8. Biting the cheek or biting into the roof of the mouth

9. Protruding teeth

10. Difficulty of chewing or biting

11. Facial imbalance or asymmetry

12. Grinding or clenching of teeth

Do any of these warning signs fit you? If so, give us a call at our Mt. Juliet or Lebanon, TN office as soon as possible! Dr. Bart Benson and our staff know orthodontic emergencies are never convenient or timely. If you are a patient of record, we are committed to your oral health and are available to you.

An important part of improving the level of care and attention our patients receive is a staying dedicated to continuing education and training. Dr. Benson and his team believe in this strongly and spend many hours at conferences and seminars that teach the most cutting-edge trends and technologies in the field of orthodontics. Another way Dr. Benson improves his knowledge, experience, and expertise is through working with the Wilson County Study Club.

The Wilson County Study Club was brought about by Dr. Benson and his fellow professional colleagues in our area to not only stay abreast of all the latest trends, technologies, and techniques in dental healthcare, but to also provide valuable insight and training to other dental providers in our community.

Tomorrow, on September 26th, Dr. Benson and the Wilson County Study club will be providing a very important training course for our referring dental offices and their teams. Chemical dependency and abuse is a very serious matter that affects the lives of many of the people who are right here in our Lebanon and Mt. Juliet communities. It is important for our area’s healthcare providers to be properly equipped to help patients who may suffer from this dependency. It is such an important issue that the state of Tennessee requires this training course for healthcare providers each and every year.

Dr. Benson and the Wilson County Study Club are honored to help our referring dental offices receive this important training so that we can all continue to make sure all of our patients are as happy and healthy as possible!