Today we’re at home with Orthodontist Adam Goodman, DMD, at his weekend abode in Washington.
After recently moving into the area and spending several weekends, Dr. Goodman was pleasantly surprised to bump into some of his patients. Occasionally he will deliver an Invisalign aligner or clip a poking orthodontic wire right from his Washington home, or even make a house call! We headed over like Welcome Wagon and talked about teeth, life in Litchfield County, movies, and Invisalign. Dr. G has been fitting Invisalign since it launched in 1999 and travels the country training other dentists and orthodontists in the artistry of giving patients the perfect smile!
First, tell us about your business in Manhattan and what you do…go!
As an orthodontist, I’m doing a lot of braces for younger kids. And I’d say about 50% of my practice I’m working with adults coming in to have alignment of their teeth.
When did you open your practice, Goodman Orthodontics?
My current location has been open since 2005, on 57th Street near Sutton Place. I also have a practice in Riverdale, and I go there for a day and a half a week.
Would you ever consider opening one out here?
Well, Invisalign is so portable that I have done occasional house calls out here! A patient was here at the Gunnery and he had something bothering him, so I worked on his braces.
Tell us about Invisalign? I (Bev) have been toying with the idea of getting Invisalign for a while now!
I was one of the first in the country to do Invisalign. With Invisalign, you’re wearing these clear trays that are shaped slightly straighter than your teeth. So when you put it on it’s passive, done very incrementally on a computer. Years before, doctors would just make a retainer with a spring. They’re hard to wear, they show, it’s hard to speak, and they’re not really so precise.
We read on your website that Invisalign sends you around the country, and you have trained thousands of orthodontists in Invisalign…
Yes. Invisalign needed a way to train orthodontists and general dentists in Invisalign. So now I will go 6 or 7 times a year throughout the country and train orthodontists and dentists how to do Invisalign.
But, most of the time I’m in the office seeing patients.
In many cases, you can help patients get a straighter smile in less than a year, sometimes just 6 months! What happens post Invisalign?
In order to have really straight teeth after treatment, you do need to wear a retainer indefinitely. To a lot of patients, that’s intimidating. A lot of people say, “How do you expect me to do that?!” and I always say to patients, if there was a belt that you could put on every night before you go to sleep, that would be clinically proven to stop weight gain…
Yeah, we’d wear the belt!!
Most people would just take the time and put the belt on! Retainers are clinically proven to keep the teeth straight. Wearing a retainer is not asking too much when you can, therefore, be guaranteed to have straight teeth for the rest of your life. It’s clinically proven.
For people with anxiety about going to the dentist or orthodontist, what can you say to reassure them? (Asking for a friend)
The education and the sensitivity of the modern dentist are different from the prior generation, so I think most dentists are much more concerned and sympathetic to a patient’s concerns.
Lora and I have discussed this at length because flossing frequency is a very varied thing for everyone …we want to know…how often do you do it?!
Every night before I go to bed. I used to not, but there’s a big difference in terms of your breath and the health of the gums.
Agreed.
You’ve been living up here for just over a year…have you discovered a favorite restaurant yet?
Yes, the GW Tavern and Arethusa. Those two are our favorites so far!
And now, because we can’t get enough of before and after pictures…here are a few that Dr. Goodman shared with us from his website ?
Thanks, Dr. Goodman!
212-688-4663
Pics: Lora (Before and after pictures provided by Dr. Goodman)
Words: Bev