Our Blog

WHETHER IT’S DONE consciously or unconsciously, nail biting habits affect people of all ages. On the surface, nail biting may not seem like a big deal. However, fairly severe consequences can result in both oral and overall health problems. And as if that wasn’t enough, it can also cause complications during your orthodontic treatment.

Nail Biting’s Effects On Your Teeth

1. Nail biting can crack, chip and wear down teeth. Your front teeth are lot different from your back teeth in terms of functionality. They aren’t designed for gnawing or chewing.
2. Nail biting can shift tooth alignment and damage existing orthodontic treatment.
3. Nail biting risks gum tissue damage. Bitten nail pieces can easily tear into your gum tissue increasing the risk of gum disease and eventual tooth loss.
4. Nail biting can be expensive. The Academy of General Dentistry estimates that nail biters incur an additional $4,000 in future dental repairs.
5. Nail biting can break your braces. The hard nail on your finger when pressed up against your orthodontic bracket with biting force could cause your orthodontic bracket to break and come loose.

Did you know that teenagers are actually the most common nail biters? While 25 percent of young adults bite their nails and only 5 percent of older adults bite their nails, as many as 45 percent of teenagers have this habit. And for teenagers with braces, it can cause problems.

Nail Biting’s Effects On Your Health

Think about the most germ-concentrated areas of your body — your mouth and hands. You can imagine what happens when those two areas are in constant contact. And when there are even tiny, tiny breaks in the skin, germs get a free hall pass to your bloodstream. Yuck.

Tips For Quitting 

Maybe you’ve always wanted to quit, but it hasn’t worked yet. Here are a few tips:

• Keep your nails looking nice. It will help motivate you to leave them alone.
• Enlist friends. Sometimes it helps to have someone remind you when you’re biting.
• Notice your trigger(s).  Anxious? Bored? Learn to deal with these emotions in other ways.
• Carry a nail file and clippers. If you crack a nail or snag it, you can make repairs without biting.
• Treat your nails. There are many awful tasting products — designed for this purpose — that you can put on your nails to really deter you.

Do You Have Any Helpful Quitting Ideas To Add?

Do you struggle with biting your nails? Does someone you love bite his or her nails? We hope the content of this post has helped. Let us know if there is anything else our team can do to help, or if you have other questions. If you have any tips for quitting, share them below or connect with us on our Facebook page. We’re always excited to hear from you!

Your smile and health are our inspiration.

GORCZYCA ORTHODONTICS IS located in the Deer Valley Dental Professionals Building, at 5201 Deer Valley Road, in Antioch, California, right next to Deer Valley High School.

Where To Find Us

From Highway 4, take the Hillcrest Exit and continue right until you cross Lone Tree Way. After crossing Lone Tree Way, take the second entrance on the left at the Miranda stop light. Turn left and proceed right to the square, three-story building nextdoor to the Antioch Veterinary Hospital. Gorczyca Orthodontics is located on the first floor, right at the main entrance.

Our centralized location and easy Highway 4 access makes us easily accessible to serving all of East Contra Costa County including Antioch, Oakley, Brentwood, Pittsburg, Discovery Bay, Concord, and Rio Vista. We are a one-doctor, one-location orthodontic practice, so you will always find us here, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

About Gorczcya Orthodontics

We offer all orthodontic services, including all types of braces, Phase I, Phase II, Comprehensive, and Invisalgin treatment, clear aligners, Inman retainers, short term braces, retainers, splints, night guards, mouth guards, as well as orthognathic surgery (jaw surgery) and TMD (TMJ) and sleep apnea treatment.

We have patients throughout the Bay area. Because we offer exceptional specialty services in the area of orthognathic surgery, many patients drive several hours to receive treatment in our office. We also work very closely with other dental specialists in providing Interdisciplinary Adult Orthodontic Treatment, which may need implants, periodontal therapy, or crowns, veneers, or bridges. We provide diagnostic wax-ups of comprehensive cases and help coordinate your overall treatment with other dental providers.

Dr. Gorczyca

Our orthodontist, Dr. Ann Marie Gorczyca, is a board certified orthodontist with 30 years of experience. She has personally treated over 10,000 successful cases. She is a frequent orthodontic lecturer at both the University of the Pacific Dental School, UCSF and the American Association of Orthodontists Annual Sessions, and is a member of the Angle Society, Delta Study Club (Seattle Study Club), and Contra Costa Dental Society.

Come See Us For Your Free Consultation!

We welcome you to visit our office for a free orthodontic consultation. Call us at 925-757-9000. It would be our pleasure to serve you. Learn more about us at www.clubbraces.com.

Thank you for choosing Gorczyca Orthodontics. Your smile is our inspiration.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

WE LOVE BEING your orthodontic health care providers and having you as part of our orthodontic team. Thank you for choosing Gorczyca Orthodontics.

Whether it’s Roberta taking your initial office phone call, Veronica welcoming you for your initial orthodontic exam, Katie doing your initial orthodontic records, Gwen or Jolene putting on your new braces, or planning and delivering your Invisalign treatment with Dr. Gorczyca, we feel privileged to have you as a patient at Gorczyca Orthodontics.

We Have The Best Patients

We appreciate you and cannot wait to see you back at your next orthodontic visit. We consider having you as a patient for life fun, and we look forward to hearing about you and your family and your activities. We care about you and want your orthodontic journey to be a great experience. We feel honored to also serve your family and friends.

Than you for trusting us with your new smile. We look forward to giving you the smile of your dreams and delivering orthodontic excellence. You make Gorczyca Orthodontics fun and bring a smile to our faces.

Thank You For Your Reviews And Referrals

We cannot thank you enough for your referrals to Gorczyca Orthodontics. Your friends are our friends. Thank you for being part of our orthodontic family and team.

Thank you for recommending us to your family and friends. Thank you for your 5 star reviews on Yelp and Google. You have truly touched our lives and we hope that we have touched yours.

How Could We Do Better?

We invite you to let us know what we could do to make our orthodontic office even better in giving you the personalized attention you deserve. Please take a moment at our front desk to fill out our customer survey and let us know how we can serve you even better.

Gorczyca Orthodontics, Antioch, California 925-757-9000. www.clubbraces.com

Your smile truly is our inspiration.

Images used under CC0 Public Domain license. Images cropped and modified from originals.

SCHOOL’S OUT! LET THE fun begin! In between all the fun summer activities, don’t forget, summer is a great time to get braces.

Gorczyca Orthodontics is open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. to accommodate your busy and varied summer schedule. Call our office at (925) 757-9000 to schedule a free orthodontic exam.

What To Expect At Gorczyca Orthodontics

Once Dr. Gorczyca has given you your orthodontic diagnosis and treatment plan and you have decided which type of orthodontic treatment you would like, Katie will take your orthodontic records. These include panoramic and cephalometric radiographs, extraoral and intraoral photos, and impressions for study models. This takes about 20 minutes in our office.

Your Orthodontic Treatment

Next, it’s time to start your orthodontic treatment. Braces can be placed at your earliest convenience, as coordinated with our office schedule. This usually takes about one hour.

Invisalign will take a few weeks for your ClinCheck to be reviewed, adjusted, and approved by Dr. Gorczyca and for your aligners to be shipped to our office.

Active removable appliances like spring-clip aligners (Inman retainers) and retainers take about one to two weeks to be fabricated and returned to our office.

Come See Us This Summer!

In the Antioch California year-round school system, kids go back to school at the end of July. Summer will be over before you know it! So, if you want to accomplish all of your summer smile goals, start now by scheduling an orthodontic exam in our office.

Call us today to schedule your free exam (925) 757-9000. If you have already had an orthodontic exam, reserve your summer start time now to get started.

Thank you for choosing Gorczyca Orthodontics for your orthodontic care. We wish you a great summer.

We look forward to seeing you soon.