ROOST SPONSOR POST: Parkside Orthodontics
Our 170+ member families of the Sunnyside Swap Shop Co-op that don’t yet have a middle school student in their life got a Roost sponsor email this week all about baby and young child sign language.
Wouldn’t it be great if there was a form of sign language that helped us communicate better during adolescence years? Hand signs that let everyone under the age of 18 keep their dignity and all of us well into adulthood our sanity as we navigate homework and heartbreak and acne and school dances.
Doctor Rebecca Kuperstein of Parkside Orthodontics can’t give us any magic ways to wave our hands so it all works out well but she has logged a lot of time motivating middle schoolers through their course of braces.
I decided that spring break was a good opportunity to lean on her years of experience. I was hoping to find out what the rest of us can learn from her to better be able to do what she does with such grace every day: help young people motivate for things they don’t really like to do but really are good for them in the long run.
Her number one creed whether she’s in a first meeting discussing the possibilities of braces or celebrating with a family while taking off that last bracket: treat each person as the age they really are . . . without babying them or expecting them to be older and more mature than they really are. For middle schoolers she finds this means using the same voice she would use with adults and offering more explanation than she would to an adult. She finds this approach helps her patients feel respected and she finds even her youngest patients participate in their treatment much better when they understand the whys and hows of what’s happening.
She’s also learned to value a good team effort. A smooth ride to the finish line with orthodontics (or your child’s education or any other long term effort) takes a good team effort of child, parents, and well trained providers. With that said, she is quick to point out that a good team effort doesn’t mean every team member is there for every moment of the game. She often finds there are important moments for parents to take a back seat and let their student and the provider (doctor or teacher) interact one-on-one. Getting direction from a fresh face without the years of built up history can often make a big difference. An older acting, more mature student can step forward when parents step back.
Real choices make a big difference too in keeping a middle schooler feeling in control of their own life while we still get to know that good choices are being made. I got to watch this practice in action as Dr Kuperstein laid out my own daughter’s options for care. Her patient explanation of the pros and cons of head gear versus a herbst appliance (hinged appliance linking top and bottom jaw) was poetry to listen to. She made the options clear and explained good reasons why families make both choices. I’m glad we left the final decision in Emily’s hands. She doesn’t want to remember to put on head gear so she made her own choice to adjust her jaw alignment with a little more discomfort with the herbst as she gets used to the extra metal in her mouth.
Learning from observation: Doctor Kuperstein has her own memories of the authoritarian orthodontist she saw as a teen and it keeps her sympathetic to her patient’s needs for something more motivating than a stern word. We all need encouragement when doing challenging things so Dr Kuperstein is glad she went with the popular practice these days in orthodontia of a “treatment bay.” In her office, just a block off from Laurelhurst Park along 39th, all the patients getting adjustments are in one room together seeing and overhearing each others treatment. Patients often get to see the treatment they will be doing before it is done for them. They join in the celebrations when other patients finish a treatment and hear a lot of, “Yeah, it was hard at first, but it got better” statements from their own peers.
Letting students co-author the plan: Getting through the rough parts of orthodontia treatment requires a lot of problem solving and overcoming of obstacles. Asking a patient how they think they are going to remember (to put on rubber bands, not lose a retainer, etc) gets Rebecca better results then telling them they have to.
I know that asking Emily what her plan is for getting her homework done is greeted with way more enthusiasm than me announcing it’s homework time. Asking her what role she wants me to play (maybe reminding her when an hour has gone by so she doesn’t lose track of time) gets a “thanks mom” instead of the glares I get when I inform her that I am watching her choices, ready to step in if she forgets to act.
Every kid is different and what motivates one doesn’t work on another (and what motivates one day, doesn’t work every day) so, just like a parent, Dr Kuperstein does a lot of reassessing along the way and her treatment style changes as our kids grow and mature through the often several year course of treatment.
I’ll keep you posted on how Emily (and I) do through our orthodontic journey. Already, with Dr. Kuperstein’s help, I feel like we have built a very nice foundation of mutual respect that is going to carry us through the hard times. I am very grateful that Dr. Kuperstein welcomed us in her office free of charge many times. She has been checking up on both my daughters about every six months over the past year and a half. It gave me a good feeling each time we came in to know that I wasn’t delaying treatment just to avoid costs. She did us a great service by helping us pick and choose the best time to intervene that would maximize the effectiveness of the treatment and also minimize the cost.
If you are curious what the best orthodontic path might be for you or your student, I highly recommend Dr Kuperstein and her staff. Who knows, maybe we can talk her into adding a “homework bay” to her practice so she can make adjustments to our students math skills and writing practices while they motivate each other from their side by side homework chairs . . . just a thought!
The best things in life are worth paying for and I am grateful to everyone at Parkside Orthodontics for financially supporting The Roost so all our students have a safe, fun place to be.
If you know a business that could benefit from 200+ Southeast families knowing more about their services, please let me know so The Roost can continue to grow through funding from great local businesses like:
PARKSIDE ORTHODONTICS
Dr. Rebecca Kuperstein
539 SE 39th Street, Portland, OR 97214
503-236-3800
BELMONT FAMILY DENTISTRY
Dr. Aaron Tinkle
5935 SE Belmont, Portland, OR 97215
(503) 234-1218
DENTISTRY FOR CHILDREN
Dr. Amna Shebani
1405 SE 164th Ave. Vancouver, WA 98683
360-260-0511
