Photos: Brace Yourself and Support Team USA

    ST. LOUIS, Aug. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- If U.S. figure skater Rachael Flatt
 has her way this summer, the more than five million North Americans with
 braces will flash their pearly whites with reds and blues in support of the
 U.S. team in Beijing. Flatt, an orthodontic patient and 2010 winter games
 hopeful, is joining with the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) in
 the association's Band Together educational campaign. The campaign
 highlights several of today's trends and advances in orthodontic treatment,
 and encourages kids and adults with braces to visit their orthodontists and
 don red, white and blue rubber bands around their brackets.
 
 

 
     To view the Multimedia News Release, go to:
 http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/aao/34511/
 
     "I think it's a cool and creative way to support our team and have fun
 with my braces," says 15-year-old Flatt. "I invite other orthodontic
 patients to join me and ask their orthodontists to outfit their braces in
 red, white and blue."
 
     Flatt's involvement in the Band Together campaign illustrates the
 popular orthodontic trend of customizing braces with colorful rubber bands.
 And while some orthodontic patients like to shout out the fact that they
 are sporting braces, others take comfort in today's sleeker less noticeable
 braces. Tooth-colored braces are available, as well as space-age wires that
 help to reduce the number of adjustments and appointments needed during
 orthodontic treatment. Young patients miss less school and their parents
 require less time away from work.
 
     "From colorful rubber bands to next-to-invisible materials, today's
 braces give our patients a variety of options for achieving a healthy,
 beautiful smile that's good for life," says Raymond George, Sr., DMD,
 president of the AAO.
 
     For more information or to locate an orthodontist near you, visit
 www.braces.org.
 
     About the American Association of Orthodontists
 
     The AAO comprises 15,500 members in the United States, Canada and
 abroad. Founded in 1900, the AAO supports research and education leading to
 quality patient care and promotes increased public awareness of the need
 for and benefits of orthodontic treatment. Orthodontists are uniquely
 qualified to correct improperly aligned teeth and jaws. They receive an
 additional two to three years of specialized education beyond dental school
 to learn the proper way to align and straighten teeth. Only those with this
 formal education may call themselves "orthodontists," and only
 orthodontists are eligible for membership in the AAO.
 
 

     Press Contact:
     Aimee DeVoll
     314-552-6744
     adevoll@webershandwick.com
     Pam Paladin
     314-993-1700, ext. 524
     ppaladin@aaortho.org
 
 

SOURCE American Association of Orthodontists (AAO)