Did you know your oral health is a window to your overall health? Poor dental alignment has been linked to a variety of health problems, including heart disease, respiratory function and sleep disorders.
“Getting the right alignment and bite makes everything better,” says Dr. Carly Cunningham of Cunningham Orthodontics, a native Texan who grew up in the footsteps of her orthodontist father. “Orthodontia can increase self-confidence and promote lifelong oral health,” she says.
The American Association of Orthodontics recommends children see an orthodontist by age 7. “I can tell at that age what they’re going to need long term,” says Dr. Cunningham, whose patients are about an 80/20 split of kids and adults. She’s Invisalign certified and her practice offers both traditional braces and Invisalign, with a trial set available for the latter. “We customize each treatment plan very specific to each patient,” she says.
To help keep Dripping families smiling, she welcomed Dr. Daniel Vorhees to her practice in June and opened a second location at The Offices at Sawyer Ranch in December. “We can now serve patients on each side of town more easily,” she says of the new location and their original office across from Dripping Springs High School.
“Dr. Vorhees and I truly care about our patients. It was important to find someone with the same mentality,” she says of their common vision. And, the similarities don’t end there. The two have somewhat of a shared family, educational and professional history that began with his father and her father-in-law practicing together at Austin Oral Surgery. “There are all these crazy connections,” she says.
Both Dr. Cunningham and Dr. Vorhees are graduates of Texas A&M Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas. While attending dental school, Dr. Vorhees says he asked if he could shadow Dr. Cunningham at her office in Dripping. “I knew after the first 30 minutes into the day that I wanted to do ortho,” he says of the experience. “They said, if I did well in dental school, I could come back and work with Dr. Cunningham,” adds Dr. Vorhees, whose expertise includes TMJ disorders and dental sleep medicine.
He also had the opportunity to serve patients under Dr. Cunningham’s husband, Dr. Russell Cunningham, a well-known, local oral surgeon, who lives in Dripping with Dr. Cunningham and their daughters, Camryn and Stormy.
“Our families go way back,” Dr. Vorhees says. Our mothers even served together at the Alliance of the Texas Dental Association, an organization for spouses of dentists. Born and raised in Austin, Dr. Vorhees is married to dentist Tianne Vorhees, whom he met in dental school. The couple share a 1-year-old daughter and are expecting another child this summer.
“It really has come full circle. To be able to come back here and work with Dr. Cunningham — it’s surreal,” he says. “I know he’s going to love and take care of my patients like I would,” says Dr. Cunningham.