Tampa Braces Specialist, Dr. Hess Kicks Off Scavenger Hunt

May 12, 2009- TAMPA, FLORIDA – The office of Tampa orthodontist Dr. Michael Hess will kick off its second annual summertime scavenger hunt next week.

The Tampa, FL orthodontics practice hosts the scavenger hunt each year for its young patients. The hunt begins May 4 and concludes the week after local schools go back in session in the fall.

"We've already had kids asking about it," said Hess, a Tampa Invisalign provider. "They are really excited."

The first place winner will receive an Apple iTouch; second place gets a Nintendo DS and third prize is a $100 gift certificate.

The scavenger hunt is open to all of Hess's school-age patients who are in active orthodontic treatment or observation. Children interested in participating must obtain their scavenger list from Hess's office. This year's list offers close to 50 activities participants can take part in.

Participants must take pictures of themselves wearing their Hess Orthodontics T-shirt while doing the activities, which include going fishing, being photographed with their favorite teacher, attending a Tampa Bay Rays game and going roller skating, to name a few examples.

Each activity is assigned a point value, Hess said. The more challenging the activity is, the greater the point value. Some activities offer opportunities to earn bonus points. For example, participants who attend a Rays game get extra points if they can get their photo taken on the pitcher's mound.

Last year, about 45 kids participated and several of them accomplished every task on their list. That made it difficult to select a winner, so the names of those who accomplished everything on the list were put into a bowl and a random drawing was done to select the winner.

"We intentionally made it a bit tougher this year, hoping we would have a clear winner," Hess said. "Perhaps those bonus points will help push someone over the top."

The scavenger hunt began last summer when the Hess Orthodontics team began thinking of fun activities their young patients could do while school was out, he said.

"Our idea was to come up with activities to hopefully give the kids something that their entire families could do, especially families who may not be able to afford summer vacations due to the tough economic climate," Hess said. "We think we came up with a great list this year that everyone will enjoy."

Learn More
If you would like to learn more about Tampa braces or would like to schedule an appointment for a free consultation, please call (813) 645-4377, or visit his Web site for more information: www.hessorthodontics.com.

About Dr. Michael Hess
Dr. Michael A. Hess is an accredited orthodontist, meaning he has completed an advanced post-doctoral course, accredited by the American Dental Association, of at least two academic years in the specialty of orthodontics. Dr. Hess graduated from the University of Florida College of Dentistry in 2001 and received his masters in orthodontics from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He has been in private orthodontic practice since June 2004.

© 2009 Sinai Orthodontics Marketing and Dr. Michael Hess. Authorization to post is granted, with the stipulation that Sinai Marketing is credited as sole source. Linking to other sites from this press release is strictly prohibited, with the exception of herein imbedded links.