About braces

Braces straighten teeth by putting steady pressure on your teeth and by staying in place for a certain amount of time. Most malocclusions just need regular braces with wires and rubber bands doing their jobs to keep pressure on the teeth. The wires on your braces help to move your teeth, and the rubber bands help to correct the alignment (the way your teeth line up).

Everyone has to wear braces for different lengths of time, but most people usually wear braces for about 9months-2 years. You may need to wear a retainer, which is a small, hard piece of plastic with metal wires or a thin piece of plastic shaped like a mouth guard. Retainers make sure your teeth don't go wandering back to their original places. Your retainer will be specially moulded to fit your newly straightened teeth.

After you get your retainer, your Orthodontist will tell you when you have to wear it and how long - you might have to wear your retainer. It just depends on your teeth.

Types of braces
If your parents had braces, you may have seen pictures of them with their mouths full of metal. Today, braces are much less noticeable. Metal braces are still used, but you might be able to get clear braces or braces that are the same colour as your teeth. There are even braces that are behind your teeth where no one can see them.

The wires that are used in braces today are also smaller and better than they used to be, and they're made of a space-age material that straightens your teeth faster and easier. The rubber bands that go along with braces come in funky colours now, too. So you could have black and orange ones for Halloween if you like.

Fixed braces - the teeth have small attachments glued to them. Fixed braces fitted to upper and lower teeth look a bit like railway lines, so some people call them "train-track braces". Fixed braces are very good for correcting complex problems. These are commonly made of stainless steel, when used for children as they are easier to keep clean. Tooth coloured ceramic or acrylic appliances are also available, and are most often used for adults. They are much more aesthetic. We also use lingual fixed appliances; this is where the attachments are glued to the back of the teeth, very helpful for straightening teeth for people in prominent positions.

Invisalign - The newest and most invisible way to straighten your teeth. Invisalign can give you the beautiful straight teeth you've always wanted. It works through a series of invisible, removable, and comfortable aligners that no one can tell you're wearing. Each aligner is worn for approximately 2-3 weeks, and you will see your teeth gently align. Treatments times are similar to regular braces. This is great for those in the public eye who wants to have straight teeth, but cannot bear the thought of having visible braces. So you can smile more during treatment as well as after. Invisalign has been proven effective in practices nationwide.

Removable braces - can obviously be removed, but they must be worn full-time, apart from when they have to be cleaned. Removable braces are good for correcting simple problems, such as moving a single tooth.

Functional braces - These are also removable but have to be worn full-time, except for cleaning. They are used to correct the growth pattern of the jaws. They can be used when one jaw is bigger than the other, to correct asymmetry. They can be used in conjunction with headgear to help jaws to grow correctly.

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