Deciding On Braces

Deciding on braces? Whether your smile is crooked, crowded, or gapped it can be corrected by an orthodontist using a variety of orthodontic treatments including braces. For most people getting their teeth straightened is largely to improve the appearance of their smile but from a dentist’s view point it’s also about the patient benefiting from a corrected bite and an improvement in their oral health.

The great thing is that you’re never too old to have braces and with a wide variety of braces to choose from there’s sure to be something that meets your dental needs and fits into your budget and lifestyle. Your Together Dental orthodontist will be able to recommend particular types of braces suited to your dental needs, but we thought we’d outline the main types of braces and give you a little more information about them.

Metal braces

These are the cheapest type of braces and the type that people tend to associate braces with. They consist of wire brackets glued to the front of the teeth connected with wires and typically treatment time can take a couple of years.

Ceramic braces

These are similar to metal braces but because the brackets are made from ceramic and the wires are tooth coloured, they’re not quite so visible and are often the preferred choice of adults seeking braces.

Lingual braces

These braces are quite unlike most other types of braces in that they use brackets and wires fixed to the inside of the teeth to straighten and align them. It can take a while to get used to wearing them and they do require regular dental visits in order to have them tightened. Even though they are expensive, many adults choose them because they are to all intents and purpose totally invisible to the untrained eye.

Inman aligner

The Inman aligner is a removable brace which we often use at Imperial Dental Care as a treatment to pre-align teeth before further cosmetic treatments such as veneers or bonding. It can, however, also be used as an effective stand alone treatment to align a patient’s front teeth, with treatment usually completed between 6-18 weeks. Two opposing aligner bows are powered by a sprung coil with the inner bow pushing teeth forwards and the outer bow pulling them back, to guide them into their correct position.

Removable aligners

Invisalign uses a series of plastic trays which are worn over the teeth and swapped every two weeks as treatment progresses. They’re worn for around 22 hours a day and can be removed for eating and cleaning your teeth. Since they’re very discreet, they’re a great choice once again for someone who is too embarrassed to wear metal braces.

The technology behind the so called ‘invisible’ braces is highly advanced and offers patients a much shorter treatment time than with traditional tooth straightening methods. Not everyone is suited to these braces as mostly they correct less serious dental issues with more of the emphasis on the appearance of the smile. If you’re wanting to improve your smile then we can help.