1. Clear aligners- these fit like a thin mouth guard over your teeth and are used to straighten teeth. Typically, the aligners are worn for 2 weeks prior to changing to the next aligner and must be worn at all times (recommended 22 hours/day), except when eating, brushing your teeth or drinking liquids other than water.
2. Removable appliances that resemble a retainer-these can be used for minor straightening of the teeth and must be worn as described above for aligners.
Braces are bonded to the teeth and therefore are not removable. We have 3 different kinds of braces teeth so that you can choose the appliances that best suit you.
Stainless steel braces or silver braces-
All of our braces have a slot in front that the wire fits into. A small elastic is placed around each brace to hold the wire into the brace so that the wire can move the tooth that the brace is bonded to.
For the more conservative patient, silver or clear elastics are worn as they blend with the colour of the brace and wire.
A wide variety of colored elastics are also available, so you can have fun celebrating your favorite holidays with the colours on your braces; for example red and white for Canada Day, black and orange for Halloween etc!
Gold colored braces-
Add a bit of pizzazz to your smile with gold braces and gold wires!
Ceramic or tooth colored braces-
These clear braces are the perfect way to straighten your teeth without drawing attention to the fact that you are wearing braces!
If I ask 10 people off of the street the question why is orthodontic treatment so important, I will bet that at least 8 out of 10 of those people would say it is to have straight teeth.
That is important; it is important to you to have straight teeth as this builds confidence and self-esteem. Having straight teeth is also important to be able to keep them healthy and cavity-free and to keep the gums healthy as it is easier to floss straight teeth than it is crooked teeth.
But there are other great reasons to consider orthodontic treatment for yourself or your children. The three main goals of orthodontic treatment are:
1. To straighten the teeth, which we have already discussed,
2. To get the teeth to fit together properly so that you can chew, speak and swallow properly and without any discomfort. Sometimes the growth of the jaws must be taken into account and altered to get the teeth to fit together properly. For a growing individual, we can use their growth, or in the case of a non-growing adult using jaw surgery, to help get the teeth to fit together properly.
3. We want to straighten the teeth and get them to fit together properly without taking away from the support of your lip or how you look. The lips rest on the front teeth, so depending on the bite and where we have to move those front teeth to, the lips could move with them and this could result in some facial change.
That is why it is very important that before we start any treatment that we have a consultation and take good records.
At the consultation, the face, teeth and the bite will all be examined. Then we can discuss what the issues are and how they can be corrected, including all of the steps necessary. An estimate of cost and how it is broken down is also presented.
Following this appointment, we take records; that is xrays of the teeth and bones of the face, dental impressions so that we can study the bite and look for crowding/spacing/fit of the teeth, photographs of the face and how the teeth bite together and a few more measurements not taken at the initial consultation.
All of the records are measured and a detailed treatment plan with options is presented so that you are involved every step of the way in your treatment.
If you would like to find out more about orthodontic treatment for you or your child Visconti Health Services has virtual first-step consultation process so you can have an orthodontic consultation in the comfort of your own home! To find out more call our office at (705) 268-8400. We look forward to seeing you!