WHEN TO START
The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that children see an orthodontist as early as age seven. At this point, the orthodontist will evaluate whether your child will need orthodontic treatment.
Early treatment typically begins around age eight or nine. The goal of early treatment is to correct the growth of the jaw and certain bite problems, such as underbite. Early treatment also helps to make room for permanent teeth to come in properly, lessening the chance of extractions in the future.
Receiving early orthodontic treatment as a child can help prevent the need for orthodontics as an adult, leaving little to no chance of extraction or surgery in the future. If your child is between the ages of seven and eight and shows signs of needing orthodontic care, please contact our practice and schedule an appointment. Our team will provide your child with an initial exam, and discuss with you the best steps to take towards caring for your CHILD’S SMILE.
An orthodontist is the best judge to inform when the right time to start orthodontic treatment for your child is. It depends on the problems presented. Some problems require orthodontic treatment to be started as early as seven years of age and some require Orthodontic treatment to only commence at 11-12 years of age. As a general rule, it’s always better to start early.
You get better and stable results with a shorter treatment duration and when treatment is started at the right age.
COURSE OF TREATMENT
ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT can be divided into the following phases:
- Record taking includes Study models, Photographs, and X-rays.
- Fixing up braces and teeth extractions (When Indicated). This is done after all the recommended dental problems are managed which includes Dental Fillings, Root canals, Capping, and Cleaning of teeth.
- Alignment of teeth
- Correction phase of single jaw problems, two jaw problems, and space closure.
- The finishing Phase includes creating a beautiful smile, positioning the teeth perfectly, and improving facial aesthetics.
- Retention helps us to retain the perfect results achieved for life.
- Follow-ups
- Dental Cure recommends periodic follow-up post retention phase at least once a year to help us maintain results for life.
METAL BRACES
These are the most commonly worn braces. The patient in the picture is wearing metal braces. These are made of special type of high-grade stainless steel. At Braces & Smiles, we also provide the option of nickel-free braces since nickel allergy is very commonly found in people.
COLOURED BRACES
Metal braces require a band to be placed on every tooth. We can place a colored band on the tooth to add color to the braces.
The band is changed every visit. So we can have a new color on the braces at every visit. Two-color combinations and multi-colored braces are one of the most popular designs in braces.
INVISIBLE BRACES
If you don’t want anyone to ever know that you are wearing braces, then invisible braces are the solution for you! We have treated models, actors, senior managers, hotel and airline crew with these braces. They could continue with their work as usual. At Dental Cure, we use 3D CAD/CAM customized invisible braces made by the top laboratories across the globe – this gives the best results with invisible braces. The biggest advantage of CAD/CAM braces is that they are completely invisible & very comfortable because of their small size and flat profile. A scanned digital measurement of teeth is sent to the lab. On this measurement, Braces & Smiles provides better-customized braces with the wires in the braces that are vertically bent, so there is no margin for error.
AESTHETIC BRACES
These are the most popular braces amongst young adults. Here the braces & the wires are tooth-colored, so they are hardly visible. If one is conscious of having their braces seen easily, then aesthetic braces are the solution for them. These braces are made of special grade ceramic and the wires are coated with tooth color. At Braces & Smiles, as per our philosophy, we recommend Self Ligating Ceramic braces. These are more aesthetic and comfortable for patients & deliver excellent results.
SELF LIGATING AESTHETIC BRACES
This is the new advancement in regular ceramic braces. Here the braces have a special clip on every bracket. This clip is said to reduce the friction inside the braces. This can make the treatment more comfortable and faster. These braces also do not get a yellow stain (that ceramic braces get) by eating food, which contains turmeric (Haldi) and other colored substances. We recommend TruKlear and QuicKlear ceramic self-ligating braces from Forestadent Germany.
ALIGNERS
Dental Cure is certified with the world’s Leading Aligners, INVISALIGN. This is the best combination of comfort & aesthetics. Aligners are transparent removable trays that are made of clear acrylic. This is becoming increasingly popular for adults who would like to have a beautiful smile, but do not want to have braces. A word of caution – these braces require careful planning and cannot be used for all cases. They work best only in the hands of an expert. These are the best option for non-resident patients or those who cannot visit Dental Cure every six weeks.
MORE THAN BRACES
FACE MASKS AND HEADGEARS
Sometimes effective orthodontic treatment needs adjunctive accessories like Face Masks, Headgears, Fixed screws. These are required to be worn to improve the quality of result achieved as they help in modulating the growth in a more favorable direction. Face masks and Headgears are removable and are worn 12-14 Hours a day over a period of 6-12 months and are proved to produce beautiful and desirable aesthetic facial changes. Expansion screws help us to expand jaws in narrow arches allowing more space for alignment of teeth and are also known to improve breathing in indicated patients. There are more adjunctive devices known as functional appliances which are used to facilitate proper growth modulation of jaws and are used in combination with fixed braces to achieve better results.
DENTAL HABIT BREAKER
Still sucking on your thumb? No worries, Dr. Tendler is here to help. We regularly use treatments known as habit breakers that will help patients who have unsuccessfully tried to stop their habit and need a little assistance to finally quit,
WHAT ARE HABIT BREAKERS?
Habit breakers do exactly what their name implies — they help patients break or stop a dysfunctional habit, like sucking thumbs or placing the tongue in between the front teeth. One of the most common habit breakers we use is the tongue crib, which is a fixed appliance that keeps your tongue positioned posteriorly and also keeps you from resting your thumb on the roof of your mouth. Usually the habit stops within days, but the appliance remains in the mouth for approximately six months in order to make sure the practice has completely vanished. Very often, in cases where the patient has an open bite due to the habit, the bite will deepen spontaneously after treatment with a habit breaker.
