Braces and What to Know
Whether you think your smile could be straighter or your child’s bite needs alignment, you’ve likely found yourself thinking about braces and what you may need to know about them.
Types of Braces
There are two common kinds of braces that we use for the correction of misaligned teeth. Both have come a long way as technology has massively improved.
Metal
Metal braces are made out of high-grade stainless steel, which has become much smaller and more comfortable than in the past. They’ve also come a long way in terms of attractiveness.
Self-Ligating
Self-ligating braces have small slide brackets that clip the wires in place. These systems use lighter wires, and the lower friction brackets keep everything moving continuously. This active ability for the brackets to slide along the wire as the teeth move allows for a much shorter treatment time and less time waiting for results.
What to Expect On Your Application Day
As you approach the day of installation, you should know that some discomfort accompanies putting on your braces for the first time and readjusting them later. While unavoidable, there are a few things that you can do to improve your first few weeks with braces.
We’ll send you home with some wax to help put a little cushion between your braces and your lips as you adjust to the new presence in your mouth. While it may seem silly, a little bit of wax really goes a long way. That pressure on your lips is also going to change how they sit a little bit, resulting in a slightly different look and a little bit of a lisp as you get used to the new hardware. However, this will pass quickly, and your patience will be rewarded.
Over the first few months, you will rapidly see straightening and improvements in your bite that will likely surprise you. To make the most of it, you will need to keep up your flossing and cleaning since braces are a little more difficult to clean around.
Keeping Your Braces Tuned Up
After your initial appointment, you will need to come back every 4 to 6 weeks for new elastic ties and adjustment if you have metal braces, and slightly less with self-ligating braces though each patient is a little different. Each time we adjust them, there will be a little discomfort, and your teeth will straighten more and more as we get closer to your goal of a beautiful and stable smile.
The average treatment plan is between twelve to thirty-six months for braces. However, treatment times can be longer in extreme cases or shorter for easier cases. Generally, after about two to three years, you should be on your way with a perfect, bright smile.
If you or someone in your family is considering getting braces, contact Lans Family Dentistry today to evaluate what type and treatment plan is right for your teeth so that we can start building a smile for you to live in.