before and after braces

Treatment only took 12 months!

Another case we did with Invisalign

Why are my braces still on? A short skit with 5 Questions!

Those of you who have been in braces at our office may have experienced my “Are your teeth straight” stand-up comedy  act!  It goes something like this:

Q. Are your teeth straight?          (I never ask this question unless they really are pretty much straight!)
              A.  Yes they are…(sometimes we have to give the patient a mirror to look at their own teeth)

Q. So if your teeth are straight?: “Why are your braces still on?”

              A. Because my “bite” is off (sometimes we have to explain to our patients that you can have straight upper and lower arches but still have some type of overbite, overjet, openbite, etc.)

Q. So what do you think fixes your “bite”?

              A. Rubber bands!

Q. What happens if you do not wear your rubber bands as we instructed?

             A. My bite will not get fix and MY BRACES WILL NOT COME OFF.

Q. So who is in charge of how much longer the braces are on?

             A. You… the patient, is in charge, not the doctor, not your parents!

Too difficult for Invisalign?

Q.    I was told by my dentist that my problem was too difficult for Invisalign®.  What can I do if I really don’t want a full set of braces?

              A. As one of the first orthodontic office in the country to use Invisalign we have had a great deal of experience with this technique.  Because of this, and being orthodontists, we feel comfortable treating much more difficult cases than most general dentists.  As a matter of fact we even have orthodontists referring their patients who insist on Invisalign to us. Here are some reasons why we may be able to help you:

             1.      Experience does matter, like any new doctor using Invisalign, we started out only doing simple cases and worked our way up to more complex problems…10 plus years of experience with Invisalign lets us do things many other doctors would not attempt.

           
               2.      Last year Invisalign came out with a major revision (G-4) that allows much better control over tooth movement…a big improvement over previous versions.

               3.      This year, after 10 years with the original Invisalign plastic material, Align Technology has begun using SmartTrack, the new standard aligner material for Invisalign. SmartTrack is a proprietary new material that is highly elastic and delivers gentle, more constant force for improved patient comfort all while improving control of tooth movements with Invisalign clear aligner treatment

             4.      Combo treatment. For those patients who truly are too difficult for Invisalign only we sometimes are able to do the difficult movements with partial braces and finish with Invisalign®.

              5.      We’re realistic. We understand that not every adult has the time, money, and interest in achieving an “ideal” correction.  With severe skeletal problems, often “ideal” corrections require extended treatment times or jaw surgery…we accept the fact that many adult patients will be happy with straight teeth and a less than perfect “bite”

Before and After