FAQs

Orthodontics is the branch of dentistry that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of dental and facial irregularities.

An orthodontist is a specialist who has completed an advanced education program of 3 years in an accredited institute following dental school to learn the special skills required to manage tooth movement and guide overall facial development.

• A more attractive smile
• Better function of the teeth and bite
• Enhanced self-confidence
• Helps in easily cleaning the teeth
• Better long-term health of teeth and gums
• Guide permanent teeth into more favorable positions
• Reduce the risk of injury to protruded front teeth

• Upper front teeth protrude excessively over the lower teeth, or are “bucked”
• Upper front teeth cover the majority of the lower teeth when biting together (deep bite)
• Upper front teeth are behind or inside the lower-front teeth (underbite)
• The upper and lower front teeth do not touch when biting together (open bite)
• Crowded or overlapped teeth
• Finger- or thumb-sucking habits which continue after six or seven years of age
• The lower jaw shifts to one side or the other when biting together
• Spaces between the teeth
• Unhappy with overall smile and facial aesthetics

Orthodontic treatment can be started at any age. Many orthodontic problems are easier to correct if detected at an early age, before jaw growth has slowed. Early treatment may mean that a patient can avoid surgery and more serious complications. The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that every child visit an orthodontist by age 7 or earlier if a problem is detected by parents, the family dentist or the child’s physician.

Orthodontic treatment can be successful at any age. Everyone wants a beautiful and healthy smile. Thirty percent of orthodontic patients today are adults.

Braces use steady gentle pressure to gradually move your teeth to their new, corrected positions. The brackets that are placed on your teeth and the archwire that connects them are the main components. When the archwire is placed into the brackets, it tries to return to its original shape. As it does so, it applies pressure to move your teeth to their new, corrected positions.

Treatment times vary on a case-by-case basis, but the average time is from one to two years. Actual treatment time can be affected by rate of growth and severity of the correction. Treatment length is also dependent upon patient compliance. Maintaining good oral hygiene and keeping regular appointments are important factors in keeping treatment time on schedule.

The placement of bands and brackets on your teeth does not hurt. Once your braces are placed and connected with the archwires, you may feel some soreness of your teeth for 1 to 4 days. Your lips and cheeks may need 1 to 2 weeks to get used to the braces on your teeth.

Removal of teeth is not necessary in all cases, however when there is a space requirement to align the teeth of to push them back we need to remove teeth.

Teeth removal and the eyesight going weak has no co relation what so ever. Removal of teeth is done with utmost care to minimize any damage to the surrounding tissues.

Yes once the treatment is over patients are either given a removable device or a fixed wire is stuck on the inner surface of their teeth to retain the teeth in place. The period can vary from 2 years to life long retention.

With the advances in technology the ceramic brackets nowadays are a cutting edge technology and the results are excellent with aesthetic appearance.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many alternatives to braces, but there are alternatives to the metal braces that many people immediately visualize. You can get clear or tooth-colored brackets and wires, which make braces much less noticeable. Some patients are also eligible for clear aligners instead of traditional braces. There are also other types of removable appliances that can help align teeth.

Some adults do choose to get veneers instead of braces to serve as a purely cosmetic fix. However, these are quite expensive, may need to be replaced at some point in life and do not actually correct any bite issues.

Avoid sports where you will get hit in the face (fighting, boxing, contact karate, snowball fights). You can play football, baseball, basketball, soccer. You can still go bowling. You can still do everything (maybe not a pie-eating contest). Just wear a mouth guard for your sports, and try to not get hit in the mouth.

Braces and Smiles™ specializes in the treatment of adults; we have treated patients up to 65 years of age with braces. With today’s advancement and special training that the orthodontists at Braces and Smiles™ have received, it is now possible to treat adults, which was not possible earlier. For adults who are conscious of being seen with braces, we have special invisible braces for them.

Special ‘invisible’ braces are available at Braces and Smiles™. These braces have been specially designed so that no person can see the braces that you are wearing. Unlike normal braces, these braces are put on the backside of the teeth to make them invisible.

Braces and Smiles™ uses special techniques that apply very light pressure on teeth, so the discomfort is minimum. It just takes a few days for one to get used to braces. During this time, one may eat soft food to be at ease.

With the type of braces we use at Braces and Smiles™, life goes on very normally. From the first day itself, almost all patients have no problem in speaking with braces. It does take a couple of days for a patient to get used to the braces. But, during this time studies and work go on as usual.

We provide you with special brushes packed for Braces and Smiles™. These brushes can reach every corner of the teeth and braces, to make sure that your teeth remain very clean with braces on.

For the first few days with braces can be uncomfortable, and patients need to eat soft food during this time. But, once a patient is settled, its possible for the patient to eat almost anything. However to maintain the braces, patients must not eat hard or sticky food. Also avoid sweet food as much as possible.

Speeding up the treatment is now a reality. The orthodontists at Braces and Smiles™ are specially trained in techniques that can reduce treatment time by up to 40%.

We provide you with special brushes at Braces and Smiles™. With these brushes it is possible to clean each and every part of the teeth. This will make sure that it will not change colour of your teeth even during the treatment.

Removable braces (plates with a ‘single wire’) were the braces of choice in 1950’s. While some clinics continue to use this out dated technique, At Braces and Smiles™, we do not use them since we believe in giving patients only the best possible treatment. Removable braces cannot give the same quality of result as they cannot control the tooth movement as precisely as fixed braces.

No. Braces makes teeth straight. In this position, teeth are easier to clean and have less chances of getting damaged. Instead braces may prolong the life of the teeth. Removal (extraction) of braces do not weaken the teeth in any way.

No. Only after completing a minimum of three years of specialist training (MDS) in orthodontics, one has the necessary skill and knowledge to give proper orthodontic treatment. These specialists who are experts with braces are called orthodontists.

Depending on the problem, teeth that are not straight, can have gum disease, get injured or get decayed. Braces can reduce the chances of these problems, since they make the teeth straight. In addition to giving you that beautiful smile which enhances your confidence, braces may be good for the long-term health of your teeth too.