What About Fast Braces and 6 Month Smiles?

 

You may have seen some of the newer information regarding a process called "6 Month Smiles", or another process called "Fast Braces".  They claim that the alignment of your front teeth can be completed very quickly, and people would certainly prefer to be in braces for 6 months, instead of 16 months! 

However, if you research these claims carefully, you will find that these techniques focus only on aligning the front teeth, and do nothing to correct any of the problems with your bite, which is a significant issue in terms of your long-term dental health. 

Thankfully, the newer treatment technology does not require us to accept these compromises.  The kind of corrections that can be made with "6 Month Smiles" in, well, 6 months, leave the patient with an incomplete and unstable correction.  However, because of the new technology with self-ligating braces, we can do a complete correction for similar cases in 11-12 months.  Hardly worth the difference to accept a compromise, or an unstable result. If you have a question, please contact any one of our Sondhi-Biggs Orthodontics team members.

When Do I Get My Braces Off?

 

That is one of the most frequently asked questions for any orthodontist!  Now, thankfully, the answer is -- "much sooner than they used to".  That is because the newer technology with braces has eliminated the colored ties that used to slow down tooth movement, and therefore made the treatment process much more efficient.  Treatment that used to take at least 2 years can now easily be completed in 14 months.  The more complex treatments, that used to take 2-1/2 to 3 years, can now routinely be completed in 17-18 months.  Isn't progress a beautiful thing? If you have any questions about this technology please feel free to contact any of our Sondhi-Biggs Orthodontic team members.

Where Have All the Colors Gone?

 

You may have noticed that there is a change in the way braces look these days.  That is because, with the previous technology that was available, colored elastics were placed on the brackets to hold the wires in place.  Increasingly, you will notice that the colors are not being used any more.  That is for a very good reason.  The newer technology with braces allows us to move teeth more efficiently by eliminating the colored ties.  As much fun as it was to select the colors, the fact is that those elastic ties also retained a lot of plaque, and were difficult to keep clean.  The move from colors to clear braces is good for a lot of clinical reasons, and makes the treatment time much shorter.  Considering that the braces would have to stay on longer if we still used the previous technology with elastic ties, who wants the colors anyway? If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any one of our Sondhi-Biggs Orthodontics team members.