If you or a family member needs straighter teeth or a better bite for a healthy smile—for life!—traditional braces are dependable and versatile. At Macdonald Orthodontics, we use braces with many of our young patients and plenty of our older patients too.
After your first exam, we’ll show you a few options, including
- Traditional metal braces.
- Ceramic braces.
We offer cutting-edge technologies to you and your family members to give you great-looking, healthy smiles fast.
Traditional Metal Braces
Metal braces are still reliable, having been tested for decades. Plus, we enjoy constantly updating our knowledge of the latest techniques to make sure we’re giving you high-quality treatments. Today’s braces are better than your grandparents’ braces because they:
- Are more comfortable than ever.
- Are made of high-quality stainless steel.
- Are sleeker and less conspicuous than they used to be.
Braces can even be fun. For example, we offer many different colors of elastics so our younger patients can customize their braces to their unique style and change them now and then.
Best of all, braces are dependable for straightening teeth that have almost any issues, along with improving the bite (the way that teeth come together). This can help patients keep their teeth and gums healthier, while also giving them a better-looking facial shape in many cases.
Do I Need Braces?
You might have an intuition that your teeth or a family member’s teeth are crooked. But are they crooked enough to seek braces? Is the situation serious? Here are a few signs that braces could help:
- The teeth look crowded or obviously crooked.
- You have trouble brushing or flossing your teeth.
- Your child has lost baby teeth early, late, or irregularly.
- Your child breathes through his or her mouth frequently.
- The teeth are misaligned when the mouth is closed.
- A family member has trouble chewing food.
- Your child’s adult teeth are coming in late.
- You often bite your own tongue or cheek.
- A family member has speech issues.
- You have an underbite or overbite.
- You have missing teeth or extra teeth.
You can get a great benefit by scheduling an orthodontic appointment. Even if you decide not to move forward, you’ll get the relief of understanding your dental issues and options.
What is the Process of Getting Braces?
Here’s a typical series of steps when you get braces:
- Placement: We attach brackets to your teeth and install your archwire. Typically we apply brackets one arch at a time, and have you return for the second arch.
- Adjustment: For several days, you’ll get used to eating with your braces. You’ll feel fairly comfortable with them within a week.
- Checkups: You’ll drop by for periodic adjustments to make sure your teeth are moving on schedule.
Over-the-counter painkillers work wonders for any discomfort, along with orthodontic relief wax. You can also chew sugarless gum to improve blood circulation and help teeth move more quickly.
Find Your Style of Effective Braces in Mesa and Gilbert
If you or a family member needs help with crooked teeth or a bite issue, Macdonald Orthodontics has metal braces and clear ceramic braces, in Mesa and Gilbert. Get a great-looking smile fast at any age. Schedule an exam to find out your treatment options.