If you have crooked or gappy teeth then aligning your teeth is one of the most conservative ways of having a beautiful straight smile. Straightening your teeth not only enhances your smile but it can also result in healthier gums as straight teeth are easier to clean than crooked teeth.
There are many orthodontic treatment options available for aligning teeth such as:
Fixed braces– traditional wires & brackets which are glued to your teeth. These can be metal or ceramic.
Clear aligners – individually customized transparent plastic trays which are changed weekly. These aligners are very discreet and can be removed to eat and brush your teeth so your oral hygiene can be maintained easily. Examples of clear aligners include Invisalign® and ClearSmile.
Inman aligner™ – a removable appliance that uses nickel-titanium coil springs technology to straighten the 4 front teeth in just a few weeks.
Orthodontic treatment can be used as a stand-alone treatment or to pre-align teeth prior to further treatments such as composite bonding or minimally invasive porcelain veneers. This way the amount of tooth structure removed by the dentist during veneer preparation will be significantly reduced and so will the risk of sensitivity or toothache as a consequence.
Please be aware that after completion of any orthodontic treatment, you will need to maintain your teeth in their new position by wearing retainers on a permanent basis. These can be very thin wire retainers bonded behind your 6 front teeth and/or removable plastic retainers.