A well-aligned smile can uplift your total well-being. Straighter teeth are easier to thoroughly brush, floss, and clean, while a properly functioning bite promotes a healthy jaw and even wear on your teeth. Last but not least, straighter teeth can also instill confidence about your smile’s appearance, which can have a positive impact on your personal, professional, and social lives.
Malocclusion (which means “bad bite”) can be resolved with orthodontic treatment. A malocclusion describes upper and lower jaws that don’t properly meet and teeth that are crooked, crowded, overlapped, misaligned, or protruded. Often hereditary, malocclusion can also be caused by injury, tooth shape, or childhood habits (like thumb sucking).
If you or your teen are experiencing malocclusion, Dr. Holly will carefully design a personalized treatment plan to correct irregularities and improve your smile’s health, balance, function, and beauty with traditional orthodontic braces.
Your orthodontic treatment will be planned with a high level of detail, strategy, and care. Using digital X-rays and impressions, Dr. Holly will create a three-dimensional digital model of your facial structures, mouth, teeth, and bite. This advanced 3D model allows us to meticulously plot every detail of your treatment and identify any issues that should be addressed before you get braces, such as wisdom teeth removal or cavity treatment.
Braces are small metal or ceramic (tooth colored) attachments that engage a wire with colored ties to align teeth. Moving teeth can take time depending on the severity of crowding and a person's bite, but the end goal of orthodontic treatment is a beautiful smile and a happy bite that enables a lifetime of not only a healthy mouth but a healthy person. Dr. Holly is very passionate about orthodontics and the lifetime benefits of straight teeth, which is why he offers traditional braces at Vibrant Dental!
Braces are still the gold standard for moving teeth but with the advancements in clear aligners, we now have a good alternative to traditional brackets. In clear aligner therapy (Invisalign), customized clear plastic aligners are used to gradually straighten teeth over time. Each set of aligners works for 1-2 weeks, transitioning into the next step as teeth move. The treatment time varies based on the patient's teeth, but can be usually achieved in 6-12 months.
We also have incorporated 3D printing at our office and now Dr. Holly can design and print your aligners in office. Schedule your free orthodontic consultation with Dr. Holly to discuss your orthodontic options and to see what works for you!
A major goal of orthodontics is expansion. And expansion has the most success the earlier we intervene. Dr. Holly believes that the best orthodontic and dental results happen if we correct malocclusions and airway problems as early as we can. We use expansion appliances and orthodontic treatment as early as age 4.
Traditional phase 1 orthodontics is started around age 7, and traditional phase 2 braces start around age 12-13. But we can make a bigger change the earlier we treat a potential problem. Early intervention is not for everyone, but if you are wondering if its necessary, schedule a free consult to discuss your concerns with Dr. Holly!
