From time to time, we run into this question during consultation appointments. Most of the time, the answer will be “NO.”

Some patients come to the consultation seeking orthodontic treatment on only one arch to address crowding or spacing caused by relapse or late lower crowding, especially lower teeth.

Unfortunately, the upper front teeth limits the lower front teeth position and vice versa. Quite frequently, the front teeth are in angulation or position where the opposing teeth movement will be limited. As such, the patient’s bite will end up excessively heavy in the front if you plan on one arch treatment.
Moreover, if your back teeth move without braces on the opposing arch, the back teeth will not be coordinated with each other as the back teeth are not in coordination with the opposing arch causing the bite to be off.

Thus, do not assume you only need braces on one arch just because you see crowding or spacing on one arch. As mentioned on previous blogs, orthodontics is not just about straightening teeth for esthetic reason, but correcting your bite to improve functionality.
As such, if you just plan on straightening teeth on only one arch, the functionality will be compromised the majority of the time which may affect the longevity of oral health.

Please call us to schedule a free consultation. We cater to Redmond, Woodinville, Duvall, Sammamish and Carnation. We are located at Redmond Ridge in QFC mall. We are just ten minutes away from Redmond, Duvall, Carnation, Sammamish and Woodinville Downtown.

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This is a great question and one that can have several reasons depending on the case, the patient and most importantly, compliance.

We try to inform our patients as best as possible before we start treatment ways they can be helpful if they would like to get their braces off in the estimated treatment time. But keep in mind, treatment times are just that, the Dr’s best estimate. The completion date is usually very close to the time frame given as long as their is complete compliance on the patients end.

Compliance with traditional metal braces includes staying away from the “do not eat” foods that are too hard, sticky, chewy or crunchy. Things such as popcorn, pretzels, skittles, taffy just to give a few examples, are things that need to be avoided. Most often, eating those things will result in a loose bracket, broken wire, or breaking appliances. The other big factor to stay the course is wearing elastics when the Dr prescribes. We can get the alignment dialed in but to get the best results with the best functionality in bite requires compliance to wear the elastics 20-22 hours a day (it sounds like a lot but trust us, once you get in a routine it becomes second nature.)

When talking about compliance with Invisalign, it’s pretty simple-the aligner trays need to be worn at least 20-22 hours a day as well or nothing will be moving and changing regarding alignment and if we are correcting the bite also, then elastics will be used to accomplish those goals.

Lastly, it’s very imperative that as a patient, you do your best to show up to all appointments. We understand that things come up but you wouldn’t want to say, miss an appointment and then not reschedule for several weeks, that can definitely be a set back in patient care.

We hope these have answered any questions that come up in regards to treatment time. To summarize, braces and Invisalign are a commitment and investment. We love serving our patients to get the absolute best results possible.

Please call us to schedule a free consultation. We cater to Redmond, Woodinville, Duvall, Sammamish and Carnation. We are located at Redmond Ridge in QFC mall. We are just ten minutes away from Redmond, Duvall, Carnation, Sammamish and Woodinville Downtown.

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Answer: No, it does so much more.

Many people have this idea that orthodontics is just about the cosmetic appearance. While it does have the benefit of giving a very nice esthetic look, it has several other benefits as well.

While straightening teeth is a basic component to treatment, an Orthodontist not only does that but also takes great care to treat the patient’s bite, which leads to improving overall oral health as a whole. Correcting the bite enhances the function and longevity of a patient’s teeth, gums and bone.

Of course, all Orthodontists can have slightly different tools to accomplish the overall goal based on their experience and training. With this being said, you could expect to receive a slightly different plan or approach to your overall treatment based on those circumstances.

To sum up, never assume that orthodontics is just about straightening teeth. It’s about correcting and improving oral health by giving the best esthetic bite possible. Think of it like putting together the pieces of a puzzle to fit just right- that’s what a great Orthodontist will work to do. They will align your upper and lower teeth, but give you the best functional and esthetic result possible. Anyone can straighten teeth if they know the basics. A skilled Orthodontist will work hard to go above and beyond the cosmetic aspect.

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Phase I treatment is an orthodontic treatment we start on younger children who still have baby teeth. When your child comes in as early as seven for an orthodontic consultation, we check how your child’s teeth are coming in and how your child is growing. When we do see a red flag with teeth eruption, growth, or bite; we do recommend you start your child’s orthodontic treatment early on. Early treatment is done so we can modify growth and minimize or prevent further damage.

The benefits of Phase I orthodontic treatment is with younger patients, we can modify their growth pattern to our advantage as their bones are softer. In addition, when we do see significant bite issues we can start the treatment early on so further damage can be minimized or prevented.

Not all kids need Phase I orthodontic treatment. If we find your child does not need Phase I treatment immediately, they enter into our recall system – meaning we will see them every 6-12 months to monitor growth and guidance to evaluate if or when there might be a necessity to enter Phase I or Phase II treatment. This will enable us to start the treatment at the best timing to minimize the duration for your child’s orthodontic treatment.

The majority of kids who had Phase I treatment will still need Phase II (comprehensive) orthodontic treatment, as not all adult teeth were in their mouth during Phase I. Moreover, Phase I does not correct the bite, but more focuses on taking care of the urgent needs during the Early treatment.

Please call us to schedule a free consultation. We cater to Redmond, Woodinville, Duvall, Sammamish and Carnation. We are located at Redmond Ridge in QFC mall. We are just ten minutes away from Redmond, Duvall, Carnation, Sammamish and Woodinville Downtown.

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Some patients require expander in their orthodontic treatment. They have a narrow upper jaw that requires expander to push out the upper jaw sideways, loosening up the locked bone that is located in the mid section of the roof of their mouth. The upper jaw is also connected to the nose, which allows the expander to open up the nasal airway. Thus, if your child breathes through their mouth or has snore/sleep apnea, expanders help open up his/her airway. However, there is a window for this appliance to work. The bony lock become solid with age and will not work with expander alone after a certain age. Girls’ bone mature faster than boys’ and the window for expansion close sooner than boys. Also, when your child needs braces after the expansion, there will be a waiting period of 4-6 months, since the loosened gap between bones will need some time to fill up before we move patients’ teeth.

There are different types of expanders, but the most popular ones are the ones that bands go on the upper molars and have arms extending to the front. We ask parents to use a key to open up the expander. Depending on the severity and age of the patient, we may ask to turn every other, every or twice a day. These turns will push the teeth apart, in turn pushing the bones sideways on the upper jaw. This will create space for the upper jaw as well.

Please call us to schedule a free consultation if you live in or proximal to Redmond, Woodinville, Duvall, Sammamish and Carnation. We are located at Redmond Ridge in QFC mall. We are just ten minutes away from Redmond, Duvall, Carnation, Sammamish and Woodinville Downtown.

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There is an appliance—called Carriere Motion—that we place to substitute Head Gear. Head Gear definitely does help by modifying skeletal growth and providing dental movement, however, it is not the first choice for most parents and kids because of its image and esthetics. Many parents mention about how awful their experiences were with Head Gear wear and ask if there are other ways to fix the bite.

Carriere Motion is another appliance we use to help patients with bite issues. Carriere Motion does not provide Skeletal effect, but addresses dental issues very effectively. If you have concerns because of Overjet—the distance between the upper and lower front teeth; layperson calls it overbite—it will help you with bite correction. The appliance is placed before you or your child gets braces or Invisalign.

The appliance is only attached to the upper eye teeth and molars, and the patients wear rubber bands to the hook on the lower molars. Correcting the bite is time consuming with braces, however with Carriere Motion bite correction is more effective since you are only targeting the correction rather than straightening teeth at the same time.

Moreover, kids are more motivated since they are most compliant during the first couple months of treatment. However, rubber band wear is crucial for the appliance to work—just like Invisalign. Once Motion is in for 3-6 months, patients will just need braces for about 12 months. Since you did the heavy lifting—meaning bite correction—with Motion first, your total time with braces or Invisalign is reduced, which means less time for you or your child to worry about food, hygiene and emergencies with breaking braces.

Please call us to schedule a free consultation if you live in or proximal to Redmond, Woodinville, Duvall, Sammamish and Carnation. We are located at Redmond Ridge in QFC mall. We are just ten minutes away from Redmond, Duvall, Carnation, Sammamish and Woodinville Downtown.

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If you have animals—especially dogs, cats and pigs—in the house, make sure you keep your retainers inside the retainer box or at least a safe place—where your pets can’t access. Since retainers are made of plastic materials, it reminds them of their chew toys. Pets will start chewing, nibbling and playing with them—leading to a partial/total destruction. Retainers are customized to your teeth so a small tweak in the wire or plastic will not fit or fit in a wrong way, moving your teeth in an unwanted direction. I’m sorry, but you will have to say bye-bye to your retainers! If so, you would need to call your orthodontic office immediately to have new retainers since now it’s your responsibility to keep your teeth in a great condition after after the braces are removed. As said, retainers need to be worn lifetime!

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Part 2

Retainers are just as important as having braces. Your teeth are in great shape, and now it’s your duty to keep them there. You need to wear your retainers exactly following your orthodontist’s direction. If not, your teeth will move again. Its better to be safe than sorry, since now you paid your due of having braces or Invisalign 2-3 years. If you don’t wear your retainers you will highly likely need get braces again. I don’t think anyone would want to get braces all over again! You definitely want to make it worth what you paid for. One thing you should know is that your retainers should be worn permanently– not just for a period.

To be continued…

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Part 1

Once you are ready to get braces taken off, you will get retainers. Removable retainers can be made of clear plastic material or hardened plastic material with wires. Retainers help to prevent your teeth from moving back when the braces are taken off. Patients tend to lose or break their retainers often because they misplace them, accidentally throw them away, or they may place them where the dogs can easily find them– Uh oh! Retainers are considered perfect chew toys for dogs– kind of expensive though.

Whenever you are eating please don’t wrap the retainers on a piece of napkin!! Highly likely you may throw away your retainers with the trash at the end of your meal. That’s one of the most common mistakes patients make. Always put them inside the retainer box that was given to you.

To be continued…

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One thing that catches people’s attention when they are looking around to get braces are the types of foods that they can or can’t eat with them. You can still have some of your favorite foods, but you have to be careful on what you choose to eat. The brackets are glued on to the teeth so they can pop off depending on what you eat. Avoid eating things that are solid, hard, sticky, crunchy and chewy foods. For example, biting on carrots, apples, ice, chips, taffy or caramel may end up breaking your bracket or bending the wire. Before eating, think twice about what you can eat.

There are many things that you can still eat and still be able to enjoy such as muffins (no hard whole nuts), ice cream, soft cookies, mash potatoes, pancakes, soft meats like chicken, salmon, and fish. Eat soft foods so that you can avoid coming to the clinic for an emergency appointment. So remember— avoid the hard foods and enjoy the soft foods!

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Why do we use rubber bands when we have braces on? That’s one of the most common questions that people ask themselves when they are in the process of getting braces or have braces on. Most people think that getting braces is to straighten the teeth and to have a beautiful smile. Not only is that true, but braces also help to adjust the bite as well and that’s were the rubber bands come in. The rubber bands connect to the bracket on the upper teeth to the lower teeth. As you wear them, the rubber bands move the teeth to adjust and improve the bite.

When your orthodontic asks you to wear your rubber bands 24 hrs a day , make sure to have them on for that long. Its better to follow the instruction because it will help the process of the teeth adjusting. If you wear the rubber band on and off teeth will move to the direction you want and move back to the original position—thus, you need to wear the rubber band as told.

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