• It is important to have a full assessment, including x-rays and taking impressions to make a plaster study model of your teeth, in order to plan the best type of treatment.
• Orthodontic treatment takes time, anything from six months up to two and a half years, depending on the type of treatment.
• Commitment and cooperation is very important for treatment to be successful. This means that you would need to keep regular appointments, every 2-6 weeks, for checking or adjusting your appliance. If you have a removable brace it is vital that it is worn for the full time that your dentist or orthodontist advises.
• Wearing braces can make cleaning your teeth more difficult, so dental hygiene is extra important during treatment.
• Retainers are usually required to be worn for a long period of time after treatment has finished. There are various types of retainers which prevent your teeth moving back into the wrong position.

Fixed Appliances 

This is the traditional “train-track type” brace. It consists of a flexible wire fitted onto brackets which are bonded to the teeth. It can only be used for permanent teeth and is able to move teeth slowly and accurately.

Removable Appliances

There are many types of removable braces. As the name suggests the brace can be removed for cleaning and in other circumstances but it is important that it is worn at all times that your dentist advises.

Clear Aligners

Also called “invisible braces,” aligners are made from clear BPA-free plastic. A series of aligners are custom made and each one is worn for two weeks. The aligners should be worn all the time, except for eating and cleaning. Treatment can be started only after all the baby teeth have fallen out and usually takes between six and eighteen months to complete. They are popular with patients who dislike the appearance of traditional braces.

Inman Aligner

This removable appliance has nickel-titanium coil springs which power aligner bow wires which rest on the inner and outer aspects of the front teeth. This produces gentle forces which act over a long range of movement to guide the teeth into their new position more quickly than other methods. It can be used to correct mild to moderate orthodontic problems for front teeth only and treatment usually takes between 6 and 18 weeks.

Space Maintainer

Primary teeth maintain the spaces into which the permanent teeth will erupt. If baby teeth are lost too early other teeth may tilt into or take up the vacant space, forcing permanent teeth to come in crooked. A space maintainer can be fitted immediately after a tooth is extracted to ensure that the space is kept until the new permanent tooth comes through. It may be fixed to the teeth or removable.

Correction of Cross Bites

When upper teeth are behind or inside the corresponding lower teeth in the bite it is called a crossbite. It is better to correct crossbites at an earlier stage they can cause chewing problems or damage to the teeth.

To a correct a crossbite of one or two upper teeth, a removable appliance with a spring which pushes the tooth forwards is often used.

Where back teeth are in crossbite, a palatal expander may be used. This brace contains a screw in the centre of the palate which is turned slightly once or twice a day to gently widen the arch of the upper jaw until the teeth are in the correct position.

Habit Breaker Appliance

This can be used for children have a persistent thumb or finger sucking habit after other methods of stopping the habit have already been tried. The appliance is fixed to the back teeth and has a blunt wire which sits behind the upper front teeth. With the habit breaker in place, attempting to suck the thumb becomes uncomfortable thus discouraging the habit. It also prevents any suction force being placed on the teeth.

Myofunctional Appliances

Also called Functional Appliances, these types of brace are used when the upper teeth further forward than normal in relation to the lower teeth. They are best used prior to or during the adolescent growth spurt, which typically occurs around 11-14 years in boys and 10-13 years in girls. Functional appliances can help correct the growth of the jaws by utilizing the power of the jaw muscles. This may avoid the need for extractions and more complex treatment when the child is older. They are worn for at least 9 to 12 months may be fixed or removable.

Orthognathic Treatment (Jaw Surgery)

For those who have a large discrepancy in the size or position of the jaw bones, treatment with braces alone will not be able to correct the bite. In these cases, surgery is required in combination with orthodontics.