Get Your Braces in Time for Back-to-School
Going back to school can be an exciting time whether you’re a child, teen or an adult. However, if you have recently had your braces put on or plan to get them before school starts, there are some things you should prepare for. Those include planning ahead so that you can clean your teeth at school, that you have food you can eat with braces and more. As you go back to school this year, use these tips for taking care of your braces and for showing them off to your peers!
Should You Get Braces?
Many people see braces and try to decide if they are right for them. Receiving orthodontic care does take time, but it’s time well spent. Most patients are generally wearing their orthodontic appliance for 18-24 months at a time. However, you can achieve a straight smile that will last you the rest of your life.
There are incredible benefits that come with getting braces, and we’re not just talking about getting straighter teeth. Braces can correct a patient’s problems with bite and alignment. These types of problems can create speech impediments over time and can make it difficult for patients to bite, chew, smile and more. Add crooked teeth on top of that, and the teeth also become much more difficult to clean. When they are more difficult to clean, patients generally miss cleaning areas that eventually decay. Without orthodontic treatment, you raise your risk for tooth decay and gum disease, as well as dental emergencies. Crooked teeth and bite problems can lead to broken and cracked teeth over time.
However, braces can get rid of all those risk factors that lead to chronic dental problems. And you don’t really have to do much except keep your braces clean! Studies also show that people who straighten their teeth tend to smile more, and they actually have a major confidence boost that stays with them. Going back-to-school is a great time to get that extra confident boost!
Choosing Which Braces You Want
In the past, patients only had one dental option. Today, you have at least four options. At your consultation, you can learn about and choose from these options:
- Traditional Metal Braces: The metal brackets and wires many people think of when they think “braces”. The metal brackets attach to the front of every tooth and are held in place by a metal wire that goes along the bottom and top teeth. The molars have metal bands that go all the way around the tooth in the back to keep the braces very sturdy.
- Ceramic Braces: These are designed just like traditional metal braces, but they are made from white, ceramic material to blend with the teeth. Even the wire can be made white for patients.
- Lingual Braces: With Incognito Lingual Braces, you can achieve the same results as traditional braces with a hidden treatment apparatus on the tongue-side of your teeth. These braces consist of metal that is custom-molded to fit on the back of all your teeth. The metal covers the entire back instead of simply consisting of a bracket. However, there is still a small bracket that holds the metal wire in place. The main advantage of lingual braces is that they can straighten and correct bite problems without being seen.
- Invisalign: This treatment consists of transparent aligners custom-made for a patient’s teeth that they switch out every week. Over time, crooked teeth become straight. The aligners can be removed for any activity (eating, brushing, sports), however, they can’t correct major bite issues.
Watch What You Eat
With any new thing, there is always a learning curve. Braces are no different. For the first few days, your mouth will have to adjust to having an orthodontic appliance attached to the teeth. The newness of your braces will fade, but the need to take care of them won’t fade. One of the main things you need to watch out for with braces is what you eat. Many students get lunch from the cafeteria, snack bars, or fast food places. If this is you, be careful what you eat and aim to avoid foods such as:
- Hard candies: These generally contain lots of sugar and chewing on them can break brackets and wires.
- Avoid hard foods such as nuts, chips, popcorn (because of kernels), apples, crusty bread, carrots or hard vegetables.
- Ice: Never chew ice, as this can break orthodontic appliances and can crack or break a tooth. Always suck on ice; never chew.
- Sticky Sugary Foods. These include caramels, taffy, licorice, Tootsie Rolls, Starburst, Sugar Daddies, Skittles and candies that are similar.
- Gum: This gets stuck in all your orthodontic appliances and most are sugary, meaning that stuck food will be able to sit on your teeth and eat away at your tooth enamel.
Nobody wants to get back-to-school and have a dental emergency happen. If you always watch what you eat, you don’t have to worry about dental emergencies and serious oral health issues.
Get Your Braces in Time for Back-to-School
Do you want to make an amazing transformation this year? Start with your smile! Your smile is one of the first things others notice. You want to make that smile shine. For the perfect smile you are envisioning, we can help make it a reality! Simply call Belmar Orthodontics today at (303) 225-9016 for your free consultation!
What are the Benefits of Lingual Braces?
Many patients are getting excited about lingual braces as an option for their orthodontic care. These types of braces can correct long-term or lifetime dental issues. They are also hidden in a patient’s mouth and because they’re not on the front of the teeth, they are a perfect option for athletes or musicians to perform better. Thinking about leveraging the power of lingual braces to straighten your smile? Consider the benefits that lingual braces can offer you and ask about your set today!
What’s the Difference Compared to Other Options?
Lingual braces is an exciting option for patients who want to combine the benefits of Invisalign transparent aligners with the sturdiness of traditional metal braces. These type of braces are also known as “incognito hidden braces” because they rest behind your teeth instead of on the front. They too, are made from metal, except this metal is usually gold instead of silver. Plus, instead of simple brackets and wires, the metal attachments cover the entire back of your tooth surface.
There are brackets and wires, but they are on the tongue-side of your teeth. Lingual braces are amazing because they can achieve the same results as traditional orthodontics in a manner that is inconspicuous and undetectable. They are tightened at each appointment just like traditional braces and can correct bite and alignment issues with ease. How do you benefit from these type of braces?
- Correction of long-term or lifetime dental issues
- Less noticeable orthodontic treatment
- Good orthodontic treatment for athletes and musicians who play wind instruments
- Increased confidence during treatment compared to traditional methods
- Elevated self-esteem after treatment
Difference Between Lingual and Traditional Braces
Not all metal braces are alike. Even though lingual braces are made out of metal alloys, they are still different than traditional metal braces. Metal braces rest front and center on a patient’s teeth. They consist of the classic brackets-and-wires set-up, but they can make your smile look gray because of the metal. Depending on your oral health, you can have tooth staining and dental erosion during your time with braces. This can leave marks when the braces come off.
Compared to traditional braces, lingual braces are more ideal for athletes and musicians. Traditional braces can make it difficult for musicians to play wind instruments and can affect how a person blows. For athletes, they have to worry about dental emergencies caused by metal brackets and wires if they get hit in the mouth. There are no brackets or wires on the front of the teeth that will cut up the cheeks if a person gets hit in the face. However, both of these styles of braces are extremely effective at correcting bite and alignment issues.
Comparing Lingual Braces to Ceramic Braces
Ceramic braces are very similar in their style to metal braces. The only difference is that they are made from white, ceramic material instead of metal. Even the wires can be made white to match the teeth. This is a more aesthetic option for teens who like metal braces but don’t want them as noticeable. However, they are still much more noticeable than hidden braces would be. A teen or adult simply has to decide how noticeable they want their braces.
Invisalign Vs. Lingual Braces
If patients want hidden braces, then why not just use Invisalign treatment? This is a great orthodontic option, but it has its limitations. Yes, Invisalign is transparent on the teeth. However, those aligners cannot correct many bite and alignment issues, which many patients need. They are more ideal for patients who only need their smile a bit straighter. For any major orthodontic issue and especially bite problems, Invisalign is not the best option. Lingual braces combine the hidden aspect of Invisalign treatment, but with the sturdy structure of metal braces that can correct bite problems.
Choose Orthodontic Care
No matter what orthodontic option you choose, simply opting to receive orthodontic care for bite and alignment issues will improve your oral health immensely. Some people skip receiving orthodontic care because they believe they will save all that money. However, crooked teeth and bite issues can actually cost more money in the long run. How you ask? When your teeth are straight, they are very simple to clean with a toothbrush and quick to floss. However, when they are crooked, you will consistently miss many parts of your tooth surfaces. This can lead to quick decay, which will take dental work for every instance of tooth decay.
Flossing also gets very difficult when the teeth are crowded or crooked. A patient may not even be able to pass floss between the teeth if they are too crooked. That’s detrimental to a patient’s health, as 40% of tooth surfaces can only be reached through flossing. That leaves those tooth surfaces open to decay, enamel erosion, staining and infection. If this happens all over your mouth, you’re looking at spending a lot of money over a lifetime to fix all your oral health problems.
Get Your Braces
Opting to receive orthodontic care saves you the headache of bite and alignment issues, crooked teeth, and decay and gum disease that can happen. Correct these issues early-on and enjoy your smile for life. Call Belmar Orthodontics today at (303) 225-9016 to learn about lingual braces and your other orthodontic options!
Help for a Chipped, Cracked, or Broken Tooth with Braces
Your teeth are made up of 96% mineral content, making them the hardest substance in the body—even harder than the bones! However, that doesn’t mean that you won’t ever end up with a chipped, cracked or broken tooth. These are major dental emergencies that can cause you to permanently lose teeth if you don’t get dental attention right away. Find out what each of these emergencies are and what to do about them!
What Constitutes a Dental Emergency?
Each year, millions of people sustain mouth injuries that result in dental emergencies such as a cracked, knocked-out or broken tooth. At least 5 million cases of knocked out or broken teeth are reported each year, most of which happen during sports. Not enough athletes wear mouth guards for their teeth, which is why sports is one of the highest causes of dental emergencies.
Injuries to the mouth can be devastating not only to how a smile looks, but can be devastating to your gum tissue and teeth. A cracked, chipped, knocked-out or broken tooth can quickly result in dental infections or complete tooth loss in the affected area. Dental emergencies include toothaches (especially severe), severely chipped teeth, a chipped filling, broken crown or implant, a cracked tooth, knocked-out tooth or a broken tooth.
When it comes to braces, dental emergencies also include broken brackets or wires, pokey wires, a cut lip, cheek or gum and a loose or missing elastic tie. If a dental emergency happens with braces, it can severely cut up a patient’s gum tissue. That is why mouth guards are so important in sports if a patient has traditional metal braces, or lingual or ceramic braces.
Chipped Teeth
A chipped tooth is only a dental emergency if the chip is large enough that it has displaced a filling or broken a dental appliance. If you have chipped a tooth or a filling but you feel no pain or tenderness after the chip has happened, it is probably not an emergency. However, when you can’t see the chip (because it was a filling), and there is tenderness, it is because a dental nerve is being exposed or dental decay was underneath the filling. You can fix a chipped tooth even with dental appliances such as brackets on your teeth.
How Serious Is a Cracked Tooth?
A cracked tooth is different than a chipped tooth, and much more serious even if you can’t see the crack. You can easily crack a tooth by eating the wrong foods depending on how hard your teeth are. Even though your teeth are very hard, the right amount of force can cause a cracked tooth. You can do this much easier if your eating habits (sugary foods and acidic/carbonated drinks) give you weaker tooth enamel. Patients are supposed to avoid hard foods with braces such as nuts, popcorn, hard carrots, apples, chips and similar foods. Poor oral hygiene or tooth decay during braces as well can lead to weaker teeth, meaning they may crack easier.
A cracked tooth actually is a serious dental emergency. A crack can continue to grow and can go all the way down to the tooth root. If you have a tiny line but no tenderness, it could just be an enamel crack. If you fracture a piece of your tooth off, it’s called a “fractured cusp”. This usually doesn’t cause much pain. Most cracked teeth fracture a tooth vertically towards the root, which leaves it open for quick infection. A root fracture is even more serious, as you will lose your tooth completely if you don’t get dental help asap.
A Broken Tooth Is No Joke
A broken tooth can happen with or without braces on the tooth. If you have braces, you can end up with not only a broken tooth, but a cut gum or cheek if you’ve been hit in the face. The teeth can break off right at the gumline or can fracture a section off. Even if you break half of your tooth, your tooth root can be saved. If you have a dental emergency such as a knocked-out or broken tooth, get dental attention immediately. This is vital if you want to keep your natural tooth.
If you have brackets on your teeth at the time of the dental injury, make sure to call us right away. We may have to work with a dentist to remove your dental appliances so your restorative dentistry can be done. Right when a tooth break happens, save the part of the tooth that broke. Place it in a cup with water or milk and make sure to rinse your mouth well with warm water. Apply pressure with gauze or a cloth to the affected area. Couple this with a cold pack outside your mouth on the cheek to keep swelling down. Never handle your broken or knocked-out tooth more than you need to and never hold it by the tooth root. Call the dentist and orthodontist right away.
Avoid Dental Emergencies
Nobody wants to experience a dental emergency, especially if they have braces on their teeth. These can make dental emergencies so much worse. However, you can avoid a dental emergency with braces altogether. Wear mouth guards with every sport you play, even during practice. Take braces wax with you in a small pack so you can cover pokey wires or brackets. There are also tooth-saver kits that are small and can be carried with you if you ever have a knocked-out or broken tooth.
Eating hard foods should be avoided as well. Not only can you end up with a broken tooth or other dental emergency, but you can break a bracket or wire. If you have a dental emergency and wear braces, call Belmar Orthodontics at (303) 225-9016 to get the help you need!
Lingual Braces: Straighten Your Teeth Without Anyone Knowing!
Lingual braces can achieve the same effect as traditional orthodontics in a manner that is inconspicuous and undetectable. By discreetly attaching the braces to the back of the teeth instead of the front, Dr. T.C. Hardy can help you achieve straight, healthy and beautiful-looking teeth. Consider the benefits of lingual braces when you are deciding which orthodontic appliance you want!
How Do Lingual Braces Work?
No matter what braces option you are going to get, we always meet with patients to first have an orthodontic consultation. At this consultation, Dr. Hardy will examine your teeth, checking their straightness as well as your bite and alignment. The size of your teeth matter if you request to have lingual braces put on your teeth. Dr. Hardy will examine the backs of your teeth to determine if you are a candidate to receive them and if brackets and wires will comfortably fit on the tongue-side of your mouth.
Once Dr. Hardy has determined that you are an ideal candidate for lingual braces, he will take impressions of your teeth that are then sent to a lab for custom-made brackets and wires. At your next appointment, we will gently bond the metal to the back of your teeth with the attached brackets. We will then run a metal wire through the brackets. The process is quite similar to what is done with patients who choose traditional metal braces on the front of their teeth. However, instead of your cheeks adjusting to the feel of the brackets, your tongue will be the part adjusting to the new appliance. At each appointment, Dr. Hardy will examine your teeth and adjust the wires as needed to straighten your teeth properly.
Facts About Lingual Braces
- You can achieve the same results as traditional braces, only with a hidden treatment apparatus on the tongue-side of your teeth.
- These braces have to be custom-made to the back of your teeth, because teeth size can vary from patient to patient.
- Children are not usually candidates for lingual braces. It all depends on their age and the size of their teeth. Baby teeth are small and with many patients, there is not room to fit brackets and wires on the back of the teeth. Children who have larger teeth may be candidates.
- Adults use these braces much more often than teens and children for both reasons of teeth-size and professional/social aspects.
- Patients who play wind instruments will have an easier time playing if they have lingual instead of traditional metal braces.
- A dentist must take continuing education courses and receive additional training in order to provide lingual orthodontic options to patients. This means that not all dentists give patients this option like Dr. Hardy does.
- Brackets placed on the back of the teeth are ones that others will not be able to see. You can go throughout your entire orthodontic process without others knowing that you have braces. However, others will notice your teeth becoming straighter over time.
- Because lingual braces are made of metal brackets and wires (just like traditional braces), they are able to correct bite and alignment issues. Other braces options like Invisalign, are not able to do that.
- You may want to invest in a waterpik for your teeth. Lingual braces have brackets, so food can get stuck in them, which is why you would want a waterpik to get the food out.
- Patients can care for their lingual braces the same as they would traditional metal braces.
How Do They Compare?
In the past, there weren’t many options when it came to straightening your teeth. Many cultures simply tried cruel methods of pushing and forming the teeth until metal braces were created. Over several decades, metal braces were changed and adapted to how people lived. In modern times, people are ever busy and on-the-go. Aesthetics plays a huge role in how people view themselves and how others view them. This is why hidden orthodontics were created.
Lingual braces are a great way to straighten your teeth in secret. Your other options include:
- Traditional Metal Braces: These are almost the same as lingual braces, except they are made of silver metal alloys instead of gold ones. The brackets and wires go on the front of the teeth, where they are noticeable to others.
- Ceramic Braces: Similar to metal braces, this orthodontic appliance also rests on the front of your teeth. They are made of white, ceramic material, helping them to blend in more with the teeth. However, they are still somewhat noticeable.
- Invisalign Treatment: This orthodontic option involves no brackets and wires bonded to your teeth. You receive a set of transparent aligners custom-made for your teeth each week, that you wear for 20-22 hours of every day. However, although this option makes oral hygiene easier, they cannot help many bite and alignment issues. That is why patients opt for a discreet lingual option that can correct those issues.
Getting Your Lingual Braces
At Belmar Orthodontics, we know that getting braces is a big deal for teens, adults, and even children. Patients worry about their appearance often, which is why options such as Invisalign and lingual braces were invented in the first place. We are excited to be able to offer adults and teenagers an alternative to traditional metal braces with hidden lingual braces! If you want to know more about these braces or want to schedule your consultation, call Belmar Orthodontics today at (303) 225-9016!
Orthodontic Treatment Before the Year 2000
It’s the year 2018 and a lot has changed in every field of medicine since the year 2000. Orthodontics is no exception, and there are always new advances in how your teeth are straightened and cared for. There are many braces options available to patients that were not available in years past. However, some services—such as Invisalign—have been around longer than you might think. Find out when different orthodontic practices and services were available to patients and how orthodontic treatment looked before the year 2000.
How Old Is Orthodontic Treatment?
Many people think that orthodontic treatment is fairly new. However, people have been straightening their teeth for many centuries. Their methods were simply much cruder than the braces and orthodontic appliances you know today. Many mummies from Ancient Egypt have been found wearing orthodontic appliances to straighten their teeth. Ancient Greeks, Romans and the Etruscans have also been found with various types of “braces” and other mouth appliances.
To give you an idea of how long orthodontic treatment has been around, writings by Hippocrates (a Greek physician) have been found about the subject from 400 b.c. Even back then people were concerned about crooked teeth and how they looked. However, there weren’t very good methods for straightening the teeth, so there weren’t many advances in orthodontics until just a few centuries and decades ago.
Past Orthodontic Methods
People centuries ago did not have the best methods for straightening teeth. However, over the centuries, many people made advances or tried various methods such as the following:
- Ancient Egyptians used metal parts and wires to try to straighten the teeth, as has been seen on mummies.
- Celsus, a Roman writer from around 1 A.D., wrote about trying to straighten your teeth by pushing them into place.
- Several years later, a Roman named Pliny recommended filing your teeth down if you wanted them a certain size.
- Pierre Fauchard was born in 1728, and through his various methods and research in straightening teeth, is now considered the “Father of Dentistry”. One of the methods he tried on patients was forcefully pulling and moving the teeth into place with forceps. He would then tie those moved teeth to others so they could heal back into the mouth again.
- Dental impressions began in the 17th century by Matthaeus Gottfried Purmann. Impressions make models of the teeth, and this method was so successful that impressions are still used today.
- In the United States, barbers and medical doctors often pulled infected teeth and performed orthodontic treatment. The treatment varied from person to person and generally involved pulling teeth without numbing medicine.
- J.S. Gunnell invented a form of headgear in 1822 that was successful in straightening the teeth. However, that headgear was large and fastened to the jaw outside the mouth and pushed on the teeth.
- Before 1970, professionals in orthodontics wrapped wires around each tooth, anchoring them with a bracket on each tooth. This method required a lot of metal in the mouth.
Modern Braces and Appliances
Modern orthodontic treatment is very straightforward and easy. Orthodontics has advanced so much that people can even straighten their teeth without any visible signs that they are doing so. When you think of braces, you probably think of the metal brackets and wires that so many wear. Traditional metal braces consist of a metal bracket attached to each tooth with a metal wire going through the bracket. This orthodontic treatment method mimics past metal treatments that were done throughout the centuries. However, the brackets and wires take up minimal space in the mouth and gently straighten the teeth.
Ceramic braces are another modern option for patients that are most similar to metal braces. They involve the same look and design, except they are made from white, ceramic material. Even the archwire can be made white for a patient. Lingual braces also use a metal bracket and wire design, except that they are attached to the back of a patient’s teeth. These were created in 1976 and provided patients with a way to straighten their teeth without visible brackets on their teeth.
Invisalign is the most incognito way to straighten your teeth. Created in 1997, this orthodontic treatment consists of transparent aligners that are switched out each week. A patient will wear the aligners 20-22 hours a day with the freedom to remove them for eating, drinking, sports, playing instruments and more. In about the same time as traditional metal braces (sometimes less), patients can get straight teeth. This is an amazing option, as any teen or adult can straighten their teeth without others knowing.
Orthodontic Treatment Today
Many advances in dentistry happened around 1970 and later. This is when the design of metal braces was perfected to what we know it to be now. The future will surely hold many more advances in orthodontic treatment as the years go by. No matter what type of appliance is available or what you choose to have, we recommend straightening your teeth. Not only can it significantly reduce your risk for tooth decay and gum disease, but straighter teeth can raise your confidence and help you be more successful. To have your free braces consultation, call Belmar Orthodontics today at (303) 225-9016!
How We Plan Out Your Orthodontic Treatment
Even though most patients have braces for about 18-24 months, every patient’s care is different. Orthodontic treatment for one patient may be extensive, while another patient will have a very short and simple experience with braces. Find out how Dr. Hardy plans out your orthodontic treatment and how that treatment will look with different braces appliances.
Do You Need Braces?
Countless millions of people will require orthodontic treatment in order to fix bite and alignment problems. They also get braces to fix crooked teeth and to reduce problems with tooth decay and gum disease. Over 4 million Americans a year receive orthodontic treatment via braces. Many of those people are teens, but about 1/4th are children and about 1/4th are adults. Studies show that many people see braces as a luxury and even go without many needs and wants in order to have them. This is not only for aesthetic appeal, but also for health reasons.
Countless studies prove that orthodontic treatment can help make a person more confident. When your smile is beautiful, you will smile more. Smiling will help you feel happier and more confident, and you will actually start to appear that way to others. Studies also show that people with straighter smiles as viewed as healthier, wealthier, more attractive, and more trustworthy. If all of those qualities appeal to you, consider receiving orthodontic treatment. If you have oral health problems as well, you may actually need braces to help those problems stop.
Orthodontic Treatment for Children
We perform child orthodontics for many patients. Development in children is vitally important in the younger years before age 10. Children lose their baby teeth around ages 7 and 8. They immediately start to have their permanent, adult teeth come into the mouth. This is a time when we can examine a child’s bite and alignment to make sure the adult teeth will come in correctly.
Some children don’t have enough room in their mouth to have their adult teeth grow in or they grow in crooked. This can lead to significant problems with speech impediments. If the teeth are crooked, this can place uneven pressure all over the mouth, leading to broken, cracked and chipped permanent teeth. Crooked teeth also lead to pockets of plaque that toothbrushes and floss can’t get to. This leads to decay problems. Straightening the teeth with orthodontic treatment can not only fix bite and alignment issues, but can straighten the teeth in childhood, so they come in correctly as a child grows.
Orthodontic Treatment for Teens and Adults
For children, we take x-rays of their teeth to detect bite and alignment issues. We show our patients problem areas in their x-rays and suggest orthodontic appliances to best realign the bite and alignment of the jaws. For children, teens and adults, the teeth will be straightened to avoid serious dental problems. We offer 3 types of either metal or ceramic options to patients for their orthodontic treatment including metal braces, lingual braces and ceramic braces. All consist of a bracket-and-wire design, but all are different.
Depending on your preferences, you can choose to have either metal or ceramic brackets and wires on your upper and lower teeth. Or, you can choose to have metal lingual braces, which are metal braces placed on the backs of your teeth. Once you choose your orthodontic appliance, we take impression molds of your teeth. Those molds will harden and we will use them to plan out a trajectory of your orthodontic care. Based off of how crooked the teeth are and what appliance you choose, we will break down your orthodontic treatment into a series of months and will see you every 4-6 weeks to tighten wires on your teeth in order to move the teeth during that timeline. When you get your braces, you will also get all the information you need about your chosen braces appliance and what timeline you can expect for your straightening.
Invisalign Treatment
In decades past, traditional metal braces were the only option given to patients. In modern times, many teens and adults are opting for more and more discreet straightening options. The most invisible method for receiving orthodontic treatment is through Invisalign transparent aligners.
Invisalign is a fairly modern orthodontic treatment where the teeth are straightened with transparent aligners instead of the traditional metal wires and brackets. Invisalign teen and Invisalign for adults are both comprised of custom-made aligners that a patient changes every week. We digitally design Invisalign aligners based off of digital impressions of a patient’s teeth. Using this initial impression, we can digitally map out a patient’s orthodontic treatment. This is beneficial to teens and adults alike. They can visually see how their teeth will change over the months and how the end result will be. Plus, no goopy putty required!
The hard Invisalign aligners efficiently place pressure on the teeth and slowly move them into place over time. Instead of tightening brackets and wires at orthodontic appointments, patients receive new aligners and have their teeth examined to see if they are on course with their treatment. This treatment option lasts about as long as traditional metal braces, but can be shorter for many patients.
Choosing Orthodontics That Are Right for You
If you are considering getting orthodontic treatment, don’t wait! A straighter smile has incredible benefits for children, teens and adults alike. Straighter smiles bring more confidence to people, and others will see that confidence. To learn about what orthodontic treatment option is right for you and to get started on your customized plan, call Belmar Orthodontics today at (303) 225-9016!
Choosing a Good Orthodontist
There are many orthodontists out there, but not all are created equal, and not all have the same training or experience as others. Just like dentists, only some are award-winning orthodontists (for good reason), while others are not. A good orthodontist needs to have specific training and credentials to work on your or your child. Their office needs to have specific equipment to perform the necessary work, and a good orthodontist will provide a wide range of services for their patients. Find out what a good orthodontist looks like and how to choose a good one from one you want to avoid!
Choosing to Receive Braces
If you have made the choice to get braces, we commend you! Braces is an amazing way to change your life for the better. Studies show that straightening your smile is directly related to increased confidence. The better a person’s smile looks, the more they smile and the more confident they appear to others as well. Studies by Invisalign and countless others have found that a straighter, more beautiful smile makes you appear happier, healthier, wealthier, and more attractive to others. 73% of people are also more likely to find you trustworthy.
Now that you have chosen to embark on this new journey of getting braces, you have to decide who you should get your orthodontic care from. All too often, dental practices have started offering orthodontics via transparent aligner systems or Invisalign. Even though we offer Invisalign at our center (and it is effective), the majority of dentists are not trained to perform orthodontics. It’s similar to a spa offering botox injections instead of a medical doctor that provides botox injections. They may have some training in oral health and dentistry, but dentistry is not the same as orthodontics.
You always want to choose a trained orthodontist to provide you orthodontic work, and not just a dentist (or even someone without a degree) to perform any work on your mouth. If you do, you take a serious health risk that your teeth will be messed up permanently or that you will have oral health complications. Always go to a certified and trained orthodontist for your orthodontic work.
Training to Become a Good Orthodontist
Becoming a good orthodontist takes many hard years. A good orthodontist will receive an undergraduate degree and then will go on to be accepted into dental school. A good orthodontist will receive high marks in their dental school, and will have to be accepted into an orthodontic school afterwards. Some even go beyond their 10 years of base training to do fellowships and additional study. It takes an entire decade to learn how to straighten the teeth properly, even if orthodontic care may seem simple and straightforward.
Orthodontists deal with the health of a person’s mouth, which can affect their overall health, their confidence, and even if they are at risk for tooth decay, gum disease and more. Working with children in orthodontics can be even trickier, as many children require specific work to make space in the jaws for incoming teeth.
What Is Their Experience with Children?
The majority of good orthodontists work with children on a regular basis. However, there are some that have better training than others. You always want to look for a good orthodontist that has training to work with a child on their intellectual level. Children sometimes fear dental or orthodontic office or having work done on their mouth. We strive to provide a child-friendly atmosphere to our young patients to make them comfortable during their treatment.
A good orthodontist is one that can help your child feel at ease and confident about the smile they are getting. When choosing an orthodontist, observe how they act with your child. If they are warm and inviting, this can help children have a positive orthodontic experience for early orthodontic treatment and when they receive braces for straightening later on.
What Qualities Do We Have?
If you want a good orthodontist, give Belmar Orthodontics a try! Dr. Hardy is an award-winning orthodontist that treats patients at two different locations. He has extensive training in dentistry and orthodontics and actually runs a pediatric dentistry and orthodontics office alongside his wife. He treats pediatric patients and older at Hardy Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics and he treats patients of all ages at Belmar Orthodontics. Dr. Hardy offers every option available in orthodontics to his patients. That includes traditional metal braces, lingual braces, ceramic braces, Invisalign and Invisalign Teen, as well as retainer devices, TADs, and surgical orthodontics. All of these services required countless hours of training, testing and performance to become certified.
As we mentioned, you want an orthodontist who has won awards and who others are talking about. Dr. Hardy is board-certified by the American Board of Orthodontics. He is also an active member of the American Dental Association and the American Association of Orthodontics. He received the Everett Shapiro Award in Orthodontics as well as the Dr. Harold Berk Endowed prize Fund for Excellence in Research. He is also a member of many dental organizations that you can find here. He is extensively trained to work not only with teens and adults, but also children—even very young ones. Dr. Hardy also works alongside his wife often, who also has extensive training and psychology experience with young children.
We can talk about Dr. Hardy’s qualifications all day long, but the best way to know what a good orthodontist looks like is to come into the office and see for yourself. To schedule your free consultation or to learn more, call Belmar Orthodontics Orthodontist in Lakewood Colorado today at (303) 225-9016!
A Straight Smile for Life with Retainers
Most patients spend 18-24 months with their orthodontic appliances. That’s about 78-104 weeks of your life with braces, and time that you don’t want to have wasted. The worst thing that can happen after getting your braces off is that your teeth go crooked once more. This can happen within the first month if you’re not careful. Luckily, dentists know this and we provide our patients with either removable retainers or permanent ones. See why retainers are so important for maintaining a straight smile for life and why you need one!
Finishing Up with Braces
If you have gotten to the point in your orthodontic treatment that you need a retainer, congratulations! It has taken you 18-24 months to get that beautiful, straight smile you’ve wanted. No matter if you had lingual, ceramic, or metal braces, or if you opted for Invisalign treatment, you will still need an orthodontic appliance to keep your teeth straight. This isn’t something you want to wait on either, as studies show that your teeth start shifting back to their crooked state within the first month of getting braces off.
When our patients end their time with braces, we immediately prep them for either a removable or a permanent retainer. There are pros and cons to each of these types of retainers, but the bottom line is, you need one! A retainer is exactly what it sounds like; it “retains” your straight smile. When you wear it (usually at night), your smile won’t shift or become crooked. We take an impression of your teeth as soon as your braces come off, which we then send to our lab. You will have a retainer custom-made to fit your newly-straightened teeth that will keep them in that position for decades to come.
Retainers 101
You may need both a bottom retainer and a top one, or you might just need one. Some dentists only require a bottom retainer, as the bottom teeth tend to keep the top teeth in place. It all depends on the patient. As we mentioned, there are two types of retainers: removable and permanent.
- Removable – These are the classic retainer pieces that most people think of when they think “retainer”. When we make impressions of your teeth, we go back and use those impressions to make retainer pieces for your top and bottom jaw. Once they are done, you will come into the office and try out your new retainers. Wear them every day during the night and clean them when you take them out in the morning. Only use cleaning products that are safe for mouth retainers and never use hot water when cleaning.
- Permanent – This is also a “fixed” retainer because it is bonded to your teeth and set in place. Much like your braces (if you chose ceramic, lingual or traditional metal), we will bond metal parts to your teeth. However, these metal parts will be placed on the back of your teeth instead of the front. You can choose to have a metal bar that goes across the back teeth or you can choose small metal wires that will bond each individual tooth to the one next to it. If you choose the second, you will have the bottom 6 teeth connected, with bonding cement on each of the backs of those 6 teeth. However, the metal and bonding is small, so it won’t take up very much room in your mouth. You may not even notice it! Both the bar and series of small wires work to keep your bottom teeth in place, which will keep your top in place.
Which One Is Right for You?
Our patients can choose if they want to have a removable or permanent retainer. One might not be right for a patient depending on age and daily habits. If you often lose things (such as car keys or your phone), then you might want to choose a permanent retainer. These stay in place 100% of the time and because of that, you can never lose them. Plus, they retain your teeth around the clock, instead of only at night (like a removable retainer). Permanent retainers also aren’t visible like removable retainers are because they are attached behind your teeth.
A removable retainer will have visible bars that others will be able to see in your mouth when you show your teeth. This generally isn’t a problem, as most people wear theirs at night. If you already struggle with brushing and flossing your teeth, you might opt for a removable retainer, as flossing can be more difficult with a permanent retainer. However, both options are great for all our patients. You simply have to choose which one fits you best.
Healthy Life, Healthy Mouth
We would love every single one of our patients to have a straight smile many decades from now. If you wear your retainer like you should, or continually renew your permanent ones, you can count on keeping that straight smile. However, you also want to keep your smile healthy and free of disease throughout all those decades. After all, there is no point in striving for a straight smile if you don’t have any teeth!
No matter if you are 9 or 90, you have to keep up on proper oral hygiene practices if you want to have a healthy, beautiful smile. Brush and floss your teeth every single day, making sure to brush multiple times a day. Eat nutritious foods and cut down on the sugar to reduce your risk for tooth decay and gum disease. Also, clean your retainer every day so that it stays strong and durable for many years. If you need a new retainer, or are interested in a permanent retainer option, call Belmar Orthodontics today at (303) 225-9016!
Foods and Drinks that Hurt Your Teeth
Braces is an amazing time to get a straighter, more beautiful smile. However, wearing braces on your teeth make them much harder to clean than they were before. This is especially true when it comes to certain foods and drinks. We have a list of foods that you should avoid during your orthodontic treatment because those foods stick to the teeth. You never want food to stay stuck in your braces, as this leads to tooth decay and demineralization. We can help you to know what foods and drinks to stay away from during your orthodontic treatment. We can also help you to know how to properly clean your teeth so you don’t have to worry about tooth decay as your teeth get straighter. Avoid foods and drinks that hurt your teeth so you can have a beautiful smile once those braces come off!
Foods to Avoid
Braces bring many changes for 18-24 months. One of those is avoiding foods that could hurt your teeth. Hard foods, sticky foods and foods high in sugar should be avoided. Eating foods high in sugar increases your risk of cavities, which you want to avoid. Also avoid:
- Hard candy
- Chips
- Ice
- Apples
- Crusty bread
- Nuts
- Popcorn
- Corn on the cob
- Carrots or other hard vegetables
- Gum (this is a big one)
- Caramel
- Sugar Daddies and similar candies
- Skittles
- Tootsie Rolls
- Starburst
- Licorice
- All types of taffy
You will also want to avoid carbonated and sugary drinks. Sugary drinks also increase your risk for tooth decay, and the last thing you want with braces are cavities. Carbonated drinks contain carbonic acid, which erodes your tooth enamel and can lead to demineralization. If your teeth demineralize, they become weaker and could even have spots where they simply erode away. Limit your citric fruits (like oranges or lemons) as well as citric drinks, as these also contain acids that will hurt your teeth and erode them.
Why to Avoid These Foods
We can give you lists of foods to avoid, but it’s also best to explain why you should avoid these types of foods.
- Hard Foods – Your teeth and even you braces appliances are very hard, however, they are not unbreakable. Even without braces, you want to be careful about eating hard foods, as you could break a tooth. With braces, you could break a bracket or wire or have it come right off the tooth, which is something you don’t want. The hard candies and foods we have listed on foods to avoid are ones that we have seen hurt your teeth time and again. If you must eat hard foods (or if you really want to), cut up foods such as apples into small, bite-sized pieces. However, you should avoid nuts and popcorn hulls at all costs, as there really is no good way around eating these without the chance that you could hurt your teeth or brackets. Without braces, you want to still avoid chewing on ice or hard candies, as you could break or crack a tooth. Suck on hard foods instead.
- Sticky Foods – Sticky foods can sometimes be worse than hard ones and could even hurt your teeth more if you think about the tooth decay they can cause. Even though many sticky foods (such as gum or caramel) are soft, they are so hard to get out of your brackets. These types of foods get stuck and stay stuck long after you’ve finished eating them. Then, you have to spend a lot more time trying to brush and pick at your brackets to remove these foods. If you don’t, sticky candies and foods can sit in your brackets and wires, eroding your tooth enamel and causing tooth decay. If you eat these foods a lot, you could end up with parts of your teeth that are cratered or worn away when you get your braces off.
Cleaning Your Braces
Some tips to follow to avoid plaque buildup and tooth decay include:
- Brushing after every meal. Your braces can easily attract and trap food particles. Instead of brushing just twice a day as the American Dental Association recommends, we suggest brushing after every meal. Brush your teeth with a regular, soft-bristled brush. Brush down from the top and then up from the bottom on each tooth with a bracket to fully dislodge all food.
- Use a floss threader. You can either buy floss threaders or threadable floss. This is floss that you thread through the small spaces between teeth. You pull the floss through and then floss under your wires. The more you practice this, the quicker and easier it becomes. Don’t ever skip flossing just because it takes a bit longer, and floss at least twice a day.
- Use a proxabrush and/or waterpik. A proxabrush is a small christmas-tree brush that you can use to dislodge and clean food easily from brackets. A waterpik is a tool that shoots water in your mouth and brackets to dislodge food.
Avoid Actions that Hurt Your Teeth
Follow our guidelines for foods to avoid and what to do if you want to eat those foods. Take meticulous care of your teeth during your time with braces and you will thank yourself for the beautiful smile you’ll have when you get those braces off. If you have questions about foods or other topics that we haven’t covered, call Belmar Orthodontics at (303) 225-9016 for all of your questions!
Dental Care during Braces
An orthodontist has been to dental school and is skilled enough to spot gum and teeth problems. However, seeing an orthodontist is not enough to keep your teeth healthy. During your time receiving braces, it’s also important to keep seeing a dentist for cleanings, exams and dental treatments. Learn why dental care and oral hygiene is important during your time with braces and how it can help you have a better smile after your braces!
Caring for Metal Braces
Your dental care during braces will depend on the type of braces you receive. If you choose metal braces, brackets and wires in your mouth make it easier for food particles to get stuck. This quickly leads to dental issues if proper care is not taken. You have to be meticulous about cleaning away plaque and stuck food particles so that you avoid tooth decay and demineralization of your tooth enamel. You do this by:
- Brushing after every meal. Your braces easily trap food particles every single time you eat. Brushing after each meal can prevent staining and reduce the potential for bacteria buildup. When brushing, make sure you have a regular, soft-bristle brush. Brush down from the top, then up from the bottom on each tooth that has a bracket.
- Using a threadable floss or floss threader. You will quickly notice that you can’t floss the conventional way with metal braces because the archwire is in the way. If you use a floss threader, thread regular floss through the eye of the threader like you would a sewing needle and thread. Or, using threadable floss, insert the small or pointed end in between your teeth, pulling it through. Once in place between your teeth, you can floss the two teeth on either side of where you have inserted the floss, taking care not to apply force or pressure against the archwire. Repeat between all teeth.
- Using a proxabrush. This is a small brush that looks like a Christmas tree. Place the proxabrush between two brackets, below the archwire, brushing up and down. After several strokes, repeat this motion by inserting the brush from the opposite side (either down from the top or up from the bottom).
Dental Care with Other Braces
There are other types of braces besides metal braces. At our office, we also offer Invisalign, lingual braces and ceramic braces.
- Ceramic braces – Care for ceramic braces is the same as for traditional metal braces. This is because the design of these braces are the exact same, except they are made out of white, ceramic material.
- Lingual braces – These braces consist of brackets and wires that are placed on the tongue-side of your teeth (meaning behind the teeth). You will have to be more careful with brushing and flossing your teeth, as you won’t be able to see the brackets and wires as well. However, cleaning is very similar to how you would clean metal braces. With flossing, floss threaders will become your best friend, and you’ll want to be meticulous with this because food can get stuck more often with the braces being inside your mouth by your tongue.
- Invisalign – This orthodontic appliance is completely different than the other options you have. Invisalign is a series of transparent aligners that you switch out every week. The benefit of these aligners is that you can easily remove them, and brush and floss your teeth like normal. No brackets, wires or lengthy flossing session. When you take the aligners out, rinse them to get the saliva off of them. Then soak them in a retainer/braces cleaner. An example is Retainer Brite or denture cleaner.
Do You Need to See a Dentist?
Did you know that an orthodontist must complete dental school. In order to practice orthodontics, they need to complete a 4-year bachelor’s degree followed by 4 years of dental school. After that time, an orthodontist will continue 2-3 years of additional training and schooling to practice orthodontics. Therefore, an orthodontist knows what a dentist knows when it comes to your oral health. However, one point that we want to stress is that you need to continue seeing the dentist during your time with braces.
An orthodontist is skilled at treating issues with your oral health, however, an orthodontist is in charge of correcting bite and alignment. A dentist is the one that will need to correct problems with tooth decay and gum disease. Even though an orthodontist has received the same training, their profession is to not to fill cavities or do root canals unless their practice does both. During your time with braces, you must continue receiving dental care from a dentist. Braces raise your risk for tooth decay and gum disease
Dental Care during Your Time with Braces
Your dental care during braces will depend on the type of braces you receive. Many patients choose traditional metal braces for straightening their teeth. No matter what orthodontic option you choose, it is particularly important to maintain great dental care through attention to proper oral hygiene. If you don’t know what that proper hygiene routine looks like, we can help you. As always, if you have any questions about braces care or maintenance, please do not hesitate to contact our office. We are here to help you reach your goals and to keep your mouth healthy. For help caring for your braces, or if you are finding certain oral hygiene tasks difficult, call Belmar Orthodontics at (303) 225-9016!
