Braces And Retainers

Braces and retainers have been used to straighten and improve crooked teeth since 1970. It helps getting rid of crooked or imperfect smile. Teeth straightening procedures help to mend over and under bites, misaligned teeth and gaps both in children and adults.

Braces and retainers exercise pressure on teeth which is of a light but of continuous nature. Braces are available in the form of metal, ceramic or plastic brackets. Teens undergo braces for getting a perfect smile. Braces are adhered to the front of the teeth.

An arch wire is used which can tighten held by the braces brackets. Orthodontist tightens the wire to give a better position to the teeth in your mouth to make your smile perfect and charming. Wire is tightened once every month. This process of using tightening wire carries on for about 2 years. It depends on the extent of movement of your teeth. The duration of tightening wire depends on the required results. Once desired position of teeth is achieved, it is removed. There are various kinds of orthodontic braces i.e. ceramic, plastic or metallic. Of all these types, ceramic is the most translucent and remains almost invisible.



For making the position of the teeth according to the desired pattern, sometimes, a tooth has to be removed for creating room for the other teeth. It depends on the decision of the orthodontist.

Lingual braces are almost invisible braces. These braces are used at the back of the lower and upper jaw. Sometimes, after the removal of the braces, these lingual braces remain there in the mouth for many years to keep teeth in their position. Retainers are used after removing the braces to keep teeth in their repositioned place in mouth.

Retainers help in keeping teeth in their new position after the removal of the braces. These are worn at night for some time as advised by the orthodontist. These retainers have to be worn for years at night to help fixing crooked teeth.

There is a new invisalign technology which has made possible the use of transparent custom molded aligners. Their usage has improved hygienic condition of the mouth. According to the traditional methods, it was difficult to brush and clean teeth properly after eating. These aligners can be removed from mouth at the time of eating, drinking, etc. Therefore, these aligners have helped improving the hygienic situation of mouth better than before. This aligner has to be replaced after a year. Invisalign is used to help correcting minor problems of crookedness. In severe cases, it does not much help. It is more expensive than traditional methods.

There are accelerated orthodontic methods which mend teeth in a period of about 6 months, while others may take years in completion. Its popularity has enhanced. Its cost is almost equivalent to the cost of dental braces.

According to an estimate, an orthodontic procedure costs about $2000 to $5000. This cost is not covered by the insurance company.