New Year signals the time for resolutions, a time to begin afresh and set into place the goals you’d like to achieve. If you’ve always been conscious of your teeth or unhappy with your smile, the new year is a great opportunity to improve your appearance, your oral health and increase your confidence, as well as ticking something off the list of things you’d like to achieve. It’s never too late to fix the appearance or function of the teeth with expert orthodontics, and there are a number of teeth straightening treatment options to suit varied budget and time requirements. With the vast array of treatment options to choose from and with more and more people benefiting from their proven results, 2016 is the time to consider what orthodontic solution would be best suited to you and your goals.
The benefits of orthodontics for a healthy, happy smile
Orthodontics is a specialist branch of dentistry that helps to correct teeth and jaws that are improperly positioned. Many patients undergo orthodontic treatment to improve the performance and aesthetics of the teeth, but it can also help to more easily maintain a cleaner and healthier mouth. Common problems that can be addressed through orthodontic treatment include:
- Overcrowding
- Gapped teeth
- Crooked teeth
- Incorrect bite
These problems are usually best addressed at an earlier stage during childhood, however if you’d like to attain your ideal smile by correcting any of these problems, there are many highly effective and subtle options which can help straighten teeth in as little as six months.
Metal braces
Metal braces provide guaranteed effective results and are a traditional teeth straightening treatment still widely used. Modern technologies and techniques mean that braces are now smaller, more comfortable and often with faster results than before. If you’d like to achieve optimum teeth straightening results in quicker time, self-litigating braces are a more modern alternative, using small self-adjusting metal clips to keep the wire in place. There are a few variations of this brace type – you can opt for translucent ceramic clips which makes them much less visible than metal braces.
Ceramic braces
Like self-litigating braces, ceramic braces are much less noticeable than conventional braces, as they consist of subtle, clear or tooth coloured brackets which blend in with the teeth more. Ceramic braces are an ideal option for correcting more severe problems, though they allow you to smile confidently throughout your treatment.
Lingual braces
Used to treat a variety of orthodontic problems, lingual braces work in the same way as traditional metal braces, however they are fitted exactly at the backs of individual teeth so that they are virtually invisible. If you want to perfect your smile this year, lingual braces offer one of the most discreet ways to straighten and correct teeth fast and effectively. Find out more about the options for lingual braces here.
Clear Aligners
Clear aligners are another popular modern solution for adults who would like to have a straighter appearance of teeth and who require relatively simple tooth movements. Aligners are nearly invisible, and worn daily they will guide crooked, gapped or overlapping teeth into their new position. The removable appliance makes cleaning teeth during treatment much easier, and they work to improve the smile in the shortest time possible.
Invisalign is the most popular treatment option, being chosen by adults of all ages to achieve improved confidence and the smile they’ve always wanted in a discreet and manageable way.
If any of the above teeth straightening solutions interest you, feel free to call our practice for a chat, or book yourself in for a consultation. Take that first step towards getting the results you want, to keep you smiling in 2016 and beyond!