today’s
braces

Today’s Braces

They’ve come a long way

Maybe you remember having braces as a child. If you had them in the 70s or 80s, chances are you never really recovered from the experience! It was ugly, it was painful, and it went on for years! Orthodontists  waited until the permanent teeth were in before they started treatment.  This was usually around 12 or 13, and since the time to move teeth was longer, many of us were still wearing braces for our senior pictures. Thankfully, time and innovation has changed everything. Today’s technology allows patients to start much earlier, as young as 7 or 8, because our doctors can gently make room for teeth instead of waiting for them to come in. Today’s braces are smaller and sleeker than the heavy silver of the past. Braces come in many colors. We still offer silver braces, but we also offer clear braces as well as Iconix braces, which allows patients to switch between a silver or gold finish just by changing their arch wire color. It is super cool! There is one more decision to be made, and it is a fun one. Patients get to choose the color(s) of the elastic rubber bands (or ligatures) that are changed each time they come back for a  follow-up appointment, usually every six weeks for braces. We offer every color of the rainbow and then some!  Even our adult patients sometimes opt for a short-term splash of color during some holidays or special events. We’ll let you in on a secret. Certain colors brighten the look of your smile. Darker colors can make your teeth look whiter. If you have a “signature color”, wish to celebrate with holiday colors, or support your favorite team with alternating colors, go for it! Our trained orthodontic techs love seeing our patients excited for their colors.