Conventional fixed braces consist of small metal brackets that are placed on the front of each tooth. Each bracket features a slot to accommodate a special archwire, which is held in place by tiny elastic rings. The archwire puts pressure on the brackets and in turn your teeth, gradually moving them to reveal a straighter smile.
The latest brackets are highly sophisticated and provide excellent control – helping us to achieve precise movements. High-tech, superelastic nickel-titanium archwires help to speed up treatment and ensure a fantastic end result.
Treatment with fixed braces usually takes between one and two years, although simple problems affecting the front teeth can often be transformed in a matter of months. During your treatment, you’ll need to come and see us every six to eight weeks, so we can check your progress and make any necessary adjustments to your brace.
Some of our patients like to add colours to their metal braces…………we have the full spectrum!
Self-ligating braces are a variation of conventional fixed braces. They feature brackets that are cleverly designed to hold the archwire in place themselves, without the need for elastic rings. This means the archwire are can be changed more efficiently by your orthodontist, helping to speed up your appointments.
A lot of websites will tell you that self-ligating braces move teeth differently to conventional braces and that treatment is quicker, less painful and less dependent upon tooth extractions. There is currently very little evidence to support these views.
However, self-ligating braces are very good at straightening teeth and in some circumstances can provide extra control, so we do recommend them for certain types of problem. Once the self-ligating braces are fitted, we will also see you every six to eight weeks to check progress and make adjustments.
If you’re put off by the thought of metal train tracks, we can even offer clear fixed braces. These work in the same way as traditional metal braces, but feature transparent brackets and ceramic-coated archwires, which discreetly blend in with your own teeth.
Clear fixed braces offer all the advantages of a fixed brace, but they’re far less visible, making them a great choice for image-conscious patients. We use American Orthodontics’ Radiance-Plus brackets, which are among the clearest available. They also feature individual positioning aids, which ensure incredible accuracy and impressive results.
This 13 year-old girl had quite a severe overbite and crowding of her teeth. She was treated with conventional fixed braces in conjunction with the extraction of three premolar teeth. This provided us with the necessary space to straighten her teeth and correct her bite. The treatment took just under two years and now all of the teeth are nice and straight and her bite is corrected.
