BRACES

A beautiful, functional smile is one of the best investments you can make for yourself, or your child! It’s a great time to make a change and invest in the future of your smile!

Braces are an orthodontic appliance that straightens teeth and corrects improper bites, also called malocclusion. They work by gently applying continuous pressure to your teeth over a period of time (typically 12 to 30 months) to gradually move them into their ideal positions.

Today, they are smaller and more efficient than ever before. The dramatic decrease in the size of modern brackets has made them more appealing to both kids and adults.

Elastics are colored ties that hold the archwire in place on the bracket. Parks Orthodontics offers plenty of colors for you to customize them. You can even change the colors every time you come in for an appointment to match your school colors or holidays.

Benefits of braces include:

After you’ve wrapped up your treatment, our patients find their smile more attractive!

With a smile you can be more proud, it leads to an improved sense of confidence and self-esteem.

Straighter teeth are easier to clean–making your daily oral hygiene habits simple and a breeze to do.

A straight, healthy smile means your teeth are less likely to suffer an injury. Protruding front teeth are at an increased risk of injury or damage from an accident or sporting events, but when the orthodontic issue is corrected it significantly lessens that chance.

Many of our patients find any jaw pain they experienced is either completely gone or significantly reduced by a well-aligned bite.

When your teeth are straight and in correct alignment, it allows you to chew and speak properly.

Fixing any alignment issues you may have, leads to better long term health of your teeth and gums.

braces

How Do I Know If My Child Needs Braces?

TYPES OF BRACES

TRADITIONAL METAL BRACES

Traditional metal braces are the most common type and are more comfortable today than ever before. Made of high-grade stainless steel, metal options straighten your teeth using metal brackets and archwires. With these, you have the option of adding colored elastics for a more unique and colorful smile.

WATCH HOW WE PUT BRACES ON

Learn more about what to expect when you get your braces.

HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR BRACES

In order to keep your teeth healthy and strong throughout your orthodontic treatment, it’s important to take extra care of your teeth and braces during this time. Taking care of braces is thankfully not difficult to do. In fact, it’s usually just an extra couple of minutes per day and some small changes to the food you choose to eat.

Brushing and Flossing
Brushing your teeth while wearing your traditional metal braces is easy and painless. You brush pretty much the same as you would even if you didn’t have orthodontics!

Here are some simple tips you can use for best results when brushing with braces:

  • Brush your teeth with a toothbrush every time you eat and before bed.
  • Brush, rinse, and look; look for any areas that are not 100% clean, and then brush these spots again.
  • Brush along your gum line as you brush your teeth (massage and stimulate).
  • Take extra care in the area between the gums and the braces—food tends to accumulate in these areas and can lead to swollen gums.
  • If you’re in school, you can follow these tips for keeping your braces clean.

Avoiding Certain Foods

You will have to make some changes to your diet in order to protect your new appliances. We recommend avoiding eating anything firm, sticky or crunchy like apples, corn on the cob, popcorn, caramels or hard candies. These types of foods may damage your brackets or wires and cause them to become loose or break, which means an extra visit to Dr. Parks and our office.