Why do I have spaces now that I am in treatment? The early stages of orthodontic treatment are the leveling/alignment phases. What this means, is that general lining up of teeth and alleviation of crowding is occurring. As the braces and wires move the teeth, often little spaces will develop between teeth as they are being pushed and moved around one another. This is completely normal! Some space does need to be created for teeth to have space to move. I remember being a pati

As I have mentioned before, the AAO recommends that children be examined by an orthodontist starting at the age of 7. For young kids that need early Phase I intervention for one reason or another, this is great. But what about the majority of the kids who don’t need anything right now? In our office we have a complimentary Junior Observation program. Children who do not need a Phase I intervention are followed on a regular basis- often times yearly or every 6 months depending

I cannot speak for all Orthodontic offices, but in our office we understand that everyone has a different budget and different monthly expenses. That is why we have very flexible payment options so that a comfortable payment option or plan can be made for each patient or family. Some of our patients prefer to make one payment at the start of braces. Some of our patients like to receive points back on their credit card or have flex spending accounts that make this option very

How long should I wear retainers? Not that many years ago, the recommendation for wearing retainers was to wear them for a few months after orthodontic treatment and that was about it. Well, we know a lot more now than even 10 or 20 years ago and the new recommendation is to anticipate Retainer for Life. We all know that skin sags down and wrinkles form over time. Much in the same way, teeth have a tendency to shift forward and inwards over the course of a person’s lifetime.