Design Orthodontics Design the smile you deserve

These are one of the newest brackets on the market. Instead of the elastics that are on other braces, Damon brackets use a gate to hold the wire in. Because there is no elastic holding the wire to the bracket the teeth are allowed to slide more efficiently.

These are braces that go on the front of your teeth with the exception that they are designed with a customized prescription to your teeth. They also have computer bent wires to aid in the efficiency and accuracy of treatment.

If you are concerned with metal braces, here is one of the smallest, clearest, strongest clear brackets available today.

These may be removable (you can take them out like a retainer) or fixed (these are glued in so they don’t need to be removed and work all the time). Timing is critical when using these appliances as they modify growth. The Canadian Association of Orthodontists recommends that children be seen no later than age 7 and in some cases age 2-3 depending on the problem.

If you feel like googling them, these are also known as mini screws. This recent advancement in orthodontics has allowed us to use the bone in the jaw or skull as anchorage to move teeth which allows us to do things that weren’t possible before, or to do things more efficiently with fewer side effects.

These are custom braces that go on the back of your teeth. Each case is custom and individual to you. Each bracket is custom made to fit your teeth and only your teeth. Even the wires are custom bent to give you the best treatment outcome without having to show the braces on the front.

These are clear aligners or trays (like bleaching trays but stiffer) which slowly move your teeth. Using a 3 dimensional model, the computer slowly moves your teeth in the virtual world and creates a series of trays to move your actual teeth. Stop by and see if you are a candidate for this treatment.

Often time crooked teeth are not just a result of the teeth being in the wrong spot. There is often a skull and jaw component to the problem. Sometimes braces alone cannot correct some problems and there is a need to combine treatment with jaw (orthognathic) surgery.

Looking to get some veneers or crowns but the teeth are just too crooked or in the wrong position to make it look right? Need to get an implant but there isn’t enough space? These are just a couple problems that may need orthodontics as a means to getting the dental or cosmetic work that you want done. We will work with your restoring dentist to make sure that the results will be amazing.

All the work that you have done to get that beautiful smile requires some insurance. Retainers are used to minimize the potential for orthodontic relapse. Although they all do the same thing (hold the position of your teeth), there are several types of retainers. The right retainer for your particular case will be selected at the end of your treatment.

In certain cases there is an absolute need to extract teeth due to the level of crowding that is present.  Each case is individual with many factors that are involved in the decision to extract or not extract teeth.  We explore all these options with you at the time of your exam and consult and discuss in detail the benefits of each one.  Not every patient will require or have extraction recommended.

In the same way that no person is too old for a confident, beautiful smile, no person is too old to get braces. The largest growing population of people getting braces are those older than 30. Treatment of adults is different than treatment of youths and adolescents and dental work such as crowns, bridges, implants, missing teeth, etc. will need to be considered in the overall orthodontic plan.  There are many orthodontic treatments open to adults and the experienced professionals at Design Orthodontics are always open to discussing suitable options for any person interested.

In today’s orthodontic world there are several aesthetic options available.

• We offer clear ceramic braces that make wearing braces much less noticeable.
• We use the Incognito^® system by 3M which allows us the ability to place custom brackets on the back of your teeth so that they are hidden from view.
• We also treat our patients with Invisalign^® which is a series of clear retainers that slowly reposition your teeth as you switch from aligner to aligner.

There are many alternatives to the conventional metal brackets and we present the options best suited for you during our consultation.

Getting braces doesn’t hurt at all—the procedure involves gluing brackets to the surface of your teeth.  What patients typically find uncomfortable is the 24-hour period after the braces and wires are placed.  This occurs because the teeth are starting to move into alignment may begin to feel loose or sore. Typically, this lasts for a week and during this period, short-term anti-inflammatory drugs and a soft food diet can ease discomfort. Some patients report discomfort from brackets or wires rubbing against their cheeks and lips and so we provide each patient with special orthodontic putty to use as a barrier.

Everybody responds to treatment differently and the vast majority of people have no problems with orthodontic treatment.

Orthodontists are dentists that in addition to dental school have completed 2-3 years of post-dental school training strictly in the field of orthodontics. With more experience and training in orthodontics, we are able to treat cases with a variety of techniques as well as take on the most complicated orthodontic problems not commonly handled in general practices. Specialists in Canada are required to pass a series of examinations held by the Royal College of Dentists of Canada (RCDC).  All treatment will be personally overseen by Dr. Wong, a Certified Specialist in Orthodontics.

Because each case brings with it a separate set of complexities, without an examination and orthodontic records it is difficult to give an accurate time of treatment. Typical orthodontic cases average between 18-24 months.