FAQs

Every patient has unique orthodontic needs. Depending on treatment goals, treatment can vary between 12 to 36 months. During your consultation we will discuss our treatment recommendations along with the estimated treatment length. 

We offer a variety of orthodontic appliances including traditional braces, clear braces and clear aligners. We also make a variety of appliances, like retainers, expanders, and space maintainers. 

While you may experience some discomfort with braces, the soreness will only occur in the first few days of placement or after your adjustments. Since aligners provide very gradual movement patients typically report less pain or discomfort. We recommend eating softer foods when your teeth are sore.

Once your braces are placed, we see you once every six weeks for adjustment appointments. We see aligner patients every two months. These appointments are fast and easy!

You are still able to play sports and musical instruments with braces! We recommend that you wear a braces-specific mouth guard while playing sports, which can be purchased at sporting good stores, online or in the office. If you play a musical instrument and realize that your cheeks are rubbing, you can use orthodontic wax to place on the bracket to relieve the affected area.

While undergoing orthodontic treatment, you will want to avoid certain foods to ensure that you do not break a bracket. Stay away from sticky, chewy, and hard foods. Foods to completely avoid include popcorn, nuts, ice, hard candy, chewy candy, hard pizza crust, bagels, crunchy vegetables/fruits, hard crackers, pretzels, and chips. We will spend time teaching you about food recommendations the day we put your braces on.  

For alternatives to traditional braces for adults, we offer clear aligners and more esthetic brackets. Many adults like champagne gold or clear brackets. 

We do offer payment plans to help with the cost of orthodontic treatment! Depending on your needs, the treatment fee can widely vary. If you have dental insurance, we are able to check your benefits for you and let you know what the coverage amount would be to help towards your treatment. At your consultation appointment we will review our fee, insurance coverage and payment plan options.

If you experience discomfort with braces, do not be alarmed. This is normal within the first few days of placement and after some adjustment appointments. Take pain medication to help subside the discomfort and try to eat soft foods. If you have any issues or concerns with your braces, give our office a call so that we can see you for an emergency appointment.

After completing treatment, you will need to wear a retainer to keep your teeth in perfect alignment! Initially, you will wear the retainer all of the time for 3 months after your braces are removed then you will taper your wear down to nighttime only. You will continue to wear your retainer for as long as you would like to keep straight teeth. We offer clear plastic retainers and fixed retainers.