More Choices Than Ever To Straighten Crooked Or Crowded Teeth

Many people in Australia suffer from crooked, protruding or crowded teeth, which massively affect their self-esteem. However, not only do misaligned teeth affect how you look, but they often don’t meet correctly when you bite, making them less effective at doing their job. The result is that your teeth and gums are harder to clean and are much more likely to become damaged.

The issues of crooked and crowded teeth can easily make you feel self-conscious and have a significant impact on your daily life. Fortunately, today, there are more ways than ever to realign your teeth, correct your bite and, ultimately, straighten your smile.

Orthodontics in Woden, Options For Every Smile

We might think of orthodontics being used predominantly for children but, while at Acacia Dental Group we aim to straighten teeth as soon as possible, it is never too late. There are several types of braces that can be used to straighten teeth, and they are a far cry from the train-track style apparatus of days gone by. In fact, today’s braces can be almost invisible, giving you a discreet way to get your smile on track.

No matter your age or your circumstances, at Acacia Dental Group, we have an orthodontic treatment to correct your smile and protect your oral health:

• Go to adult braces
• Go to kids braces
• Go to clear aligners
• Go to Invisalign

Adult Braces

While you might think that you have to put up with your teeth if they are crooked or overcrowded, that is far from the case. Today, many adults are turning to braces to get their smiles back on track. Adult braces work by applying constant pressure on your teeth so that they slowly move over time. As your teeth move, new bones will form to fill the gaps and hold them in position. Amazingly our bodies continue to regenerate, regardless of our age. And that means that a straighter smile is never out of bounds.

At Acacia Dental, we realise that, as an adult, you probably don’t want to tell everyone that you’re getting braces. It’s pretty common for people to want to sort out their smiles in private without shouting it from the rafters. For that reason, we use the best quality materials and innovative technologies so we can offer a variety of discrete options for straightening adult teeth:

• Ceramic braces – while, depending on how severely your teeth are misaligned, you may need to have conventional braces, that doesn’t mean they necessarily have to be made of stainless steel. Ceramic braces use tooth-coloured brackets and wires, so they blend in with your natural teeth and make your treatment much more private while achieving the same results.
• Invisible braces – these braces do precisely as the name suggests, they give you an almost invisible way of wearing braces. Instead of brackets and wires, a series of clear plastic aligners are used, again offering a discreet way of straightening your teeth.

Whatever you need to achieve, at our practice in Woden, we will have a type of adult braces to suit.

Find out more about adult braces.

Kids Braces

One of the most important things you can do for your child’s oral health is to keep their teeth on track. With regular appointments, we can catch any issues early, which is great as it is much easier to correct the movement of children’s teeth than to shift adult teeth. What’s more, kids’ braces have moved on from the styles we used to know. Think colourful bands and bold colours that your kid would be proud of.

It’s common for children to need orthodontic treatment as irregularities in their teeth and developing jaws can occur as they grow. To ensure that you keep on top of any issues, it’s vital to not only take your child to the dentist, but to ensure they visit an orthodontist. You’ll need to start visiting an orthodontist as soon as a child’s adult teeth begin to appear, usually around the age of seven. You can also look out for telltale signs of developmental problems that you can talk to your orthodontist about:

• New adult teeth – your child’s baby teeth will begin to fall out from the age of five until they are around 14. However, sometimes teeth fall out sooner or later than that, which can be a sign of orthodontic issues.
• Thumb sucking – if your child has a habit of sucking their thumb, it may affect their jaw development. Your orthodontist can help you by suggesting ways for them to curb the habit, and can hopefully correct any issues before they progress.
• Speech defects – if you notice that your child slurs their words, talks with a lisp or snores regularly, there could be something going on with their developing jaw and teeth. It’s always worth talking through anything you notice so you can catch problems early.
• Teeth alignment – unfortunately, our adult teeth don’t always come out straight, and there are lots of ways they can become misaligned. If you’ve noticed that your child’s teeth don’t bite together properly, protrude at the front or are overcrowded, then they may need orthodontic help.

While you can look out for all of these potential problems, the best thing you can do is regularly visit an experienced orthodontist with your child. That way, you can be confident that any issues will be picked up early and preventative measures put in place. By catching problems early, there is a chance that braces won’t even be needed. And, even if they are, your child might be happier than you think with how they look.

As with adult braces, kids braces have changed massively since the train track style apparatus that you may remember from your childhood. If your child needs to wear conventional metal braces, first and foremost ,they are smaller and more comfortable than they used to be, but they can also be personalised. Your child can opt for different coloured bands, and they don’t even have to stick with the same ones; they can experiment with different ones throughout their treatment until they find the perfect match for their personality.

Find out more about kids’ braces.

Clear Aligners

As well as traditional metal braces, today you have the option to wear clear aligners to straighten your teeth. Clear braces are ultimately a set of clear plastic trays. They are created individually for each patient using computer modelling based on a scan of your teeth. Each aligner is built for a separate step in the journey towards your new smile. Clear aligners are a popular choice as they provide several benefits in comparison to their traditional counterparts:

• Discrete – as clear aligners are see-through, they are almost invisible when you talk and smile. This means that you don’t need to tell anyone about your orthodontic treatment unless you want to.
• Removable – clear aligners need to be worn for at least 22 hours a day to be effective. However, as they aren’t glued to your teeth like traditional braces, you’re able to remove them. That means you can eat what you like without any fear of breaking them and can clean your teeth and the braces properly to retain great oral hygiene throughout.
• Personalised – as clear aligners are created based on a scan of your teeth, your whole treatment is personalised. Advanced computer modelling technology is used to plan every step of the process, so you have confidence in what you’re going to look like at the end and how you’ll get there,
• Comfortable – while it will always feel a bit strange to have any type of braces in your mouth, clear aligners are able to make smaller more consistent movements to your teeth as a whole, rather than working on each tooth individually. The result is that they are not as tight and uncomfortable as metal braces.
• Time-efficient – clear aligners apply force to your teeth in a different way to traditional braces. That not only makes them more comfortable, but it usually means that you can achieve your goal more quickly. What’s more, with fewer appointments needed to visit the orthodontist during your treatment, you can get on with enjoying life.

We offer both Invisalign and Mastercare clear aligners to patients at Acacia Dental. This gives you more choice, allows for different budgets and ensures everyone has the opportunity to discreetly straighten their smile. As well as this, we also have our own Primsecan dental CAD/CAM scanner in-house. Having this technology in our Woden practice means that we can speed up the process as there is no need to take impressions, and we can personally ensure you get the best quality care.

Find out more about adult braces.

Invisalign

Invisalign is the industry-leader in clear aligners. The company first created the concept back in the late 90’s and has been developing the product ever since. It’s no wonder that millions of people have already used the brand to transform their smiles.

Invisalign works similarly to all clear aligners. The treatment involves taking a scan of your teeth, using computer modelling to plan your treatment and creating a series of clear plastic trays for you to wear over the course of your treatment. However, with so many more years under their belt, the company has been able to determine the traits that create a better aligner performance. The result is an aligner that looks great, produces gentle yet constant force, fits well and is really comfortable. A lot of this is due to the new SmartTrack material which has been specially engineered to meet all of these criteria.

Invisalign’s patented SmartTrack material enables its aligners to offer several benefits over other brands of clear aligners:

• Faster treatment – many brands of clear aligners lose force after a few days, which makes them less efficient. The SmartTrack material, on the other hand, is tighter fitting which allows it to place continuous corrective pressure on each tooth. With the right amount of focus applied, aligners can be changed weekly instead of fortnightly, making Invisalign up to twice as fast as the competition.
• Comfortable fit – one of the areas of development for Invisalign’s aligners was the fit of the material. It needed to be flexible while retaining a firm grip on the teeth. Whereas other brands may loosen and begin to rub on the mouth over time, Invisalign’s SmartTrack aligners stay firmly in place, making them far more comfortable.
• Less painful – there will always be a little discomfort when it comes to moving your teeth. However, with many brands of clear aligners, as they lose force over time, extra pressure is added to compensate. This can make the aligners much more painful, especially for the first few days with a new tray in place. Invisalign, however, retains its shape meaning that less pressure is required to achieve the same results.
• Trackable – one of the benefits of clear aligners is that they can be removed. However, this can also be a downfall, as if they aren’t worn for long enough each day, they won’t be as effective. Invisalign offers a blue compliance indicator that fades over time, which is especially helpful to ensure that teenagers are rising to the challenge of keeping their aligners in place.

When our patients choose Invisalign, they are opting for years of research and proven success. The SmartTrack material conforms to the shape of your teeth, retains its force, and offers you the most comfortable way of straightening your teeth.

Find out more about Invisalign.

The Benefits Of Orthodontics At Acacia Dental Group

Crooked and misaligned teeth can have a huge impact on your life, by having orthodontic treatment to straighten your smile, you can benefit from:

• A correct bite – when your bite is misaligned it can put stress on the enamel of your teeth, eroding it and causing cavities. By correcting your bite, not only will it be easier to eat the foods you love, but you’ll be protecting your teeth too.
• A healthy mouth – when your teeth are crowded, they can be tricky to clean, creating the ground for bacteria to take root. By straightening your teeth, you make them easier to care for and avoid further, and potentially more serious, problems.
• A winning smile – when your teeth are crooked, protruding or misaligned, it can change the way you look and how you smile. By straightening your teeth, you can set yourself up for the perfect smile and regain your confidence.

If you’d like to find out more about how we can help you position your teeth for a perfectly healthy smile, get in touch today, and we can plan your free orthodontic assessment.

Get The Smile You Deserve

No longer reserved for the rich and famous, anyone can have a sparkling Hollywood smile.  Get in touch today to find out more about our orthodontic treatments.

Call us on (02) 6281 2222 to book a free orthodontic consultation and give yourself a reason to smile.