Braces: Duration of Orthodontic Appointments

How Often Do Braces Need to be Tightened After Placement?

It’s one of the top questions people have at their initial consultation appointment:  Once I get my braces on, how often do I need to come in to get them tightened?

I think people who haven’t had treatments have an awful visual of orthodontic technicians cranking on their braces and using metal lassos to tighten their teeth.

Rest assured, it’s nothing like that.

So, what happens when we put your braces on? We initially put a light wire in, which can be anywhere from 12 to 16 thousandths of an inch. It’s made out of a material developed by NASA, used in the space program. These wires are flexible and have shape memories. So, you put them in and they bend, twist, and turn to the shape and position of your teeth. They’ll slowly bring your teeth to the ideal position. The nice thing about these wires is they last for a long time while continuing to move your teeth for many weeks.

The duration of your appointments depends on what your orthodontist is trying to do, the materials he’s using, and your situation. Typically, in most offices, you have longer periods between appointments in the beginning. I would say the range is six to 10 or 11 weeks. The reason those are longer is you’re wearing flexible wires that move your teeth the entire time.

Patients often come in every once in a while and say, “Well, my teeth stopped hurting after the first few days,” or, “I’ve noticed my teeth moving for a few weeks, but I didn’t notice them moving for the last couple of weeks.” Then, they want to come in more often because they want to speed things up. There are a couple reasons we don’t allow that. One, usually the teeth are moving. They may not be moving as fast as they did initially, but they do continue to move towards the end of the appointment. And, two, the tooth moves through the bone. Imagine, you have two sides of “builders” on each tooth. On the side the tooth is being pulled towards, bone is taken away. Imagine someone with a pick axe, “a builder,” chipping away at your bone causing a reaction that takes bone away from the tooth. On the other side, the tooth moves into position, but you have an empty space where there’s no bone. We want to give the body time to heal and to build bone back into that space. And that will happen, but often that’s the second part of the appointment time. So, your tooth will move for the first part of the appointment, and the second part is about healing your face. We could get you in sooner and continue to move the tooth, but then you run the risk of having damage to the bone and it not healing properly.

How to Find an Orthodontist Near Me

So, patients often wonder, “Well, my tooth stopped moving two weeks ago, why not tighten it up again?” Now, when we get closer to the end of treatment, we will often see patients more often because we do minor movements and tweaks to get things perfect. We use a different wire that’s not quite as flexible for many different reasons. But, if we want to work on the bite and fixing the way the back teeth fit together, you’ll wear a heavier, less flexible wire to keep the teeth anchored together so we can move the teeth solidly. It’s often beneficial to see people more frequently at that point. But, again, there’s a wide range depending on what’s done. Usually the rule of thumb is anywhere from six to 10 weeks at the beginning. At the end of treatments, it can range anywhere from three to five weeks as your orthodontist finishes detailing, ensuring your smile is beautiful and as perfect as possible. Contact us for more details.

Beecroft Orthodontics, 10472 Georgetown Dr. Fredericksburg, Virginia

Phone: 540-898-2200

Braces: Duration of Orthodontic Appointments

Children’s Orthodontic Check-up Guide

How often should Children get a Check-up to see if they Need Braces?

The American Board of Orthodontics and the American Association of Orthodontics recommend a child is seen around 7 years old to determine if he needs braces.

Not that most children have problems or issues at that age--I would say over 90 percent don’t, but, occasionally, something will pop up, so it’s a good idea to be seen.

I often then hear, “Once that happens, and my child doesn’t need intervention, how often should we come back?” Usually the office will provide direction, and there’s a range depending on the child’s situation. Most offices, if there’s nothing wrong would still like to see a child back about once a year, maybe nine to 12 months. Why? Even though everything looks great as of now, things may pop up. A tooth may decide not to come in the way it should or start to overlap another tooth inside the bone. There may be certain procedures that can prevent future problems. There may be a growth spurt in either the upper or lower jaw that causes an unfavorable situation that can be corrected more easily when the child is younger. So, that’s the reason for the periodic checks. Usually they don’t have to be conducted any more often than nine to 12 months, as long as everything is looking good and normal.

Now, depending on your child’s age, the orthodontist may suggest he’s seen more frequently. If the child’s closer to getting ready for treatment (10, 11, 12 years old), and waiting for a few baby teeth to fall out, the orthodontist may recommend he comes in every six to eight months. If there’s a borderline problem that’s being observed closely, he may be asked to come in every six months or so. Usually the visits will be quick and short, but productive. There’s usually a reason for being seen at such short interval.

I saw a 9-year-old boy, who was referred to us by his dentist. His dentist was concerned about his back six-year molar coming in, almost overlapping, and coming into one of his baby teeth. This was creating a hole in his baby teeth because the molar wasn’t coming in the right position, but a closer than where it needed to be. So, we saw him and didn’t have to put any appliances in his mouth. We put in a spacer apparatus, which almost looks like a rubber band. It’s wedged in between the teeth and creates space, but feels like there’s a piece of food like steak in between your teeth. Normally orthodontists use it prior to the initial banding appointment, getting the braces on. It’s used to make space for fitting bands on the back teeth. It can often be used to redirect teeth when they’re coming in at an unfavorable angle. We used this for the patient and chose to see him more often--every six weeks to ensure the tooth was coming in okay. We did that for three or four visits, and saw him regularly for six months. We just observed the tooth and ensured the situation didn’t get worse. We were able to redirect the permanent tooth and save the baby tooth. The results? After six months, the tooth was in a great position, and now he’s seen once a year until he’s ready for the full treatment. So, this is a situation where you’re seen more frequently. But in most cases, children are seen anywhere from nine to 12 months.

For further information or to schedule an appointment for your child, feel free to contact Beecroft Orthodontics.

Beecroft Orthodontics, 10472 Georgetown Dr Fredericksburg ,

Virginia Phone: 540-898-2200

Children’s Orthodontic Check-up Guide

Is My Child Ready for Braces?

How do I Know if My Child is Ready for Braces?

Many children need treatment, from a medical standpoint, whether it’s to help with jaw growth, to make room for teeth to come in, or to move a tooth out of a traumatic position. But, psychologically and mentally, they’re just not quite ready. We see this often amongst young children.

There’s no good reason why some children are ready and others aren’t. We’ll have some 5 and 6 year olds that need treatment who were referred by their dentists. Usually they have skeletal imbalances needing correction at a young age, and they do just fine with the treatment. We’ll take their pictures, get their impressions, and they may get appliances.

Some older children (ages 11-12) are ready for full treatment, and may just have a few minor issues like teeth crowding or minor bite issues. We’ll recommend full treatment, but Mom and Dad may express concern regarding the psychological aspect of the treatment. They wonder if their children can handle it mentally and handle the responsibility of braces. Many children keep their braces clean, but despite their best efforts, can’t do certain things at certain ages. Even if parents are staying on top of things, sometimes it’s hard to make sure their children are doing what they need to. So, mentally, the kids need to be prepared for not only having braces and tolerating people seeing them with braces, but taking care of them properly.

We saw a boy in 8th grade that needed braces due to overlapping teeth and bite issues. Although his Mom wanted him to have the treatment, he was reluctant and apprehensive about it. If your child is in this situation, how do you know he’s ready? As a parent, I can’t sit there and say there’s a specific age or a magical thing you can do to know he’s ready. Each situation is tailored to each individual. Yet, ask yourself: Does my child take care of things? Is he fairly responsible about other things? Many parents are concerned their children can’t handle the responsibility of having braces or having the Invisalign treatment. Yet, the child drives himself to school every day, does his homework without being told, and is involved in sports requiring him to be on time for practices and games. If your child is doing these things, chances are he’s responsible enough to keep his braces clean.

When it comes to Invisalign, most children receive the treatment when they’re in high school. Many of them drive cars; some of them are in Scouts; and all of them have been responsible for homework. Not to say they’ve done all these things without supervision from parents, but parents will most likely supervise their orthodontic treatments. We found most children who want Invisalign treatments, are responsible enough to wear the trays accordingly (with the help of their parents).

We saw a sophomore who wanted the Invisalign treatment. His Mom was concerned he wasn’t responsible enough to wear the trays because he was slightly autistic with some learning disabilities. I asked her what her son was involved in. She told me he was on an elite-level sports team where he traveled to different states and trained at nearly a junior-national level. I then asked, “What kind of responsibility does that require?” His Mom just glowed as she talked about her son waking up early in the morning to train. When I asked her tell me why he does that, she talked about his love and commitment toward the sport. “Well it looks like this young man would like to go with the Invisalign system, and he’s committed to doing so,” I told her. She said she hadn’t thought about it from that point of view and just assumed he would lose the trays. After telling him about the responsibility associated with the trays, he said he was committed to them just as he was committed to his sport.

Remember: Look at how your child handles current responsibilities to best assess if he’s ready for braces.

Contact Beecroft Orthodontics if you ever feel to go looking for an advice about whether or not your child is ready for braces.

Beecroft Orthodontics, 10472 Georgetown Dr Fredericksburg ,

Virginia Phone: 540-898-2200

Is My Child Ready for Braces?