Everything we do centers around making both your teeth and face look better because of our treatment. Traditional orthodontics often required the removal of up to eight teeth to allow for the necessary space to remedy a crowded mouth. Using our new technologies, the extraction of teeth occurs far less than it used to. As a result our patients enjoy a beautiful final result along with the facial support that comes with maintaining all of your teeth for your lifetime. We do still extract teeth when it is apparent that either the face of the patient, or their overall dental condition, will benefit from such care. However, this decision is made only after exhaustively reviewing the patient diagnostic records as well as all non-extraction treatment choices. We want our patients to be happy with their final result now...as well as many years into the future.

We are also committed to providing the care to our patients in as efficient a manner as possible. This means that we try to do as much work as we comfortably can at each visit as well as scheduling as much time as is practical between visits. Our goal is to finish your care as well as possible with as little disruption of your daily life style as possible. The incorporation of the new wire and bracket technology we have worked on assists us in achieving this goal.

First and Second Phase Treatment

The goal of First Phase Treatment is to develop the child's jaw size to make room for the future eruption of permanent teeth and to improve the relationship of the upper and lower jaws. Children sometimes exhibit early signs of jaw problems as they grow and develop. An upper or lower jaw that is growing too much or not enough can benefit from early orthodontic treatment. The early correction can prevent later removal of permanent teeth due to excessive overbite or overcrowding. Leaving such a condition untreated until all permanent teeth erupt could result in a jaw imbalance too severe to achieve an ideal result with braces.

To maintain the First Phase Treatment results and to allow the remaining permanent teeth to erupt retainers are worn at night between phases. Starting at age ten, children lose twelve primary (baby) teeth and by age twelve or thirteen they gain sixteen permanent teeth. During this period occasional appointments for observation and retainer adjustments will be necessary, usually on a three to six month basis.

The goal of Second Phase Treatment is to position all the permanent teeth to maximize their appearance and function. This is best accomplished by placing braces on all the upper and lower teeth. Due to the improvements made in First Phase Treatment, Second Phase Treatment requires less patient involvement (less frequent use of headgear and rubber bands), often eliminates removing permanent teeth and greatly reduces the time spent in full braces.

• » influence jaw growth in a positive manner
• » improve the width of the dental arches
• » reduce the need to extract permanent teeth
• » reduce or eliminate the need for jaw surgery
• » lower the risk of trauma to protruded front teeth
• » correct harmful oral habits
• » improve esthetics and self-esteem
• » simplify and shorten treatment time for definitive
• » orthodontic treatment (phase 2)
• » increase stability of final treatment results
• » reduce likelihood of impacted permanent teeth
• » improve speech development
• » improve position of first molars
• » guide permanent teeth into more favorable positions
• » improve lip competence
• » preserve or gain space for erupting teeth
• » improve compliance before the busy teenage years