Orthodontic FAQs: straight answers about braces and aligners

By about seven, according to the Canadian and American orthodontic associations. Most children checked at seven need no treatment; the visit is a baseline. Children's orthodontics.

An orthodontist is a dentist who completed two to three further years of specialty training and is registered as a Certified Specialist in Orthodontics. General dentists also provide braces and aligners in BC. Both can diagnose and treat; specialists treat only orthodontics.

Usually 12 to 30 months for comprehensive treatment, 6 to 12 months for limited alignment, 9 to 18 months for early (Phase 1) treatment. Missed elastics, broken brackets and low aligner wear add time.

Fitting braces or a first aligner does not hurt. Teeth ache for two to four days afterwards and for a day or two after adjustments. Lips and cheeks are sore for the first week or two with braces. What helps.

Yes, with an orthodontic mouthguard for any contact or ball sport. Aligners come out for contact sport or are worn under a guard. Sports and mouthguards.

Yes. Wind and brass players need two to four weeks to adjust; wax helps at first. Instruments with braces.

Hard, sticky and crunchy foods that bend wires or pop brackets: popcorn, hard candy, nuts, ice, whole apples and carrots, chewy sweets, gum. Most other foods are fine cut up. The full food guide.

Every 6 to 10 weeks for braces adjustments, every 8 to 12 weeks for aligner checks. Each is 15 to 30 minutes.

Twenty or more hours out of every twenty-four. Below that, teeth stop tracking the trays. Wear time and lost aligners.

Small tooth-coloured bumps bonded to some teeth so that aligners can grip and push them. They are removed at the end of treatment. Attachments.

Rubber bands hooked between upper and lower teeth to correct how the jaws meet. They work only while worn, so they are worn as close to full-time as prescribed and changed daily. Elastics.

Wax over the sharp part, tuck a long wire with a clean pencil eraser, call the clinic for a repair within the week. Step by step.

Only if plaque is left around the brackets. Brushing after meals with a fluoride toothpaste and cleaning at the gum line prevents them. Once formed, the marks are permanent. Brushing and flossing.

No. Teeth move at any age in healthy gums and bone. Aligners and ceramic braces are popular with adults; metal braces remain the most capable. Adult orthodontics.

No. Aligners handle crowding, spacing and many bite problems well; rotating round teeth, moving teeth bodily over distance and large bite corrections are harder and may need braces for part of treatment. Invisalign hub.

An appliance fixed to the upper back teeth that widens the upper jaw in a growing child, turned at home with a small key. Expanders and growth appliances.

Brackets are squeezed off, glue is polished away, teeth are scanned or impressed for retainers. About an hour. Debond day.

Retainers are worn indefinitely, in some form. The schedule depends on the case: some patients wear retainers full-time for a period and then move to night-time wear, and some go straight to night-time wear. From there the frequency is gradually reduced over the years — but never stopped, because teeth drift for life. Guildford Orthodontic Centre uses Vivera retainers as standard, with a bonded lower wire case by case. Retention.

Call within days; teeth can move noticeably within weeks in the first year. Wear any older retainer that still fits in the meantime. Lost or broken retainer.

No. Orthodontists assess growth, jaws, bite and habits; physicians diagnose sleep and airway disorders. Where growth may be relevant, an assessment says so and suggests a medical referral. AirwayOrthodontics.ca covers the evidence.

This site does not publish fee ranges. Cost depends on the complexity and length of treatment, the appliance, and what is included (retainers, emergency visits, refinements). Ask for a written quote that itemizes inclusions; SurreyOrthodontist.com explains how to compare quotes.

An additional short series of aligners made from a new scan near the end of treatment to finish movements that did not fully track. One or two rounds are normal.