Resources ยท Treatment-stage index
The Treatment Map: every guide, by stage
Five stages, in the order treatment happens. Find the stage you are in and the guide that answers your question.
Wonder: Is treatment needed?
- Children's orthodontics: does my child need an assessment, and what is early treatment like?The age-seven check, signs worth a visit, and what Phase 1 treatment is really like.
- Teen orthodontics: what treatment is really like from 12 to 18Timing, braces versus Invisalign Teen, and the parts of daily life that actually change.
- Adult orthodontics: what treatment is really like as a working adultWhy adults treat, how it differs from teen treatment, and how it fits around work.
- Orthodontists in Surrey: who provides braces and what the treatment relationship is likeWho provides orthodontic treatment in Surrey, BC, what the 18-to-30-month treatment relationship involves, and where to go for help choosing a provider.
- About orthodontics: how treatment actually moves teethHow teeth move through bone, why it takes months, and what each appliance does.
- What an orthodontic assessment involves, step by stepThe conversation, the records, the three possible outcomes, and what to bring.
Compare: Braces or aligners?
- Braces: the complete treatment experience, from bond day to retainersHow braces work, the types, and every practical guide from bond day to debond.
- Invisalign: what clear aligner treatment is really likeWear time, attachments, changing trays, lost aligners and what aligners can and cannot do.
- Invisalign for open bite: what treatment is like, and where aligners reach their limitsWhat causes an open bite, how aligners treat it, and where they reach their limits.
- Invisalign for gaps: closing spaces with aligners, and keeping them closedWhy gaps form, how aligners close them, and why closed gaps need firm retention.
- Invisalign for crowded teeth: how aligners make room, and when they can'tThe four ways aligners make room for crowded teeth, and what mild, moderate and severe mean.
- Invisalign for crossbite: what treatment is like with aligners, expanders and elasticsAnterior versus posterior crossbite, when aligners work, and when an expander is needed.
- Braces versus Invisalign: what each is really like to live withDaily routine, food, cleaning, sport, appearance and how the decision is actually made.
- Metal versus ceramic braces: what changes when the bracket is tooth-colouredVisibility, staining, breakage, wear on opposing teeth and cost.
- Expanders and growth appliances: what they are like for a child, and for the parent turning the keyFitting, turning the key, speech, eating, cleaning and the gap between the front teeth.
Prepare: Before treatment starts
- Planning braces or aligner treatment around family life in SurreyAppointment timing, school schedules, travel to the clinic and emergency access across Surrey.
- Records and treatment planning: what happens between "yes" and bond dayRecords, the plan, separators, dental clean-up, insurance and scheduling the start.
- Bond day: getting braces on, minute by minuteHow long it takes, the steps, why it does not hurt, and what to do that evening.
- The first 24 hours with braces, hour by hourWhen the ache starts, what to eat, brushing around new brackets, wax and sleeping.
- The first week with braces, day by dayThe peak of soreness, cheeks toughening, eating, speech and the habits to set now.
- The braces starter kit: what to have at home, at school and in your bagThe supplies list for home, school bag, sports bag and travel.
- Braces and aligners in Guildford: planning treatment when the clinic is round the cornerThe shortest trip in the service area, and how that changes appointment and repair planning.
- Braces and aligners in Fraser Heights: planning around the hill and the highwayThe Highway 1 and 104 Avenue routes, one predictable school timetable, and rink-season planning.
- Braces and aligners in Fleetwood: planning around the Fraser Highway corridorThe Fraser Highway corridor, construction delays, and pool and rink season planning.
- Braces and aligners in Newton: making a longer trip workThe longest trip in the service area, and how to plan fewer, better-timed visits.
Live It: Daily life in treatment
- Eating with braces: what you can eat, what to avoid, and how to cut the restWhat breaks brackets, what is safe cut up, and a first-week menu.
- Soreness from braces and appliances: what helps, what to do, and when to callWhy it aches, what settles it, and a decision guide for loose brackets and poking wires.
- Brushing and flossing with braces: the four-minute routine that prevents white marksThe four-minute method, flossing tools, fluoride, and what white marks are.
- Wearing elastics with braces: how, how long, and what happens if you don'tWhat elastics correct, how to hook them, hours per day, and why missed days add months.
- Loose bracket or poking wire: what to do tonight, and what the clinic will do tomorrowPoking wire, shifted wire, loose bracket, loose band, broken tie, lost separator: what to do.
- Sports and mouthguards with braces: what to wear for which sportWhich mouthguard, which sports need one, aligners in sport, and what to do after a hit.
- Playing instruments with braces: brass, woodwind and singingThe two-to-four-week adjustment, lip protectors and wax, and which instruments are hardest.
- Braces at school: lunches, rinsing, elastics and appointmentsLunchbox food, rinsing at school, elastics, gym class, poking wires in class and appointments.
- Travelling with braces or aligners: trips, camps and flightsWhat to pack, timing trips, handling problems away from home, and aligners across time zones.
- Braces colours: how the ties work and how to chooseHow ties work, which colours stain or flatter, and what self-ligating braces do instead.
- Invisalign attachments: what they are, why you need them and what they feel likeWhat attachments are made of, why some teeth need them, visibility, and a lost attachment.
- Invisalign wear time and lost aligners: the 20-hour rule in practiceWhy 20 hours is the floor, counting honestly, and what to do about a lost or ill-fitting tray.
Keep It: Retainers and after
- Orthodontic retention: retainers, wear schedules and why teeth drift for lifeRemovable versus bonded, the wear schedule, cleaning, replacement and relapse.
- Debond day: getting braces off, and what comes nextHow brackets come off, polishing, the retainer scan, and the first week without braces.
- Fixed versus removable retainers: which, or both, and what each is like to live withBonded wire versus removable tray: wear, cleaning, repair, and why many people have both.
- Vivera retainers: what they are, how they are worn and how they are replacedWhat Vivera is, why it comes as a set, the wear schedule, cleaning and replacement.
- Lost or broken retainer: how fast teeth move and what to doHow quickly teeth move, what to wear meanwhile, when to call, and what a replacement involves.
- Relapse after braces: why teeth move back and what can be doneWhy teeth move back, which movements relapse most, and the options from retention to retreatment.
- Adult retreatment: straightening teeth again after earlier bracesWhy the second time is usually shorter, aligners versus braces for relapse, and the retention plan.