The ultimate ortho appointment is the one in which the braces come off and a new, beautiful, healthy, stable smile is unveiled! Sometimes, our enthusiastic LO patients see perfection in their smiles months before Dr. LeMert does. What exactly is he looking for? Here are several smile send-off goals:
1. STRAIGHT TEETH with no spaces! This mostly happens during the 1st stage of orthodontic treatment. It is very exciting to see your smile straightening out! Oh yeah! But, that’s not the end of the story….
2. A CLASS 1 BITE! This happens mostly during the 2nd stage of orthodontic treatment. Although the changes during this time may not look as exciting, they really are. This stage is not so much about esthetics, but function. A class 1 bite, describes a bite in which all the back and side teeth are in the most ideal position for chewing. This is absolutely vital to the long term health of your teeth and not a step you would want to be cheated out of!
3. IDEAL OVERBITE! Overbite is a measurement of your front teeth. Ideally, the top teeth over hang and cover 20-40% of the bottom teeth. This is esthetically pleasing and most importantly, keeps your front teeth from wearing down.
4. PARALLEL ROOTS! You guessed it: Not only do your teeth need to be straight, your roots do too! If teeth are straightened without lining up the roots, the teeth will most likely return to their pre-braces starting position. YIKES! Dr. LeMert is able to leverage and move the individual roots by adding force to one or more of the 4 corners of each bracket. He adds the needed force by making custom steps, bends, or ties in the wires. Although your teeth look straight, trust Dr. LeMert that it is important to move your roots into a STABLE position, so your beautiful, healthy smile will last!
5. A SMILE to MATCH your FACE! Every smile, like every face is YOUnique! Beginning at your initial consultation and continuing throughout all of your ortho journey, Dr. LeMert is attentive to the harmony of your face structure and smile.
Variations in treatment time are due to many factors including how severe the teeth and jaw problems are to begin with, the age of the patient, the rate in which each person’s teeth move, and patient cooperation. Dr. LeMert usually gives a very close estimate of how long your treatment should last, give or take a couple months. However, there are 3 primary reasons, you could be in braces loooooonger than planned: breaking brackets, missing appointments, and not wearing rubber bands.
Orthodontics is a partnership of trust and cooperation between YOU & DR LEMERT! Let’s create a lasting masterpiece!
