Types of Braces — Trust Your Orthodontist to help you Choose the Best Option

When it comes to types of braces, there are so many different options. From traditional metal to Invisalign, Dr. Larson or Dr. Fitzgerald can work with you to determine what works best to help you achieve your beautiful smile. And, if your treatment allows it, have a little fun in the process!

Let’s take a look at some of the most frequently used orthodontic options currently on the market.

1. Traditional Metal Braces

Traditional braces are standard metal brackets placed on your teeth with an adhesive and connected by wire. They require regular tightening so that steady pressure gradually straightens your teeth and aligns your jaw.

SkyOrtho offers colorful and artistic ways to let your kids and teens show their own personal style when it comes to their braces. We offer colored brackets, o-rings, and rubber elastics that kids can change with every visit and adjustment.

Plus we have WildSmiles. WildSmiles brackets function just like traditional brackets. With 25 designs to mix, match, and pair with their colored elastics,.WildSmiles empowers patients to wear their braces with pride.

3. Ceramic and Invisible Braces

Ceramic braces are very similar to traditional braces. They sit on the front of the teeth, just like traditional braces, but they blend in with the teeth a little better since they’re made of tooth-colored or clear ceramic material. The wires can sometimes be colored or clear too to make the braces appear invisible.

These braces work as fast and effectively as traditional braces but may cost a bit more.

4. Lingual Braces

Unlike traditional and ceramic braces, lingual braces attach to the back of the teeth instead of the front. This makes them virtually invisible but more uncomfortable than traditional braces since the tongue frequently comes into contact with them.

Lingual braces can’t fix everything so if you’re interested in getting them, you should first ask your orthodontist if they’d work in your unique case.

5. InBrace

InBrace is a new style of braces that hides behind the teeth and uses a space-age memory wire to perfect a patient’s smile. The product also significantly decreases treatment time and doctor visits for patients, establishing this new technology as the most advanced and efficient braces on the market today.  InBrace has the added benefit of allowing you to brush and floss normally so there is nothing to remember to put back in after eating. Perfect for the busy professional who wants a quick and discreet solution to straighten teeth.

InBrace is discreetly hidden behind your teeth – only you and your doctor know it’s there.

6. Invisalign

The most recent (and wildly popular) addition to the world of braces doesn’t look like braces at all. In the last fifteen years, Invisalign has cornered the orthodontic market by offering clear, pop-on retainers that straighten teeth without brackets, bands, or wires. Invisalign uses a series (18 to 50) of solely plastic trays to guide misaligned teeth into the proper position.

Patients who choose Invisalign have to wear the trays as often as they can to see the best results but, luckily for them, the trays are clear and fairly comfortable so it isn’t too much of a chore. You do have to take them out when eating or drinking dark liquids to prevent staining.

6. Palette Expanders

A palate expander is an orthodontic appliance that is used to correct a width problem or discrepancy between the upper and lower jaws. In the most simple terms, it is used to widen the upper jaw.

Palate expanders are used when your orthodontist detects a width issue with your upper jaw. This is typically discovered in the form of a crossbite or crowding. Crossbites are a bad type of bite that orthodontist always correct as early as possible. Palatal expanders are typically used in younger children who still have growth potential. However, they are occasionally used in adult patients in select cases.