Braces 101

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Types of Braces

Thanks to today’s technology, patients now have many options when it comes to wearing braces during orthodontic treatment. While traditional metal braces are still widely used, clear braces are becoming increasingly popular, as well as invisible removable aligners (Invisalign®) that can be worn by patients self-conscious about treatment.

Self-Ligating Braces

Self-ligating brackets are relatively new to orthodontics. These high-technology brackets have replaced the prior style of brackets that have colored rubber ties with an "openable gate" which is far more hygienic with less plaque retention than rubber ties. The way the gate engages the wire in each slot determines how the tooth moves. Depending on which manufacturer produces the bracket, the brackets have varying levels of interactivity-how tightly the bracket hugs the wire for tooth movement.

Self-ligating brackets such as Nexus, Damon, Empower, Smart Clip, as well as many others allow the orthodontist to choose the average three dimensional position each tooth will occupy in the future. Once the teeth are generally aligned, the orthodontist hand-bends the final wires to the patient's personal best bite position to get the final tooth position prescribed.

At advanced Orthodontics, our orthodontists take technology to the level beyond the brackets. While still using self-ligating brackets, we replace hand bent wires with robotically bent ones that are more accurate than a human can bend. The doctor prescribes this three dimensional bite position to a robot for a series of personalized wires. Just like in the rest of medicine with microscopic surgeries, robots are the most accurate treatment assistants to doctor today. Read more at Suresmile.

Suresmile Braces
Clear Ceramic Braces Wild Smiles Braces Invisible Braces

Clear Ceramic Braces

These are the most popular type of braces today for teens and adults. Ceramic braces are made of clear materials and are therefore less visible on your teeth than metal braces. For this reason, ceramic braces are used mainly on older teenagers and adult patients who have aesthetic concerns. While they are visually less prominent, they do require more attention to oral hygiene as ceramic braces are larger than metal braces. Our ceramic braces will not discolor like most ceramic braces do with certain foods and smoking. SureSmile digital diagnosis can also be used with these braces.

Wild Smile Braces

Kids in Interceptive Phase I treatment love this alternative to express themselves with unique shapes for their braces. Colored ties are included and can be changed at every adjustment for maximum accesorizing. SureSmile digital diagnosis can also be used with these braces.

Invisible Braces

Clear appliances (such as Invisalign®) use a series of invisible, removable, and comfortable aligners to straighten your teeth. And, no one can tell you are wearing those aligners because they are invisible! Not only are the aligners invisible, they are removable, so you can eat and drink what you want while in treatment, plus brushing and flossing are less of a challenge. The aligners are clear and comfortable.

invisalign suresmile American Dentist Association American Association of Orthodontist
Orthodontist Dr. Barton Soper at Advanced Orthodontics provides affordable expert orthodontic care for children, teens, and adult orthodontics in
Bellevue WA 98007 with state-of-the-art SureSmile braces, clear braces, and invisible braces with Invisalign and Invisalign Teen.
Advanced Orthodontics also provides expert orthodontic care for patients in the Bellevue and Redmond, Washington areas, including
Kirkland WA 98033 98034, Issaquah WA 98006 98027 98029 98075, Newcastle WA 98056 98059, and Mercer Island WA 98040
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