Orthodontic treatments can help a patient achieve a life-long healthy and straight smile. The length of treatment is always as different as each patient and their treatment goals. Dr. Jenny Yoo-Park DMD, MS, Dr. Lesley Samuels, DDS and the team at Palo-Alto Orthodontics near Mountain View CA can help give you a better understanding of the processes of orthodontic treatment and which approach may provide their patients with the best outcomes possible.
Schedule a consultation
During the consultation, Dr. Jenny Yoo-Park DMD, MS and Dr. Lesley Samuels, DDS will complete a new-patient exam and diagnose your orthodontic treatment needs. This assessment usually lasts about an hour and allows the doctor to evaluate your needs as a patient and answer all of your questions about your proposed course of treatment. X-rays and/or photographs of your teeth may be taken and will help Dr. Jenny Yoo-Park DMD, MS and Dr. Lesley Samuels, DDS identify which treatment option is the best for you.
Once you’ve decided on a course of treatment, Dr. Jenny Yoo-Park DMD, MS and Dr. Lesley Samuels, DDS will provide you with an estimated cost of treatment, a timeline for how long the course of treatment will take, and any options for finishing your treatment.
The time that you have to actually wear your braces will vary depending on your needs and the type of treatment indicated. The typical treatment time is 23 months. Some patients have their braces on for only six months, while other patients can have them for longer than three years.
Getting your braces
Dr. Jenny Yoo-Park DMD, MS and Dr. Lesley Samuels, DDS and his team will walk you through the entire course of treatment from beginning to end, schedule a series of appointments to get you started, and can discuss with you options for funding your treatment. The team will review your dental records and show you samples of braces, Invisalign aligners, and other appliances that may be integrated into your treatment.
The appointment to affix your braces to your teeth takes about 2 hours and can be scheduled almost immediately after your consultation. A Palo-Alto Orthodontics associate will first prepare your teeth for the brackets, and then your orthodontist will carefully position each bracket on each tooth. Because this is such a critical step in the process, Dr. Jenny Yoo-Park DMD, MS and Dr. Lesley Samuels, DDS invests a lot of time sweating the details (including bracket type, positioning, and wire selection) to help each of his patients achieve the best treatment outcome possible.
Throughout your treatment, the Palo-Alto Orthodontics team will help you schedule routine checkups; brief appointments to adjust your brackets, answer questions, and check your progress. These meetings usually average 15 to 20 minutes and take place every 8 to 10 weeks. If you’re using Invisalign aligners, these checkups occur every 4 to 6 weeks.
Concluding Treatment
When your course of treatment with braces is coming to an end, your doctor will schedule you for a “debanding.” Removing your braces will take a little over an hour, and you will be pleased at how easy and comfortable the process is. It is then important that you arrange with your dentist to have a thorough cleaning, check-up, and fluoride treatment after the removal of your braces.
To hold your teeth in their new position, Dr. Jenny Yoo-Park DMD, MS and Dr. Lesley Samuels, DDS will evaluate which retainer is appropriate for you and make you a set of retainers and recommend a practice for wearing them. Most patients are advised to wear their retainers indeterminately in some capacity. The general rule is, “Wear your retainers for as long as you want your teeth to stay straight.”
Go show the world your healthy, gorgeous, new smile!
Before you leave the office after your final treatment, you will be given a photo of how your teeth looked before you had braces so that you can compare how your beautiful smile looks now.
If your dentist recommends braces for you, then Dr. Jenny Yoo-Park DMD, MS, Dr. Lesley Samuels, DDS and the team at Palo-Alto Orthodontics near Mountain View CA can help. Give them a call: 650-327-2310