Braces have come a long way over the years and metal braces have improved immensely. Many individuals believe that metal braces are cumbersome and will hinder their appearance. Braces have made breakthroughs in technology and make them smaller, more comfortable, and sleeker! Traditional metal braces consist of small metal brackets adhered to your teeth with a professional adhesive and then connected together by a metal wire. Over the course of months, you will meet with Dr. Vaz to tighten your braces—and start straightening your teeth!

Are you ready to get braces, but worried about the “shiny metal look” that you’ll have if you get braces?

Ceramic or tooth-coloured braces are a revolutionary breakthrough in orthodontics that eliminate the look of metal braces. Ceramic braces are perfect for professional individuals who aren’t confident with their smile, but want to avoid the look of metal braces. For those who like a more natural look, these tooth coloured braces match the colour of your teeth so that they are hardly noticeable to the casual onlooker.

Ceramic braces are perfect for individuals who need more work done on their smile and don’t qualify for Invisalign, want confidence while wearing braces, want to avoid the “metal” look of braces and want fast results

Frictionless systems are braces that were created to work faster than traditional braces. These braces work extremely quickly to allow crowded teeth the spacing that they need. Using materials invented by NASA, the highly flexible, space age technology wires that are used in frictionless systems produce faster results in some cases!

Designed to reduce the frictional forces during tooth movement. Studies show that the lesser forces needed to move teeth result in significantly lower levels of discomfort arising from tooth movement. This unique system allows for freedom of movement, which means that you will experience less pain when your teeth are being straightened.

The latest in orthodontic technology, these plastic aligners are transparent and are therefore “invisible” when worn by the patient. This system is especially popular with discerning adults.

Furthermore, unlike braces which are fixed to the teeth, Invisalign is removable; hence, the patient can still continue with normal brushing and flossing. Also, this system allows the patient to enjoy whatever food he wants. Invisalign fabricates a smooth, and therefore comfortable plastic instead of metal, thus ulcers and mouth sores are less likely to develop. You will visit the doctor every two months, so this system is much appreciated by working adult patients who have a busy schedule.

Underbite

An underbite refers to a situation where the lower front teeth are placed too far forward compared with the upper front teeth. In actual fact, this is referred to as a reverse overjet.

Excessive Spacing

There are times when the size of the jaws are too large proportionally speaking to the size of the teeth.  When this happens, spaces will start to to open up between the teeth.

Crowding

This occurs when the opposite situation as excessive spacing occurs. In other words, proportionally speaking, the jaw is too small compared with the size of the teeth and this lack of space results in malalignment of the teeth. Crowding is a much more common occurrence compared with excessive spacing.

Crossbite

Normally, the upper teeth overlap the lower teeth when a patient is biting down. With a crossbite, it is the lower teeth that overlap the upper teeth when biting.

Deep Bite

The upper front teeth, when viewed from the front typically overlaps the lower front teeth by approximately 2mm to 3 mm. When the amount of overlap is greater, that is referred to as a deep bite. There are even situation where the overlapping upper front teeth “cover” the lower front teeth that they are no longer visible when the patient bites down.

Open Bite

This is really the opposite of a deep bite. In other words, when the patient is biting down, there is actually a separation between the upper and the lower front teeth and there is absolutely no overlap.