Six Month Smiles?

I've noticed a recent trend in new treatments that promise straight teeth in less time than traditional braces, in six months or even as little as six weeks. These treatments are being promoted to general dentists as a simple way of helping their patients. They are also being promoted as a brand, direct to patients. They are not marketing to specialist orthodontists, who you might think would be the ideal market.

I have a few concerns over whether branded short treatments (such as Inman or Six Month Smile) are the right thing for patients in the long term.

The appearance of the braces is often not very aesthetic, can be quite bulky and difficult to wear, and one make used a type of clear bracket material that is considered outdated and inferior (composite rather than ceramic). In a short space of time a tooth position can be dramatically improved, but for most cases it would still not be ideally positioned in such a short space of time.

There is natural limit on how fast a tooth can move, and I would like to see reasearch as to whether faster movement is detrimental to the tooth, and whether the teeth are more likely to relapse.

My main concern is that dentists who are inexperienced in orthodontics are being told this is an ideal solution for their patients, that it is easy to do and their patients don't need traditional orthodontics. There's a reason that I did three years dedicated orthodontic training and making orthodontics seem easy devalues the many orthodontic specialists. Yes, fitting braces, changing wires, instructing patients is fairly easy to learn, but seeing the whole picture, understanding possible side effects and being able to correct errors is something that takes training and experience. I know from using Invisalign that there is a learning curve with every new appliance and now I understand its limitations I can recommend it with confidence to the right patients.

So if you are considering orthodontic treatment to improve your smile be sure your dentist or orthodontist explains the pros and cons of the treatment, and find out what the alternatives are. I offer a wide range of brace types, varying in speed, cost and aesthetics so for most patients there is an option to suit them.

Can I provide straight teeth in six months? In a few cases, probably.
Can I promise straight teeth in six weeks? No, not to the standard that I would be happy with.
Can I offer the best treatment type for you? Yes!