Comprehensive Dental Health Care

When you go to the hospital, you have access to all sorts of specialists.  This helps to ensure that no matter what is wrong, you will have access to the kind of treatment you need to get better.  But when it comes to seeing the dentist or orthodontist, this often is not the case.  Instead, you see just one person who offers a limited range of services.

But here at Dr. Snow Orthodontics, we are set up more similarly to your local hospital in that we have multiple doctors with multiple specialties working at our clinic.  This gives you access to all the services you could possibly need for a healthy and attractive smile.  Need an orthodontist to straighten your teeth and a cosmetic dentist to whiten them?  You can do all of that at our practice.

Why did we opt for this model over a single-doctor practice?  Because we know how overwhelming it can feel to seek treatment when you know you have more than one problem to correct.  And we do not want you to feel like getting the treatment you deserve is too much to take on, which can result in you avoiding treatment completely instead.

Our team believes that everyone deserves a smile that is both healthy and beautiful, including you.  Whether you want whiter teeth, straighter teeth, need complete restoration, or some combination thereof, we are here to help.  Turn to our orthodontists in Valencia for the smile you desire.  Visit our website to learn more.

Is Braces Treatment Painful?

Every time we get a new patient seeking braces treatment, we get asked the same question: is braces treatment painful?  This is a legitimate question to ask, so we want to answer it as best as we can.

In short, no, braces treatment is not painful.  However, the best answer we can give is a little more complicated than that.

Braces treatment alone does not require surgical tools, tooth removal, or drilling.  Depending on the unique needs of the person in treatment, other methods may be needed to fully correct their smile, and depending on what these are, they themselves might cause varying levels of pain.  But braces themselves are not painful.

What braces can do is cause some discomfort or irritation.  Most of this occurs when the braces are first placed on the teeth.  During this time, your teeth must adjust to the presence of the braces and the forces they place on the teeth.  Because of this, your teeth may feel sensitive to biting pressure for 3-5 days.  This sensitivity returns each time your braces are adjusted, but in this case, it is usually just for about 24 hours.

Another aspect of braces that causes discomfort is that the braces can rub against the soft tissues of the mouth.  This irritates the mouth and can make it feel a bit raw.  However, you can reduce the irritation with dental wax and eventually the tissues of the mouth will adjust to the presence of braces.

What is far more painful than having braces are the problems that can arise from not having them.  When teeth are too close together, it is difficult or impossible to truly clean between them, leading to gum disease and even tooth loss.  When bites are not aligned, it stresses the jaw joint, leading to TMD.  There are also other problems that can develop when orthodontic problems go untreated.

Because of this, the discomfort of braces is by far the best choice.  And since it is temporary but delivers lasting results, we believe that the discomfort it causes is nothing in the grand scheme of things.  To know more about braces in Santa Cara and Palmdale, visit our website.