Fun Facts About Braces

We all know that braces can give us the smile we desire, but we also know that wearing braces isn’t the most enjoyable thing we could do.  While you may not be a big fan of braces for whatever reason, they do allow you to smile confidently once treatment is over.  Also, they have a pretty interesting history.  Let’s take a look at some of the best facts about braces.

Smile Like an Egyptian 

How long have braces been in use?  A rudimentary type of braces was used by ancient Egyptians.  So next time you see a photo of the great pyramids—or even better, visit them in person—remember that when they were being built, braces were already being worn.

Bonjour, Braces 

The first modern braces were created in France back in 1728.  The inventor of these braces was a dentist named Pierre Fauchard, who has since come to be known as the father of modern dentistry.  His braces used gold wires and thread.  Luckily, we have greatly improved on his design.

50s Style 

The braces we offer now are more similar to the braces of the 1950s and 1960s than they are those of 1728.  It was 1959 when nickel titanium became the material of choice for braces, allowing orthodontists to create brackets and more comfortable wires, resulting in the look we all associate with braces.

Modern Marvels

Now braces are made from all sorts of materials, from gold to ceramic to stainless steel.  We even have clear aligners which function like braces.  Because of this, treatment is faster, more comfortable, and more stylish than ever before.

Looking for an orthodontist in Valencia and Tehachapi?  Visit our website and schedule a consultation.

Braces Treatment in Santa Cara and Palmdale

Everyone wants their smile to be known as their best feature, and the team at Snow Orthodontics works hard to make that happen.  In addition to making your smile more attractive, we also make it healthier, improving your overall quality of life.  In general, we accomplish this by using braces.

We are all well aware that braces exist and what they do, but most people do not realize that there are many options when it comes to braces.  We have traditional metal braces, Damon braces, ceramic braces, lingual braces, and even clear aligners that function like braces.  Because of this, it is easy to get a customized form of treatment that works well for you.

And this also means that if you don’t like the look of braces, you can still get the smile you desire.  Modern braces options are more aesthetic than those of the past, which tends to make people feel more comfortable with straightening their smile.  If this is your biggest concern when it comes to braces treatment, do not worry.  We will find an option that will make you feel great about how you look while in treatment and when you are done.

It is important that no matter what your concerns are, you do not put off getting braces treatment.  Problems corrected by braces can be unsightly, painful, and even lead to gum disease and tooth decay.  It is much better to seek out the treatment that works best for you.

For the right orthodontic treatment with braces in Santa Cara and Palmdale, turn to Snow Orthodontics.  We offer the best treatment from the most experienced team in the area.  We can turn your dream smile into a reality.

To know more about braces treatment in Palmdale, visit our website.

Invisalign Treatment in Agoura Hills and Valencia

Have you ever felt like smiling but held yourself back because you felt bad about the way your smile looked?  This is a common theme with the patients we treat, and if it rings true for you, it is important that you make a change.

Now, you might be thinking that you will smile even less with a mouth full of braces.  While we personally like the look of braces, we also know that they do not work for everyone. Because of this, we offer modern solutions that are more aesthetic, more comfortable, and make it easier to eat and care for your teeth.

One of these modern solutions is Invisalign treatment.  Invisalign doesn’t use metal wires and brackets.  Instead, it uses clear aligners made from medical-grade plastic.  These aligners are generated using 3-D imaging and are made just for you.

In many cases, Invisalign is more effective than traditional metal braces because the computer program that generates the aligners ensures that each aligner changes the pressure in the best possible way to move your teeth quickly and accurately.  Because of this, treatment often ends sooner than it does with braces.

Invisalign aligners are designed to fit like a glove against your teeth, which means there is no gap.  Because of this, they are invisible to those around you.  This solves the biggest concern people have when it comes to braces treatment, which is that it is unsightly.  However, it also solves other problems.  If you are worried about changing your diet to accommodate braces, Invisalign allows you to remove your aligners when eating.  Concerned about brushing and flossing with braces?  Once again, with Invisalign, you can remove the aligners while you get the job done.  They are also significantly more comfortable as there are no pieces to poke or irritate the soft tissues of the mouth.

Snow Orthodontics, with branches in Valencia and Agoura Hills, offers the area the very best in Invisalign treatment.  We begin by discussing the treatment with you, then take digital scans of your teeth to create the aligners.  Once they are ready, we check their quality and their fit and send you home with them.  You see us every six weeks to check the progress and give you the next set of aligners.   In about 15 months, treatment will be complete.

Want to learn more?  We are here to answer your questions.  For more about Invisalign in Agoura Hills and Valencia, visit our website.

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.

The Ever-Evolving Field of Orthodontics

When you think about orthodontics, what is the first thing you think of?  Braces, right?  In fact, for many people, braces are the only thing they associate with orthodontics.

But the truth is that orthodontics encompasses many aspects of oral health treatment and maintenance, and braces are just one part.  And as each year goes by, we add more and more treatments to the field while also reworking older forms of treatment to make them better for our patients.

Because of this, orthodontics is always evolving.  The easiest way to see this is to look at what we are best known for: braces.

Once upon a time, the only braces available to patients were clunky metal braces that fit oddly and irritated the mouth.  Now, we offer many different types of braces and braces alternatives.  Traditional metal braces have been streamlined and are now made of better materials.  For those wanting a different look, we offer gold braces and WildSmiles brackets.  To help patients who dislike the look of braces, we have ceramic braces, lingual braces, and Invisalign.

There are so many options out there, and there will be many more in the years to come.  If you have opted out of treatment in the past, we urge you to reconsider.  We are confident that we have a form of treatment that will work well for you.

To learn more about Orthodontics in Tehachapi, visit our website.

Can Braces Be Fashionable?

Teens have always cared about how they look, and about fitting in with their peers.  However, we have seen an increase in concerns amongst our teen patients in recent years, mostly due to the popularity of social media and YouTube fashion and makeup vloggers.  Because of this, teens are more hesitant than ever to correct their smiles.

However, it is vital that when orthodontic care is recommended, you get the treatment you need.  We firmly believe that braces can be fashionable when you take the right approach.  Below are some of our recommendations.

Show Your Personality 

For many teens, worse than having something ugly is having something boring.  In fact, a lot of current fashion is about embracing the ugly and the awkward.  Because of this, one way to make braces fashionable is to customize them in fun and funky ways.  This can be done by using WildSmiles and other unusual brackets and by using colored elastics.  With the brackets, you will need to stick to the design you choose throughout treatment, but elastics can be changed at every visit if you want.

Use Lingual Braces 

These braces are more expensive and more complicated than traditional braces.  However, they are placed on the tongue side of the teeth, rendering them invisible.  Because of this, many teens are interested in using them.  We do recommend they only be used by responsible teens since they can be harder to brush around and floss around.

Try Invisalign 

Invisalign is a braces alternative that uses clear aligners instead of metal wires and brackets.  Because of this, many teens want Invisalign in Agoura Hills and Valencia.  Because Invisalign is removable, we only choose it with teens who can be responsible for their treatment and ensure they wear their aligners 22 hours a day or more.  For those who can keep up with their treatment, we offer Invisalign Teen.

There are also other forms of treatment that may work well for teens concerned about how they will look while straightening their teeth.  To learn more, visit our website.