There’s never been so much choice in braces in Orpington before. And there has never been so many adults investing in their long-term dental health by getting their teeth straightened. Yes indeed, having those mildly wonky teeth realigned is not only good for how you look, but also gives your teeth the chance to last much longer.

Straighter teeth are cleaner teeth

When you have straight teeth, you will find it much easier to keep them free from plaque, which likes to build up in hard-to-reach crevices. Plaque is a layer of sticky bacteria that feed on the sugars in our mouths and give off an acid. This eats through our enamel and allows decay in. It also irritates the gum and can lead to gum disease, which, in its advanced stages can cause teeth to fall out.

Straighter teeth share the burden

When you chew, your teeth are meant to work as a team, each one exerting and receiving equal pressure as you process your food into a paste. If only a few are doing all the chewing, over the years they will start to split and crumble away, and then you’ll have to go through the expense and hassle of getting them replaced, possibly repeatedly if you have dentures or a bridge.

So, lots of great reasons to get yourself some braces. In Orpington, at Orpington Dental Care, we have a couple of great systems for adults, both of which are so much more discreet than the cumbersome ‘train track’ metal braces of old.

Six Month Smiles

Taking the tried and tested design of brackets and wires and updating them for use on the front six ‘social’ teeth, the ones we see the most of when people smile and talk. The brackets are much smaller and made of clear ceramic, the wires finer, and the whole process takes, on average, only six months.

Invisalign

Not even braces in Orpington, but clear plastic aligner trays like mouth guards. You wear a series of aligners, each with its own carefully placed pressure points that nudge the teeth into alignment. Almost invisible and removable for eating and cleaning, this is teeth straightening with almost no drawbacks.