At Quayside Orthodontics we are committed to giving you a positive experience from the very outset of your treatment journey. Ensuring you know what to expect along the way is a really important part of this so we’ve outlined the main stages involved in fitting, wearing and removing a fixed brace.
Referral & assessment
The fixed brace journey begins with a referral from your dentist. In Wales, everyone under the age of 18 is entitled to a free orthodontic assessment on the NHS.
At your assessment you meet a Quayside specialist who assesses your teeth to see if you qualify for NHS orthodontic treatment. Qualification is measured on a scale called the index of treatment need.
If you hit the threshold, you can have fixed metal braces on the NHS as long as you were referred before you were 18.
If you don’t qualify for NHS treatment, your orthodontic journey doesn’t need to be over. Numerous private treatment options can be explored.
First appointment
Your first appointment in the brace fitting journey takes about half an hour. Here you will meet your orthodontist, nurse, and others from our friendly team who will be involved in your fixed brace journey.
An oral examination will be made and an x-ray taken. The x-ray allows us to check if any problems need to be addressed before starting the orthodontic treatment.
We also check your oral hygiene. It is really important that good oral hygiene is maintained prior to fitting the brace because once your brace is fitted, brushing becomes more difficult. Getting this right at the outset eliminates the problems that can arise from poor oral hygiene later on.
Following your assessment we plan your course of orthodontic treatment, including if you need to have any teeth taken out.
We take a set of impressions using clay to cast a mould of the teeth. This provides us with a set of models to show us how the teeth were before beginning treatment.
Brace fitting
Once a plan is in place, we schedule you in for your brace to be fitted. This may be delayed if any teeth need to be removed first.
Brace fitting is a simple, painless procedure which takes about half an hour.
It simply involves putting a little bit of glue on your teeth, putting a bracket on each tooth, and setting them in place with a blue light.
We then connect a wire into the brackets and hold them in place with ties. These ties come in different colours which you can choose from.
Ongoing care
You will have a brace check-up approximately every 8 weeks where your teeth will be checked and your brace adjusted as needed.
When your brace is fitted, we provide you with a care pack which includes everything you need to keep your brace clean. It is absolutely vital that you look after your teeth and brace during the course of your orthodontic treatment. As well as good oral hygiene, you must avoid hard, sticky foods while you have your brace. This helps prevent breakages which slow your treatment down.
Brace removal and after care
When the teeth are in the right position, a debond appointment is scheduled.
Your brace will come off a lot quicker than it went on. A simple click, click, click, and the brace is removed simply and painlessly. Any remaining cement is then smoothed off the teeth.
Once your brace is removed, we take another set of impressions and make a retainer. The retainer helps keep your teeth in the right position and needs to be worn every night to guarantee straight teeth for life.
After 12 months you will be discharged from treatment with your brilliant, confident new smile. A lot of people opt to order more retainers at this stage so they have a spare back up. Your Quayside specialist will discuss these options with you in due course.
If you have any questions about the fixed brace journey our team of friendly specialists are always happy to discuss them with you. Drop us a line or give us a call using the details on our contact page.