Braces Lite

A proper look at your teeth, bite and jaws, and a conversation about what is actually bothering you. We take your dental and medical history, examine you, and take whatever records are needed, which may include X-rays, photographs and a digital scan with our iTero.

You leave knowing what we have found and what the realistic options are, including leaving things alone where that is the right answer.

We review the X-rays, photographs and scan alongside the examination findings and put together a plan specific to you. It sets out the appliance we recommend, how long treatment should take, the fee, and any preparatory work needed first.

This is a two-way appointment. We go through the alternatives, including doing nothing, and answer whatever you want to ask before you decide anything.

Anything that needs sorting before treatment starts. Usually that means a dental cleaning and dealing with existing decay or gum disease with your own dentist, since moving teeth in an unhealthy mouth makes matters worse.

In some cases it also means creating space, either by reducing the width of teeth very slightly or, where crowding is severe, by removing a tooth.

The brackets are bonded to your teeth and the wire is fitted. Nothing is drilled and no anaesthetic is needed, so the appointment is only uncomfortable in the sense of keeping your mouth open for about an hour.

Expect the teeth to feel tender for three or four days afterwards. You go home with wax for any bracket that rubs, and we go through cleaning before you leave.

You come in every six to eight weeks, usually for about twenty minutes. We change the wire, replace the elastics, check the teeth are tracking to plan and adjust where they are not.

These visits are also where we check your cleaning. Plaque left sitting around a bracket marks the enamel permanently, so it is the part worth staying on top of.

The brackets and wire are taken off and the adhesive is cleaned from the tooth surface. It is quick, painless, and usually the appointment people look forward to most.

We scan your teeth the same day, so your retainers fit the position they are in right now rather than where they were a fortnight ago.

Teeth drift back towards where they started if nothing holds them, so retainers are the final stage of treatment rather than an optional extra. Most patients wear a clear retainer at night long term, often alongside a fine wire bonded behind the front teeth.

Retainer checks are included for a year after the braces come off. There is more on our retainers page.