If you’ve been living with crooked teeth, you already know they affect how other people treat you.
It may not be fair, but some people will look down on you just because your teeth are not perfectly straight and parallel.
If you are a teenager, you may already know that orthodontic treatment is in your future. The only questions are what kind and how long will you have them.
If you are an adult, you may have considered orthodontics, but decided against it because braces can take two years or more to straighten your teeth.
You might change your mind when you learn more about Fastbraces®. If you live in Georgetown, Richmond, or anywhere else in Central Kentucky, then you can find out more about them at any Beaumont Family Dentistry in Lexington.
Fastbraces® could give you the straight teeth you wanted in less time than you may think is possible.
Why Crooked Teeth Are Bad For You
You may already be aware of the psychological elements of having “bad” teeth. You’ve seen Hollywood stereotypes of people with crooked or misaligned teeth as unintelligent or uneducated.
You’ve also seen Hollywood use crooked teeth as a punchline. How many scenes have you watched where a character is crossing a room toward a possible romantic interest. When the other person smiles to reveal a set of crooked teeth, our “hero” loses interest.
It may not be fair. It may not be accurate, but it does affect how people with crooked teeth are viewed in our society.
From a dentist’s perspective, there are different reasons to fix your crooked and misaligned teeth.
If your teeth are not aligned correctly, they can interfere with your ability to chew your food.
People with crooked teeth also may be more susceptible to gum disease and tooth decay. Your alignment could create spaces where bacteria can hide from your toothbrush and dental floss. This can make you more likely to have plaque and tartar buildup, which is what leads to gum disease and tooth decay.
And alignment issues can affect how your speak. We may not give it much thought, but we do use our teeth when we are pronouncing words. (Think about how kids talk when they lose their baby teeth.)
While this may not have a direct effect on your health, we know that people can be cruel, and it may have caused you to be the target to teasing when you were growing up.
Orthodontic Options
The most common orthodontic treatment is braces. They have been used for as long as we can remember for one very simple reason: Braces work.
Brackets and wires will push and pull your teeth exactly where they should go … eventually.
It’s not uncommon for patients to wear braces for two years before their orthodontic treatment is over. Many teenagers have just accepted this as a rite of passage.
For adults, two years wearing braces may have a different effect. It may discourage you from taking the step you need to improve your smile for the long-term.
If there was some way to speed up the process, that might make orthodontics a better option. Well, we are happy to tell you that “fast braces” are here.
How Fastbraces® Are Different
Fastbraces® definitely live up to their name. Some patients have completed their orthodontic treatment in as little as three months.
That may not be typical, but even on the long end, patients may wear their Fastbraces® for 12 months. That’s still half the time the same treatment could take with traditional braces.
The reason Fastbraces® can work so quickly because of their unique design.
Most braces use square brackets. These generally move your teeth in two stages. During the first stage, your braces will change the position of the crowns of your teeth.
In the second stage, braces adjust the position of your roots. Each stage takes a year or so, but in the end, you have a straight, perfectly aligned set of teeth.
Fastbraces® use a triangular bracket. This changes how your braces move your teeth.
Instead of moving your teeth in stages, Fastbraces® are able to move your crowns and roots at the same time. This speeds up the process considerably, which is something anyone with braces would appreciate.
Find Out If Fastbraces® Are Right For You
We offer free consultations for long-time patients and for new ones. We have three dentist offices in Lexington, so one of them is probably close to where you live or work.
Just call any Beaumont Family Dentistry office or use our online form to make an appointment. The sooner you start, the faster we can change your smile.