Orthodontists today can successfully correct most problems regardless of the patient's age. But that does not mean that the orthodontic treatment starting age does not matter. In fact, it may play a significant role in the total time and expenses required for the completion of the orthodontic treatment.

Early intervention can make a dramatic impact on establishing the proper occlusal foundation. The American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) recommends that all children have a check-up with an orthodontist by the time they reach age 7, for early detection of any potential problems. By age 7, some of the permanent teeth have erupted, so that most children have a mix of adult and baby teeth At this stage of mixed dentition, we can spot potential orthodontic problems related to jaw growth and eruption of adult teeth. Some growth-related orthodontic problems are easier to correct when they are identified early…while the facial bones are still growing.

An early exam allows us to determine how and when a child's particular jaw and/or dental problems should be corrected for the optimal results. Early treatment, or phase one therapy, may be needed to create a better environment to idealize the occlusion for the patient or possibly create an environment to elevate treatment forever. An early orthodontic examination does not always result in immediate treatment. After evaluating your child, we may simply want to monitor your child periodically while the permanent teeth erupt, and the jaws and face continue to develop.

At your first visit, you will be greeted by one of our staff members and a complimentary, no obligation orthodontic exam will be done. During this time, we evaluate many things relating to your face, your smile, the fit of your teeth and the amount of room for all of your teeth. From this initial visit, if a you are ready for treatment, an appointment for diagnostic records is made.

If a patient is still developing and is not yet ready for treatment, we will recommend the patient be placed into an observation phase where we will follow growth and development to determine the appropriate time for treatment. Often, treatment fees, general payment options and insurance benefits are discussed.

The adhesive used to attach the braces to your teeth cures rapidly, but takes several hours to completely cure. You can eat any time after leaving our office, however, we ask that you remember the list of foods that may be harmful to your braces. Until you become accustomed to eating with your new braces, you may find it beneficial to follow a diet consisting of all soft foods.

Initially, the braces feel like they stick out. This is normal. As you become accustomed to your braces and tooth alignment improves, this sensation will cease to be a concern. Although the brackets have been rounded and smoothed, until the cheek tissues have toughened, you may find it helpful to use a small piece of orthodontic wax around the bracket that is creating the irritation. If your supply of wax runs out, call our office for more. The wax may also be purchased at a local drug store.

You will probably notice some discomfort beginning a few hours after your braces are placed. Some teeth, usually the front teeth, may be tender and sensitive to pressure. Occasionally, patients report that they experience no discomfort, but most patients have some soreness beginning during the first few hours and dissipating within a day or two. Exactly when the discomfort ceases is impossible to predict and differs with each patient. Non-prescription pain remedies are recommended for discomfort. For maximum effectiveness, it may be best to take such medications before the discomfort begins.

Having a clean mouth is important. It gives you fresh breath and a nicer-looking smile. Brushing and flossing removes a thin sticky film of bacteria that grows on your teeth. This sticky film, called plaque, is the main cause of tooth decay and gum disease.

You will notice that it is much harder to keep your teeth clean with braces. Food becomes caught in the brackets and between your teeth. Brushing after meals and flossing will help prevent plaque from forming and should become part of your daily schedule. Use a soft toothbrush and brush at a 45-degree angle to the tooth in small circles above and below the brackets. Your toothbrush will wear out faster because of your appliances, so be sure to replace it whenever the bristles start to fray.

If plaque remains on the teeth for any length of time, it can leave a permanent white scar on the surface. A waterpik or an electric toothbrush can be a useful addition, however, please continue to see your dentist at least every 6 months for regular dental cleanings.

Flossing with braces takes a few minutes to master, but the effort is well worth it. The first step to flossing is getting the floss under the wire that connects the braces together. A floss threader will help you get the dental floss underneath your archwires. Dental floss with a stiff end is also available. It is pre-cut and is very easy to insert underneath archwires.

Once the floss is under the archwire it can be wrapped around the tooth on one side. The floss is then pushed up toward the gum line and then pulled down toward the wire. This should be repeated four to five times to ensure all plaque is removed. Be careful not to put too much pressure on the wire as you pull down. Then wrap the floss around the neighboring tooth. Once both teeth are done, the floss is pulled out and the process repeated for the next two teeth.

There are certain dietary habits that are known to cause breakage of orthodontic appliances, as well as increase the risk of dental disease. At McClellan Orthodontics, our aim is to achieve the treatment goals with as few disturbances as possible due to appliance breakage, and to minimize the side affects of poor diet choices. Remember, teeth move best in a healthy environment and in individuals with excellent overall health. Be sure you have a well-balanced diet.

Foods and drinks that may cause dental caries (cavities) should be restricted while wearing braces. Sticky food is to be avoided because of the increased risk of dental decay and appliance breakage. This type of food sticks to braces and remains on your teeth for long periods of time. If food or drinks high in sugar content are to be consumed, we advise having them with regular meals or at one given time of day. Please make sure that careful brushing and rinsing take place immediately afterwards. Between-meal snacks should be confined to foods without refined sugar, and should be followed by brushing or vigorous rinsing.

Braces are attached to your teeth with an adhesive that normally will withstand the forces of eating. However, braces can be dislodged and wires bent or broken while eating certain foods.

Foods that are appealing, but dangerous during orthodontic treatment:

• Chewing ice will destroy your braces.

• Sticky food or candy of any kind (taffy, caramels, Tootsie Rolls, Gummy Bears, Now and Laters) damage appliances by bending wires and pulling cement loose.

• Hard food or candy of any kind (Jolly Ranchers, pizza crust, hard pretzels, beef jerky, Doritos, Fritos, Cornuts, raw carrots, nuts) may do damage by bending wires, loosening cement under the bands or breaking the little brackets and tubes that are attached.

• Foods high in sugar content (cake, cookies, ice cream) should be avoided whenever possible. If you do eat them, brush your teeth immediately. If it is not convenient to brush, then always rinse your mouth with clear water after eating sweet foods.

Remember, if you have any questions about dietary restrictions or good food choices, please ask!

The AcceleDent™ System is a new technology designed to decrease the time you are in braces or Invisalign by increasing the rate of tooth movement. Results from a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial, conducted at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, demonstrate that tooth movement could be increased by 38-50%.

The rate of tooth movement greatly depends on the speed at which the bone surrounding the teeth changes. Studies have shown that orthodontic force coupled with micro-vibrations, generated by the AcceleDent System, safely accelerates tooth movement.

The AcceleDent™ System is light, comfortable, hands-free, and can be used 20 minutes per day while engaged in a variety of daily activities including reading, watching television, listening to music, and doing schoolwork.

AcceleDent works for a variety of cases and is safe for patients of all ages. AcceleDent is an excellent complementary therapy to your regular orthodontic treatment. It lets you straighten your teeth more quickly, with less discomfort, and can decrease your time in braces by up to 50%. While many orthodontists don’t offer AcceleDent, McClellan Orthodontics is a provider of AcceleDent in Kenilworth. Make an appointment at our Kenilworth orthodontic office to discuss your treatment options with Dr. McClellan.

Ceramic braces are the perfect combination of strength and beauty, so you can keep smiling during, and after your treatment.

Clear braces are a popular choice for teens and adults who want to make a less noticeable statement with their commitment to a healthier smile. The natural look of these smooth, sculpted, and completely clear ceramic braces are strong and will not stain or discolor.

These ceramic brackets offer our patients the look they want, with all the functionality of traditional metal brackets. Their comfortable, sculptured design and attractive translucent appearance help provide the self-confidence that comes from wearing braces that look as good as they perform.

There are several different advantages to having clear braces. The style, the costs, how they feel, and durability. However, there are a lot of things to think about when considering clear braces. Make sure to talk to Dr. McClellan in our Kenilworth orthodontic office to figure out the best option for you.

For more information on clear braces in Kenilworth and how you can get started on your journey to a beautifully straight smile, give us a call. We are here to help you every step of the way.

Ceramic braces are the perfect combination of strength and beauty, so you can keep smiling during, and after your treatment.

Clear braces are a popular choice for teens and adults who want to make a less noticeable statement with their commitment to a healthier smile. The natural look of these smooth, sculpted and completely clear ceramic braces are strong and will not stain or discolor.

These ceramic brackets offer our patients the look they want, with all of the functionality of traditional metal brackets. Their comfortable, sculptured design and attractive translucent appearance help provide the self-confidence that comes from wearing braces that look as good as they perform.

Now teens don’t have to worry about embarrassing metal braces in their yearbook photos or Facebook profiles – introducing Invisalign® Teen! Invisalign® Teen is the clear way to straighten teeth without metal braces, using aligners. Aligners are removable and virtually invisible, which means you can straighten your teeth without anyone knowing. You can still eat and drink what you want. Also, you can brush and floss normally to maintain healthy gums and teeth, and there are no wires, metal or brackets to cause mouth abrasions.

We went to leading orthodontists, parents and teens themselves to custom-design an Invisalign system just right for the dental needs of teenagers. With blue-to-clear color-changing aligners to show how long each aligner has been worn, six free replacement aligners in case some are lost or broken, and other changes designed to accommodate growing mouths, Invisalign Teen is the perfect teeth-straightening system for today’s teens’ busy lifestyles!

• A clear way to straighten your teeth without braces.
• Series of clear, removable, custom-made aligners.
• Uses no metal wires or brackets.
• Custom-made for comfort.

• A series of aligners to be changed at intervals set by the doctor.
• Remove only to eat, drink, brush and floss.
• Your teeth will move gradually each week.
• Visit us every 8-10 weeks.
• Total treatment time averages 6-15 months.
• Average number of aligners is between 18 and 30.

By using its advanced technology, Invisalign Teen can treat a broad range of dental and orthodontic conditions, which, in the past, were usually treated with traditional braces.

• Overly crowded teeth
• Widely spaced teeth
• Crossbite
• Overbite
• Underbite

Choosing to straighten your teeth is a big decision that affects not only your appearance, but your lifestyle as well and the benefits of having properly aligned teeth extend far beyond a confident smile. Straightening your teeth can significantly affect your overall dental health.

As an adult, you may be looking to improve your smile for business and/or social reasons. Or maybe you are a teen or the parent of a teen looking for an effective yet modern-day solution for improving your smile. Either way…Invisalign or Invisalign Teen can provide a simple way to accomplish your goals without having to put your life on hold.

With Invisalign, you don't need to worry about the gum and mouth irritation other teeth-straightening methods can cause. The Invisalign aligner trays are not only smooth and comfortable to wear, but they're also removable. That means you can continue doing all the things you normally would, from brushing and flossing to eating whatever you like.

Invisalign effectively treats a wide variety of cases, including crowding, spacing, crossbite, overbite and underbite. No matter what stage you're at in life, you'll appreciate how our cutting-edge approach to treatment has minimal interference in how you live, but has a significant positive impact on how you look and feel about yourself.

While the results may appear the same, when you stop and compare Invisalign to other teeth-straightening options, the advantages become quite clear.

Invisalign clear aligners work the same way traditional braces do: by applying carefully controlled forces to teeth to move them into a better position. But they are not made of metal; instead, they are made of clear, flexible plastic.

Here's how it works: Specialized computer software helps us design a plan for moving your teeth from their current positions into the best possible alignment. This movement will be broken down into perhaps several dozen stages. For each stage, the Invisalign company will manufacture two plastic mouth “trays” or “aligners,” one to fit over your top teeth and one for the bottom. You will wear a series of aligners to be changed at intervals set by the doctor. You will then move on to the next set of aligners in your series to accomplish the next stage of gradual movement. You will keep doing this until your teeth are correctly aligned.

In the past several years, two features have been added to make Invisalign a more appropriate orthodontic treatment method for teenagers. Special “eruption tabs” hold the appropriate amount of space open for molars that have not fully grown in. Invisalign for teens also comes with “compliance indicators” built into the aligner material, which fade with wear. This allows parents, dentists, and the teens themselves, to make sure the trays are being worn as prescribed. Treatment with Invisalign can only be successful if this is the case.

One of the main advantages of the Invisalign system is that the trays can be removed for easy cleaning. So please don't neglect to do this! You'll need to brush your teeth after every meal or snack so that food and plaque do not get trapped in the aligners, which could promote tooth decay and gum disease. Your aligners, too, will have to be cleaned regularly; you can do this by brushing them and then rinsing them with lukewarm water.

Also, please keep in mind that while wearing clear aligners is very different from wearing braces, the importance of retaining your post-treatment results is exactly the same. You'll want to be sure to wear your retainer(s) exactly as prescribed after your treatment is completed to protect your investment in a beautiful new smile.

One of the first questions people tend to have when considering Invisalign is, "How much will it cost?" The good news is that most individuals are pleasantly surprised to discover that the cost of Invisalign treatment is usually comparable to the cost of traditional braces. Many dental insurance plans cover Invisalign just as they would other orthodontic treatments like traditional braces and your insurance carrier can help you to determine the exact coverage for your treatment. If your insurance does not cover all of your treatment costs or if cost is a concern for you, talk to our staff about payment options. Our office offers flexible, interest-free financing.

The exact cost of Invisalign Treatment varies and is based on the specific needs of the individual patient. These factors can include the complexity of your treatment plan, how long your treatment will take and your orthodontic insurance coverage. During your initial examination, we will provide you with a thorough examination to determine the cost for your Invisalign Treatment.

Each patient’s treatment is individualized and unique depending on complexity.

Schedule an initial consultation today to learn how Invisalign can straighten your teeth.