No one likes being stared at by strangers, or being asked intrusive, personal questions when we are just trying to go about our daily business. And yet that is often what happens when people see someone in a business suit with braces on their teeth. It’s the discordancy between what we expect — teenagers wear braces, grown-ups don’t — and what we see.

That’s why many adults would rather go through life with wonky teeth. They don’t want the attention created by wearing braces that dominate their mouths for two or three years.

So, you’ll be glad to know that the belief that braces have to be made of heavy-duty metal and stay on your teeth for two or three years is a mistaken belief that has not been updated in recent years. These days, braces can be much smaller, and more discreet, made of materials that blend in with the teeth, and sometimes they can be almost invisible to the untrained eye.

Discreet alternatives

In Beaconsfield, clear braces are one of our most popular treatments at Garden View Dental Care. Adults who, for some reason, missed out on braces treatments when they were teenagers are taking advantage of the smaller devices and shorter treatment times offered by clear braces in Beaconsfield.

Such changes are possible because very often adults do not need the strong forces and longer treatments times associated with heavy-duty metal braces. This kind of braces are primarily for treating jaw alignment problems, but when the treatment is to correct simple misalignments of the front teeth only, much gentler forces can be used, and treatment can take a lot less time, sometimes a few weeks or months only.

Clear braces in Beaconsfield tend to have smaller, clear ceramic brackets and tooth-coloured nickel titanium wires. One brand, Six Month Smiles, is designed to treat the front six social teeth only and the average treatment time is six months.

Generally speaking, patients will have to wear a retainer after treatment with clear braces in Beaconsfield. This keeps the teeth in place so that they do not try to wander back to where they were before. It can be a night-time retainer, or one bonded to the backs of the teeth.