The changing face of orthodontics

The fact is that most orthodontic treatments take a long time before you can see the results. When you think about it, it makes sense. Teeth are not really designed to be moved. So any efforts to change their growth and direction need to be gentle, careful and slow.

For many years, therefore, orthodontic treatments placed the emphasis on getting the right results. Braces were designed to be effective, rather than attractive. They were designed to correct teeth in the long term. In the short term, you just had to live with them.

In a nutshell, that was the problem for many people. Living with your braces was difficult. They were uncomfortable to wear, hard to clean and so unsightly that many people were too embarrassed to open their mouths. Nor was that the worse aspect of wearing braces: many of the more problematic orthodontic conditions involved wearing your braces for two or three years.

Something had to change. In recent years, companies have realised the potential there is in creating innovative, advanced brackets that are more appealing to consumers. Brackets that are more comfortable. Brackets that are easier to clean. Brackets that work faster or cost less. And, of course, brackets that are less visible.

The technology behind these products varied greatly. However, all of these new types of braces have at least one common feature: they are all designed to be both effective in the long-term and wearable in the short-term.