Braces are the conventional dental intervention for correcting misaligned teeth and biting issues, improving oral hygiene, and boosting confidence. These versatile orthodontic devices can address several dental and functional problems, restoring an individual’s radiant smile.
However, braces aren’t the only strategy for achieving these goals. Patients who prefer other alternatives can choose from several options that produce impressive results. Choosing the best alternatives to braces can be confusing, daunting, and stressful. As a trusted provider of Brisbane invisible aligners since 1994, we’re here to help.
This blog will explain the best braces alternatives to help patients make sound buying decisions that improve their dental health and quality of life.
Why Conventional Braces Aren’t Always The Best Choice
- Efficiency: Conventional braces don’t produce immediate results. Many studies have concluded that it takes one to three years for them to become effective.
- Discomfort: Traditional braces produce discomfort because the teeth shift to new positions after their practitioners adjust them. Many patients don’t like this sensation and prefer other alternatives
- Visual imperfections: Conventional metal braces become prominent when a person smiles. Many individuals become self-conscious when wearing braces, prompting them to seek other interventions over time.
- Oral hygiene issues: Traditional metal braces can trap food particles and plaque, requiring meticulous oral hygiene routines that many patients consider burdensome and inconvenient.
- Nutritional limitations: Dentists recommend avoiding sticky, hard, or chewy foods that can damage conventional braces, including nuts, raw carrots, apples, chewing gum, corn chips, taco shells, and pretzels.
- Treatment duration: Lengthy treatment durations lasting eighteen months to three years compel many patients to seek more convenient orthodontic appliances.
Non-Braces Solutions for Teeth Alignment
Retainers
A retainer is a custom-made dental device worn overnight to align the teeth. Patients can choose between the metal or plastic versions and have their dentists customise the fit at their local clinic.
Fixed retainers are orthodontic appliances your practitioner will latch on to your oral cavity permanently. Only a highly experienced dentist can remove them. Retainers hold teeth securely in their positions.
Patients combine other teeth-straightening alternatives with retainers to prevent teeth from shifting, including traditional braces, clear aligners, and palatal expanders (used mainly in children and adolescents).
Studies have shown that consistent retainer use is highly effective in optimising the results of your preferred orthodontic intervention, providing you with the confidence that you will achieve the perfect, radiant smile.
Dental Veneers (Bonded Restoration)
People with chipped, cracked, or discoloured teeth benefit from dental veneers (bonded restoration). Individuals who feel their teeth are disproportionate to their facial features.
Dental veneers are an excellent replacement for traditional braces because they correct crooked, gapped, or uneven teeth. Bonded restoration also whitens, reshapes, and resizes them, providing users with a durable, convenient orthodontic appliance that doesn’t require metals or wires.
Dental veneer costs depend on the specific type, available brand name, and the practitioner’s expertise. Your Annerley dentist can recommend the perfect dental veneers for your unique situation.
Porcelain Dental Crowns
Dental crowns have become more popular recently. Dentists cement these restorative devices onto the tooth’s surface, reshaping and strengthening teeth and enhancing their appearance.
Porcelain dental crowns are an excellent, cost-effective replacement for traditional braces. Individuals who cannot afford the latter can choose the former to align their teeth and achieve a captivating smile with minimal inconvenience and lower costs. Industry experts laud dental crowns for their efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and long-term durability.
They can also provide patients with a reliable, natural teeth whitening solution that produces impressive results.
Palatal Expanders
As the term implies, palatal expanders widen the roof of the mouth, providing the teeth with more space and preventing misalignment and crookedness. In contrast to permanent retainers, palatal expanders can be easily removed and produce impressive, long-lasting results.
Although palatal expanders are affordable, convenient, and efficient, they have a downside: continuous treatment can create gaps in your front teeth because your smile shifts.
Your dentist can correct this situation with a retainer or other teeth alignment strategies.
Dental Aligners
Conventional braces can produce discomfort and irritation, making brushing, flossing, and talking challenging.
Australians can achieve the perfect smile without braces by using dental aligners. Different brands manufacture these orthodontic appliances, so your dentist can recommend the ideal set for your situation.
Regardless of your preferred brand, dental aligners are a proven brace-free option that can fix teeth alignment issues and provide long-term peace of mind.
As Annerley, QLD’s trusted dental service provider for over thirty years, we strongly recommend routine visits to your local practitioner to monitor your progress and prevent oral health issues.
Invisible Braces
Invisible braces (lingual or incognito hidden braces) are the perfect solution for individuals who prefer a discreet way of correcting misaligned teeth.
While conventional braces use bold-coloured brackets such as gold or red, the invisible versions use tiny, noninvasive brackets that dentists fit onto the backs of the teeth to align patients’ smiles inconspicuously.
Incognito hidden braces facilitate treatment times and give practitioners more autonomy over patient results. Since these braces are slimmer than traditional ones, they’re more comfortable.
They’re also easier to clean than conventional braces, especially when using a proven cleaning tool like an electric toothbrush. However, invisible braces are made-to-order, making them more expensive than conventional versions.
Nevertheless, they’re perfect for self-conscious adolescents, engaged couples, or adults who prefer a noninvasive substitute for traditional braces.
Teeth Gap Bands
Teeth gap bands (orthodontic gap bands) are tiny elastic bands that close gaps between teeth. Dentists use these interventions primarily for midline diastema or gaps between the upper front teeth.
Teeth gap bands are a cost-effective and less invasive option than conventional braces. They are easy to use and provide patients with a subtle alternative for closing tooth gaps.
However, improper use may cause discomfort or tooth shifting. For this reason, please consult your dentist on how to use these bands properly.
Conclusion
Traditional metal braces correct complicated dental issues, including severe misalignment and crowding. These orthodontic appliances have endured and become a primary dental solution for many Australians.
Despite conventional braces’ numerous advantages, discomfort, lengthy treatment times, nutritional limitations, visual imperfections, and oral hygiene issues compel many patients to seek other suitable interventions.
If you’re one of those people, retainers, dental veneers, porcelain dental crowns, palatal expanders, dental aligners, invisible braces, and dental gap bands can produce benefits like conventional braces and help you achieve optimal long-term oral health. We strongly urge you to consult your dental practitioner to determine the best strategy for your unique situation.
Please contact us today to discuss your dental concerns and schedule an appointment with one of our highly experienced and skilled dentists. With over thirty years of industry experience, Annerley Dental can provide affordable, customised solutions for patients residing in Brisbane, QLD, and surrounding neighbourhoods.
