Dr. Daniel Alexander Flores, DDS, MS

Braces do not cause gum inflammation, unless if they are touching the gums, in which case, some gum inflammation will occur. However, if you do not brush thoroughly and keep your teeth, braces, and/or appliances clean, the food that braces and appliances trap will stay on your teeth and cause plaque formation. Plaque is full of bacteria that release acids that will cause gum inflammation and eventually periodontal disease. This inflammation of the gums, causes the gums to swell and get closer to the braces/appliances and thus trap more food, causing more plaque, more inflammation. Thus a vicious circle of food to plaque to gum inflammation gets started. But, if you brush and floss your teeth and keep your braces and or appliances clean, you should not get plaque and gum inflammation from braces. So good luck with your braces and keep them clean!

Daniel A. Flores, DDS, MS

Yes. A deep or severe overbite can be corrected in adults with orthodontic treatment. The nice thing about teeth is that their roots are set in a bony socket and connected to the bone with periodontal ligaments. Both pressure and tension from orthodontic forces, on the ligaments, are important in allowing the teeth to move through bone, through bone remodeling, no matter what age you may be. So, if you have a deep overbite or have an open bite (lack of an overbite) and are an adult, orthodontic treatment is a good treatment option to correct your bite.

Daniel A. Flores, DDS, MS

Avoid foods and snacks with a lot of refined sugar. Refined sugar will feed the bad bacteria in your mouth and cause excess plaque and acids to destroy the enamel on your teeth. Brush your teeth and braces after all meals and floss your teeth at least once a day. Use the special brushes and oral hygiene products your orthodontist gave you (proxy brush, end tuft brush, Platypus flosser, etc), as part of your starter kit, and use them as directed and needed. Also, an electric toothbrush (Sonicare, Oral B, Rotadent, etc.) and/or water pik or other water flosser can aid tremendously in keeping your teeth and braces clean. Rinsing with an antiseptic mouth rinse like Listerine Total Care using a toothpaste like MI paste can help kill the bad bacteria in your mouth and help remineralize weakened/decalcified enamel. Continue to see your dentist every 6 months, or more often as recommended, for an exam and teeth cleaning. If you do all of these things, you will maintain your teeth and braces as clean as possible and get through orthodontic treatment without any damage to your teeth! 
Good luck and keep your teeth clean!

Daniel A. Flores, DDS, MS

It all depends on the individual situation, on whether a tooth needs to be extracted before getting braces. I would ask the doctor why it is necessary and get a second opinion from an orthodontist or another orthodontist.

Daniel A. Flores, DDS, MS

If you have sensitive teeth, a toothpaste like Sensodyne, is helpful to reduce sensitivity. The cause of the sensitivity is important to determine and the dentist should help you determine that. Once the cause has been determined, treatment options to take care of the sensitivity can be determined, discussed, and selected. As for orthodontics, if the teeth are crooked and the bite is bad, orthodontic treatment is recommended. However, the cause for the sensitive teeth should be taken care of first. Discomfort from orthodontic treatment is normal, due to pressure from the teeth moving, which can be reduced with light continuous nickel-titanium archwires, advil and/or tylenol, and/or vibration therapy like acceledent or propel v-pro.

Daniel A. Flores, DDS, MS

There is not an age limit for braces or other types of orthodontic treatment.

Daniel A. Flores, DDS, MS

Your child needs to know that braces are a food trap and that tooth and brace brushing, along with daily flossing, is going to be very important. Brushing after every meal will be very important. Also, you may want to get an electric tooth brush and a water pik to aid in the brushing and flossing. Also, braces today are much more comfortable than they were 30 years ago. However, tooth movement, may still cause some discomfort, so be prepared to take some pain medication, advil or tylenol or a combo of the two. Also, use wax to help your lips and cheeks to get used to the braces. 
Good luck! You have made a great decision to change the life of your child with a beautiful smile!

Daniel A. Flores, DDS, MS

If you haven't worn your retainer for 1 week, I doubt your orthodontist will know. However, if you consistently do not wear your retainer, your retainer will probably stop fitting, due to your teeth moving, and your orthodontist will know you are not wearing your retainer. So, the key to retainers is to be consistent, and wear them as instructed by your orthodontist. My patients are told to wear their retainers full time for 1 year, then half time the 2nd year, followed by decreasing wear until 1 day per week for life. If you eventually wear your retainer 1 day per week for like, your teeth will remain straight and your smile will stay beautiful for life! Totally worth the effort!

Daniel A. Flores, DDS, MS

Yes, depending on your bite, orthodontic treatment can usually correct the gap between the two front teeth. Other things to have evaluated are possible causes of the gap, which could be a low maxillary frenum attachment, a tongue thrust, a habit of placing something between the teeth, or small-sized teeth.

Daniel A. Flores, DDS, MS

Invisalign or clear aligner treatment can be as good as braces if the movement of the teeth is very easy and simple. However, if the movement of the teeth requires moving teeth that require severe rotation, tipping, proclination, extrustion, intrusion, reclination, then braces are better than clear aligners. Clear aligners have some limitations when it comes to moving teeth that require a lot of movement to align them. An alternative treatment, would be combination treatment or hybrid treatment, where you place braces on for a few months to correct the severe movements needed and then finish treatment with clear aligners.

Daniel A. Flores, DDS, MS

If part of your braces fell off, and you are not in any discomfort, it is not considered an emergency. You should call your orthodontist and let them know what has happened, so they can determine if you should come in ASAP or come in at your scheduled appointment. They will add time to your appointment, to repair your broken braces and determine what caused your braces to fall off. The glue that holds the braces to your teeth is like glass, and like a window on a car, it can get small cracks due to strong forces from eating hard, crunchy, chewy, sticky foods. Also, trauma to the head and face can cause braces to fall off or the glue to get cracks. Due to continued forces, these cracks grow, like the cracks on a car window, the glass like glue becomes weaker, until the crack is so large that it finally fails and the bracket falls off.

Daniel A. Flores, DDS, MS

Some patients experience some level of discomfort when their braces are removed because the teeth are no longer being held in place in their bone socket by arch wires and braces and ties. The teeth are free to move within the space of the bone socket, called settling, and this could cause some stretching and compressing of the nerve fibers attached to the periodontal ligaments attached to the roots of the teeth and the surrounding bone. It is this stretching and compressing of the nerve fibers that can cause some discomfort, which usually goes away after a few days, and is usually treated by some Tylenol and Advil as needed. If the pain persists after two weeks, the patient should see the orthodontist for further evaluation of the cause of the pain.

Daniel A. Flores, DDS, MS

Retainers should be worn full time for about half the time you had active orthodontic treatment. For example, if you had active orthodontic treatment for 24 months, then you would need to wear your retainers full time for 12 months. After the full time period, you should wear retainers for the same period of time at night. Then after the night time wear period, you may begin to ween yourself off retainers by going every other night for a few months, then every 3 nights, then every 4 nights, until you you reach every 7th night. After that, you should wear your retainers every 7th night for the rest of your life, to keep you teeth aligned and preserve your investment in straight teeth. Teeth are not set in stone and various forces from the cheeks, tongue, eating, and habits can shift the teeth over a period of time. To avoid the inevitable shifting of teeth, a small investment in time wearing your retainers, will go a long way to preserving your beautiful smile.

Daniel A. Flores, DDS, MS

One of the best ways to whiten your teeth after your braces come off is to use your clear vac type retainers, which are delivered to you when your braces come off, and simply place a drop of bleaching solution into each tooth area you want to bleach, and use as instructed by the bleach brand you decide to use. You can request these clear aligner type retainers from your orthodontist. In a few days, you should have whiter teeth, depending on how many shades of whitening you desire and manufacturers recommendations. Also, you may opt for the in office whitening procedure, with the light, which will whiten your teeth a few shades in a couple of hours, followed up with home bleaching. Less expensive ways to whiten your teeth include whitening toothpastes, rinses, gum, rubbed on ointments. 
Good luck and congrats on getting your braces off!

Daniel A. Flores, DDS, MS

Invisible braces are braces that are tooth colored or clear and blend in with the color of your teeth. These tooth colored/clear braces are made of either porcelain or plastic. Another type invisible braces are lingual braces, which are placed on the back side of the teeth and can't be seen when you smile. Tooth colored/clear braces and lingual braces are typically more expensive than traditional metal braces because they cost the orthodontist more to purchase from suppliers. Also, special instruments and wires are needed to work with lingual braces, which add to the cost of lingual braces. Cost will vary from office to office, but typically, the fee for Invisible braces will be more than metal braces. 

Daniel A. Flores, DDS, MS

Fortunately, braces do not cause any damage or injury during the fitting/bonding process. The teeth are prepared for bonding and the brackets are placed directly on to the teeth and the bonding material holds the braces on the teeth until the orthodontist removes the braces. More good news! Bonding braces does not hurt at all and there is no need to numb your mouth for that procedure. I would encourage you to proceed with orthodontic treatment with an orthodontic specialist near you. A beautiful, confident smile will positively change your life! 

Daniel A. Flores, DDS, MS

Nothing has been found to be as effective as the mother's breast for proper dental arch development in an infant. There are many bottles with various nipple shapes, but nothing compares to the mother's nipple. The infant will develop proper sucking and swallowing patterns through breast feeding that are not available through bottle feeding. Also, mother's milk is the best source for nutrition and immune support for the infant. Also, once teeth erupt in the infant, it is very important not to give the infant a bottle with milk at bedtime in order to prevent bottle mouth caries. The sugars in milk will cause decay as the bacteria in the mouth feed on the sugars in the milk, giving off acids that promote tooth decay. Only use water at bedtime in the bottle! 

Daniel A. Flores, DDS, MS

Great! You are never too old to get your teeth straightened and get that beautiful confident smile you have always wanted. It will change your life!
You have very many options for orthodontic treatment today, including clear tray aligners-like Invisalign, esthetic clear braces, esthetic metal braces, or a combination of braces and clear aligners-hybrid treatment. Depending on your teeth and your bite, your orthodontist will determine the best treatment option for your particular case.

The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that all bad bites be evaluated by an orthodontist by the age of 7 years old. If your son's age is near that age, I would recommend that you take him to an orthodontist for an orthodontic exam. If orthodontic treatment is needed, the orthodontist will advise you of the best approach to treat your son's bad bite.

Sometimes, braces will irritate the lips and cheeks when initially placed as the mouth is not used to having braces attached to the teeth. To help the "skin of your mouth" through the first few days of braces, place some soft wax over your braces to provide a soft, smooth surface. Also, you can rinse with warm salt water to help your lips and cheeks heal from any irritation and you can place some over-the-counter topical anesthetic to reduce any soreness. Your lips and cheeks will adapt to the braces after a few days and you will not need to use the wax or topical anesthetic any longer.