Everyone is a little different when it comes to pain, but braces are not particularly painful for the average person. Teeth may feel a little sore right after adjustments, but this fades quickly as your body gets accustomed to the changes. Some people are more sensitive than others, and to those people we recommend standard painkillers such as Advil or Tylenol as needed.

This depends on the type of treatment you need. Most patients need comprehensive treatment which typically ranges from 18-24 months. This is a pretty safe guess, but we cannot say for sure without seeing you for a consultation so our doctor can evaluate your treatment needs.

We like to see our patients every 4-6 weeks for regular adjustments. A typical adjustment appointment takes about 30 minutes. Other appointments such as bonding the brackets may be longer, and our staff will inform you of the appointment length when scheduling. An appointment may also take longer if there is an unexpected issue to be addressed such as a broken bracket.

Please do not be more than 10 minutes late to your appointment. We do our best to accommodate late patients if we are able, but this is not always possible and we may need to reschedule the appointment.

A missed appointment may slow treatment slightly, but this is pretty negligible as long as it does not happen often. We would appreciate notice that you will not make it if possible, but there is no fee or penalty for missed appointments. Just give us a call to reschedule and we will get you back on track!

Frequently missing appointments can become a different matter entirely. This can slow treatment significantly and is often paired with poor compliance for orthodontic instructions. If we are unable to make progress with your treatment due to poor attendance, we may need to talk about terminating treatment for the sake of your dental health.

Yes. Retainers are a very important part of successful orthodontic treatment. For 6 months after the braces are removed, retainers should be worn whenever you are not eating or brushing your teeth. After this period, we recommend wearing them at night. A good rule to live by with retainers is to wear them MORE OFTEN if they feel tight. Tightness is generally a sign that your teeth are trying to shift and the retainer is correcting that.

Failure to wear retainers as instructed may result in teeth shifting. Depending on the type and severity of this shifting, another round of orthodontic treatment may be necessary in order to fix the issue. If you lose or break your retainers we highly recommend purchasing new ones as soon as possible to prevent shifting! We understand buying new retainers is not fun, but it is MUCH cheaper than doing braces over again.

We are happy to help should you need us again in the future. If teeth have shifted and you need treatment again, set up a free consultation with us. The doctor will evaluate what treatment is needed and we will give you a quote - just like your first visit.

The #1 reason patients come back for retreatment is not wearing retainers. Don't let this be you! Retreatment usually falls under the less expensive limited treatment category, but is far more costly than simply replacing lost retainers.

THERE IS NO WARRANTY - we unfortunately have no way of confirming whether a patient is wearing retainers as instructed once they are no longer being seen regularly. As such, we are not able to offer any form of warranty or guarantee. We always make sure you are satisfied with treatment before removing braces, but it will be your responsibility to follow post-treatment instructions and maintain your results!