Private, Adult & Invisible Orthodontic Braces
All the NHS braces and treatments are also available on a private basis to adult patients and children who do not qualify for NHS treatment. Additional treatments available only on a private basis are:
Clear Ceramic brackets
These are fixed braces, but are clear rather than metal. They therefore look a lot less noticeable than metal fixed braces. These are often the preferred choice of most adult patients.
Invisalign - invisible braces
These are a series of clear plastic aligners which gradually straighten the teeth. These are virtually invisible and can be taken out for eating, cleaning and special social occasions.
Orthocaps - invisible braces
A more affordable invisble brace as the laboratory cost is cheaper. They are also a series of aligners. The only difference being that you wear a slightly thicker aligner for tooth movements while you sleep and a thinner more aesthetic one during the day.
Damon Brackets / Self ligating brackets
These are either metal or ceramic brackets with a clip system which holds the wire in place. The advantages are that there are no elastics needed to hold the wire in place and therefore no chance of the elastics discolouring. Also less visits are needed to adjust the brace and the visits are shorter. Many orthodontists believe that these braces are more comfortable than normal fixed braces and that more widening is achieved giving a better smile and less need to have extraction of teeth.
The In-Ovation C Appliance
Herbst appliance
This is a fixed functional brace. This is most effective on children, but can be used on adults. The lower jaw is held forwards by small metal rods attached to the molar and premolar teeth. The jaw can be moved from side to side still. This takes away the cooperation element for the patient and is used on patients whoӳ upper teeth stick out and/or their lower jaw is set back.
JJ Thompson aligners
Our lab JJ Thompson make their own aligners for simple tooth movements. This is the cheapest of all of the aligner treatments and is used where the movements are not too complex and where we do not need too many aligners.
Interdental stripping
We can sometimes slim down your back and front teeth, rather than extracting teeth. Space can be gained in crowded mouths by this process and we usually either use stripping paper between the teeth by hand held devices or sometimes a disc. We can also use dental drills to create the space. This is a painless process as we are only removing enamel which has no nerve fibres in it. Inderdental stripping is very useful where patients have moderate crowding and wish not to have any extractions.
Demonstrates stripped incisors
