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We believe that a great brace journey is about more than straight teeth.
It’s about expert guidance, clear planning, and feeling supported at every stage, with bespoke orthodontic care tailored to your individual needs.
Your journey begins with a comprehensive evaluation of your concerns and how your bite currently fits together. Here you will meet our clinician and explain your concerns with your smile. The clinician will take a look at your teeth, gums and jaw alignment. Following this initial assessment, the clinician will present how your concerns could be corrected and the best types of brace to address these issues.
To create a precise picture of your needs, the team will take digital X-rays, 3D scans and clinical photographs
From the initial assessment and the results of the diagnostic records, your orthodontist will discuss their findings and explain treatment options in detail which are bespoke to correcting your misalignment and the braces which will achieve the end goals (e.g., removable braces, fixed braces or Invisalign).
You will receive a written estimate, treatment timeline, and information on payment plans. There are many payment terms available, aimed to suit individual requirements. Our treatment coordinator will go over these options with some plans attracting 0% interest.
Before braces are fitted, certain preparatory steps may be necessary.
All existing issues, like tooth decay or gum disease, must be treated first.
If your mouth is overcrowded, your dentist may need to remove certain teeth to make space for movement and alignment. Our primary aim during the treatment planning is to avoid the need for tooth removal when addressing tooth alignment. Our treatment discussion will be focused around this, using alternative treatment options and methods where clinically possible
This appointment marks the official start of active treatment and typically takes 1 hour.
Teeth are cleaned and dried before brackets or aligner attachments are bonded to each tooth using a specialised dental adhesive.
A thin metal wire (archwire) is threaded through the brackets and secured with elastic modules. Many patients enjoy customising their brace with coloured elastic modules to suit their look or season! Clear aligners are simply placed over the tooth-coloured attachments to give a discrete look.
To prevent damaging your teeth or the appliance, you will receive specific instructions on how to brush, floss, what foods & drinks to avoid and which to choose throughout your brace journey.
This is the longest phase, often lasting 12 to 36 months depending on the severity of the bite.
Every 4 to 8 weeks, you will visit the practice for adjustments.
Fine-Tuning: The orthodontist replaces wires and elastics to keep applying gentle pressure, gradually moving teeth into position and correcting bite issues. Aligner patients will be provided with the next sequence of aligners once the tooth tracking has been assessed and any contact point adjustments have been undertaken.
Brackets are popped off, and any remaining adhesive is gently polished away from the tooth surface.
Without the brace in the way, our hygienist will provide a state-of-the-art tooth and gum clean which cleans away any coffee stains you have acquired along the way and provides an antibacterial polish for the gums. Now you are ready to show off your new smile.
Once the brace is off, this is when our clinician can discuss any further needs you may have regarding the smile. This is where we can further brighten with tooth whitening, repair any chipped edges to teeth with edge bonding or place composite bonding or veneers over misshapen/incorrectly formed teeth.
This final stage is critical for maintaining your results.
You will be fitted for a custom retainer (fixed or removable) to prevent teeth from shifting back to their original positions.
Your clinician will advise on how long to wear the retainer and will provide our inclusive 12 months of follow-up checks (months 4, 8 & 12) to ensure your smile stays straight.
“Such a clean and friendly practice. You can tell Phil loves his job, he’s amazing at what he does. Tina the receptionist can’t do enough to help you. All the staff are super friendly and helpful. Would highly Recommend.”
“A huge thank you to Halima and Jess at Oakland Dental Practice. My orthodontic treatment took just over a year. Halima was absolutely brilliant in explaining each stage and went the extra mile to ensure all bases were covered. I’m really happy with my teeth.”
“Friendly professional atmosphere. Excellent routine dentistry and recently had amazing results with tooth whitening, would highly recommend practice.”
“Amazing dentist. Highly recommend. Received composite bonding treatment, did a perfect job.”
“Lovely clean practice, friendly staff, and the best cleaning I’ve had. Airflow left my mouth feeling brand new. Thank you Adele and Rosie. Great team!! See you soon.”
“Absolutely amazing service from all of the staff and I have been coming here for years. Kind, friendly and very helpful when talking you through your treatment. Dr Philip Eccles has kept me updated throughout the process and I am so happy with the outcome of my treatment. I couldn’t recommend Oakland Dental Family Practice enough!”
