6 month braces

[s_smiles]

Has anyone heard of six month braces? It’s actually called the Powerprox six month braces technique. The offer clear braces and for those who don’t want anyone to see their braces they also have lingual braces. Check it out and let me know what you think.

[shannon]

I did a search for Powerprox on the internet and got some good information. I have already had braces, but I am going to pass this on to some friends. I did read that some treatments may take longer that six months.

[tvaysman]

I am an orthodontist practicing in NYC. Regarding your question I would say that is something sounds too good to be true it is. Teeth will only move at a certain rate regardless of what system of braces is used. The length of treatment usually depends of the complexity of your problem. Some minor problems in truth do only take about 6 months, but a lot of treatments need longer to get the ideal results unless you are willing to settle for only partial improvements.

I hope that you find this helpful.

Regards,

Dr. Tanya Vaysman
Upper Eastside orthodontists
153 East 87th Street, #1B
New York, NY, 10128
212-360-0835
Dr. Tanya Vaysman New York Orthodontist

[Zoso]

And the catch with PowerProx is that it, for the most part, only addresses the aesthetic of the anterior teeth.

The other catch (at least in my personal opinion) is that, as far as I am aware, all doctors offering PowerProx are general dentists, whose "orthodontic training" might be as little as a weekend seminar, or even a correspondence course.

[mariahfromchicago]

Do the 6 month braces cost less than the regular ones because there are less appointments, so that means less chair time?

[Sunny]

Mariah I don't know anyone who's had this treatment, but on the official website it states that the cost is less. I'd expect it to be less, as your bite isn't being corrected as with the usual type of treatment, but this is more about having the appearance of your teeth from the front, being more pleasing.

Chair time is only one expense with orthodontic treatment, and with modern archwires, this has been cut considerably. Many orthodontist now see their patients every 10-16 weeks, instead of the once popular 4-8 weeks. Some use the latest equipment and still prefer to see their patients more often, but I doubt they'd charge for that. Less chair time doesn't necessarily result in a less expensive option, but it can be helpful for those with a busy lifestyle.

[mariahfromchicago]

Sunny, I thought so...
Wow! 10-16 weeks?! Interesting...

[Sunny]

With the modern memory archwires, they are shaped to perfect your arch to the shape it should be, and will keep working until your arch is in that shape. ... but it does get more complicated than that, in that often other things need assistance to help the arch get corrected. For example gaps needing to be closed. Therefore it's important for the orthodontist to check that progress is going as it should be, and sometimes adding something to help.

More and more patients can go through orthodontic treatment having very few archwires. This has many advantages to the comfort and chair time for patients. Plus it has the added bonus of not increasing patient costs, as although these high quality archwires are more expensive, by not needing so many, the cost doesn't change a great deal.

[Zoso]

And Powerprox relies on essentially the same types of archwires and brackets as "conventional" orthodontia.

Whilst it's true that the modern archwires and bracket systems (and "modern" is a relative term - there has not been any radical change in a couple of decades - NiTi wires were in fact first introduced in 1972, although they did not see widespread immediate adoption) can allow for longer intervals between appointments, a great many orthodontists do still opt to keep the intervals shorter, and around eight weeks (and often less) still seems more the norm. Nevertheless, it's undeniably true that there are docs out there who do take advantage of being able to see patients at longer intervals, since this allows a practice to see more patients (and gross more fees) without increasing staff or facilities costs.

[Tara19]

ya I'm not sold on 6 month braces at all... just correcting the front teeth would really shortchange someone

[proxbraces]

I am doing PowerProx Braces - I got them on 3 days ago. Mine are clear brackets, clear bands and teeth colored wire - they blend in very well, from a short distance away you can't see them, and they are only noticable close up if you are smiling. They don't seem to show up in pictures.

I had traditional braces as a teen for 4 long years, and have had enough relapse - front two teeth overlap and bottom teeth very crowded - to warrant fixing them AGAIN. I'm 29 years old.

I don't need work on my bite of most of my teeth, just wanted to straighten back out the front, my dentist says it will be 5-6 months for my tops and 6-7 months for the bottom.

I forgot how painful it was when the braces first go on...the pain of the getting used to the "hardware", i have 3 canker sores already, I can only eat soft foods. I think this will go away soon.

I just keep thinking soon I'll have straight teeth again...I hope it works!

[Sunny]

Proxy it's important for you to care for your mouth the same as any orthodontic patient, as the main difference between treatments is that you're only going to have a change in a few teeth and your bite and other teeth will not be treated. You still need to keep well hydrated and use wax and take great care, so that you don't develop mouth sores and can eat well and keep healthy.

In general having braces shouldn't be painful, but for a few people it can be. Good luck with your mouth getting adjusted and with you achieving the results you desire.

[proxbraces]

day 8 w/ powerprox braces - the pain/soreness of my teeth went away by day 3/4 and i adjusted to the "hardware" by day 4/5 - i'm pain free now - so just short adjustment period.

they continue to be un-noticable. one thing i am not impressed with is that the "tooth colored" wire - in that the "tooth-coloring/white" of the wire seems to already be wearing off in a few places, showing silver, it's not Terrible, for it's only been one week.

the wire does get changed every 4 weeks.

[proxbraces]

oh, and i'm amazed - only 8 days and i can actually already see movement, it's very small and only i would notice and there is still a long way to go, but so already notice even slight movement in the first week - i was surprised.

[Zoso]

You'll want to clarify with your dentist whether those wires will be changed every four weeks (unless that was specified ahead of time) because it is very common in orthodontic treatment for the same wire to be left in place through one or more adjustments.