The Powerprox Six Month Braces® Technique

Can you imagine having straight teeth and a great smile in just six months? That s right six months! You are not dreaming. You did read that correctly.

The Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique is not a dream, but it can be the answer to the dreams of many patients.

As the name implies the Powerprox Six Month Braces technique® is an orthodontic treatment that is completed in 6 months. Allow me to clarify; the great majority of cases are completed in a treatment time of 6 months. Some patient s are actually treated in less time. Some very difficult cases can take more time. Even these difficult cases are often treated in just 8 or 9 months. So treatment is completed in 4 to 9 months with most cases being completed in 6 months.

The Goal of the Powerprox Six Month Braces® Technique

Most patients seeking orthodontic treatment have a chief complaint related to the esthetics of their teeth. Although some patient s may have complaints related to TMJ problems, headaches, or facial profile concerns; the great majority of patients want to improve their smiles. The goal of the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique is to give the patient a great smile. The Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique is analogous to porcelain veneers, bonding and other cosmetic dentistry procedures. Instead of preparing the teeth and bonding porcelain veneers to them, the teeth are moved orthodontically to their most beautiful position. This is not to say that we do not change the bite because we do, but the main focus of treatment is the anterior cosmetics of the front teeth. This usually solves the chief complaint of the patient and gives the desired result  a great smile.

This patient wanted a great smile and she got it& in 5 months!

How does the Powerprox Six Month Braces® Technique  Work?

The Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique is actually a combination of time tested orthodontic techniques that have been put together in a new and exciting way. Some of the techniques have been used for well over 60 years and have been well documented in the orthodontic literature. These techniques were put together in the 1980 s and the technologies to implement them have finally been made available. A key ingredient of the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique procedure is the use of Hi-tech archwires. These wires exert a light continuous force to gently move the teeth to the desired position.

Will the Powerprox Six Month Braces® Technique Work on Me? My teeth are all crowded together.

The most common chief complaint of patients seeking orthodontic treatment is crowding. Crowded cases are treated very well with the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique. So how do we gain space to fit all the teeth into the arch? Most crowded cases have large teeth in a small jaw, or arch. In many cases simply rounding out and developing the constricted arch will give you enough room to align the crowded teeth.

In this case simply rounding out the constricted arch gave enough room to alleviate the crowding and give the desired result.

Some more severe cases will require enamel reproximation along with arch development to obtain the desired result. Enamel reproximation is gentle polishing between the teeth and is also called slenderizing or reprox. Repox has a 60-year history in orthodontics. It is a very conservative way to help alleviate crowding, it is painless, it does not increase the incidence of tooth decay or periodontal disease and it can help increase long term stability of the final result by slightly flattening the contact points between the teeth.

The lower teeth had more crowding than the upper so a combination of reprox and rounding out the arch gave the desired result. Total treatment time for this difficult case was 7 ½ months.

Will the Powerprox Six Month Braces® Technique  work on me if I have spaces, an overbite, or an underbite?

The Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique will work on almost any type of case. I have personally treated all of the above case types with the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique.  Other case types that can be treated with the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique include, but are not limited to open bites, deep bites, anterior crossbites, and cases that need orthodontics prior to veneer placement.

 

This patient had both crowding and an anterior cross bite. This case was completed in 6 months. This can do nothing but improve the self-esteem of this gentleman.

Are there any cases that are not recommended to be treated with the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique?

There are actually few limitations in regards to the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique. There are certain cases that I do not recommend be treated with the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique. Severe TMJ cases are one example. Although there is great controversy on the orthodontic/TMJ connection, I generally do not recommend the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique in these cases. Having said that, I have relieved the suffering of patients with both TMJ and migraine headaches using the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique. This just was not the main focus of treatment. This often occurs in women aged approximately 40 years who have lingually tilted incisors (incisors tilted back toward the palate). This usually drives the lower jaw backwards and can cause both TMJ symptoms and migraine headaches. Another situation where I might not recommend the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique would be in the case of a patient who is seeking a dramatic profile change. Often times these cases are best treated with surgery no matter how long the braces are worn. Having said that, we will often use the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique as a sort of  dental camouflage of their underlying skeletal problems. One example would be in a case where the patient has large overjet or extremely flared incisors. In these cases we will give the patient the option of comprehensive treatment perhaps with a surgical component or camouflage treatment options with the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique. In the case of a large overjet we would retract the flared incisors to greatly reduce the amount of overjet and to reduce any upper lip flare. By concurrently opening the bite (most of these cases have deep bites) we often can minimize a large chin button. On some of these cases the patient has a small chin and some will consider a chin implant. The end result of the case is that the overjet is GREATLY diminished. The lower jaw may still be posteriorly displaced, but most patients want overbite reduction completed in these cases and we get very nice results.  In most cases the patients are very pleased with the results that camouflage treatment can provide and forego orthagnathic surgery. So as you can see, although there are some limitations to the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique  often times we can still use the technique to get a result that is pleasing both to the patient and the doctor.

    

This patient had flared upper incisors and a large overjet. She chose to perform camouflage treatment to reduce the flare and give her a great smile. This more complicated case took a bit over 8 months.

Is the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique  more dangerous than regular braces? Do they hurt more?

The answer to both of these questions is a resounding NO! The Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique is safe and effective. The Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique is actually a low force technique. Many people think we just  tighten the braces like crazy to get the teeth moving. That aggressive treatment would actually slow down tooth movement by crushing the supporting structures around the teeth. This would also cause pain to the patient. We use wires that exert a light continuous force to move the teeth. This gently moves the teeth in the most comfortable way possible to their desired position. I treat a fair number of relapse cases with the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique and many patient have said that the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique is a far more comfortable procedure than was their traditional orthodontic treatment.  I am often asked if the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique cause any damage to the teeth. The question that is usually asked is: Does the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique because more root resorption than regular braces? Again the answer is NO! Root resorption is one of the most misunderstood aspects of orthodontic treatment and it seems to have the most myths surrounding it. I have done extensive study in this area of orthodontics so please let me shine some light on the subject.  The number one cause of root resorption is individual biology. In other words, you are either highly susceptible to it or you are not. In fact, there are numerous reports of teeth with root resorption on patients who never had orthodontic treatment.  There is great debate on the amount force levels and root resorption. Some researchers say there is a direct relation ship between high force and root resorption and others have shown little relationship between the two. There is much more agreement that there is a direct correlation between root resorption and treatment duration. To say it another way, the longer you wear your braces, the more likely you will have root resorption. So back to the original questions: Does the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique hurt more than regular braces or does it cause more damage than regular braces? The answer is NO. The Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique uses low force over a short period of time. This allows for a very comfortable treatment with a very low likelihood of root resorption.

Can the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique  use clear braces to straighten my teeth?

Yes, the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique allows the use of not only metal braces, but clear braces as well. For those patients who want an  invisible way to straighten their teeth, the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique can use lingual braces that are placed behind your teeth. This way you can invisibly straighten your teeth in 6 months and no one will know you are wearing braces.

   

This patient is wearing braces. They are behind her teeth so no one will see them. Her case will be done in 6 months.

Why hasn t my dentist heard of the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique?

Your dentist may not have heard of this technique yet, but he or she will in the very near future. I have been getting such nice results that I felt an obligation to teach the Powerprox Six Month Braces® technique to my fellow colleagues and have been doing so for approximately 5 years. I have authored five books, 6 DVD s and 5 audio CD s on the subject and I teach doctors from all over the world at my sold-out seminars. 

  

A dramatic life changing result was obtained in this case in just over 7 months.

For more information, please feel free to visit my website www.SixMonthBraces.com
For a FREE consultation please call 440-646-1000.

Warmest regards,

Richard J. DePaul, Jr., DDS

© 2005-2008 R.J DePaul, Jr., DDS and Six Month Braces, LLC. All rights reserved