How often and what happens?

How often will my child have to go to the orthodontist during treatment?

During treatment, we typically see our patients every 6–10 weeks with appointments sometimes every 4 weeks for the last few months.

What happens during these appointments?

After the first appointment, the next three to four visits typically involve changing the wires as we progress from a very light wire to a stronger one. The early “light” wires are very small and do most of the straightening. The larger “strong” wires are placed as the teeth get straighter and are used as support while we fine tune the bite.

Most people think that we tighten the braces at each appointment, which is really a bit of a misnomer. The tightness that patients feel is usually from the progression in the wires or from the tweaking that we do to the wires to help get you that perfect bite!

We also do many other things at these adjustment appointments, including evaluating brushing, treatment progress, position of brackets and teeth, and root alignment.