Regardless of your age, wearing braces is no fun. While they can move your teeth into alignment and give you a perfect smile, braces also involve multiple visits to your orthodontist over an average of 2 years. The time required for braces to work can often be a deterrent for people considering this treatment, especially if they are adults who need a faster option with fewer appointments required. At Rollins & Peterson Orthodontics in Mesa, AZ, we’re proud to offer accelerated orthodontics, a proven method that can cut your treatment time with braces in half.
What Is Accelerated Orthodontics?
Accelerated orthodontics offers you a faster route to a new smile. This straightforward, relatively painless treatment–also known as Propel–is designed to stimulate bone production in your jaw, which can decrease the time it takes for your teeth to shift into place while wearing braces. The process of bone growth stimulation, called Alveocentesis, involves drilling tiny holes into the bone surrounding your teeth and can be compared to bone remodeling.
While new bone growth occurs, the teeth can move more freely. Once the teeth are in the desired position, the bone heals and holds them in place. While other similar treatments treat the whole mouth at one time, Propel focuses on one quadrant or even one tooth at a time to ensure that you achieve a balanced and stable result.
Some patients need only one appointment to effectively address their concerns and accelerate their treatment. For other patients, several appointments are required. By spreading out treatment as necessary, we preserve the integrity of your bone structure and ensure that you don’t experience loose teeth or uneven results when your braces are removed.
How Does It Work?
This in-office accelerated orthodontics treatment requires just a fraction of your time, involves little to no discomfort, and has a zero-downtime recovery. We use a small, handheld Propel device in this appointment, which resembles a mini-drill and is used to create tiny holes in the bone above the target teeth.
It includes an accurate depth sensor to ensure the precise placement of these small holes. Our skilled doctors turn this device clockwise by hand to drill a short depth into the bone. Typically, only 1-3 holes are drilled in each target area, and the entire process takes just a few minutes.
Is It Advisable to Move My Teeth More Quickly?
You may be wondering how safe it is to encourage faster tooth movement. While there is significant evidence that performing this treatment on the entire mouth at one time is not advisable since it delivers sub-par results, focusing on one quadrant or one tooth at a time is both safe and effective. The reaction triggered by Propel helps speed treatment time, increases bone thickness and health, and decreases your likelihood of experiencing negative side effects of braces.
Focusing on just one area at a time preserves the integrity of your bone structure and keeps your teeth from becoming too loose during treatment. In addition, this treatment is highly customizable, allowing our experienced doctors to adjust the depth and number of the holes created to address your unique situation and concerns.
Because of this, each patient is able to achieve their ideal results after completing a personalized treatment plan. While some patients may require more treatments than others and teeth may move at different rates, accelerated orthodontics is a viable treatment option for most patients.
Do I Need to Have Braces for Treatment?
This treatment is designed to accelerate the movement of teeth. Because of this, ideal candidates always wear braces or an Invisalign aligner, which are both designed to shift the teeth. Once the bone structure is impacted by Alveocentesis, your braces or aligner will be able to work more quickly, and your orthodontist will be able to adjust your treatment time accordingly. If you have any questions about your candidacy for treatment, one of our doctors would be happy to discuss this exciting option with you.
What Are the Benefits of Treatment?
If you’re a busy professional or a high school student with a countdown to graduation, you know that you don’t want to wear your braces for one minute longer than necessary. Braces, while effective for most patients, can be uncomfortable or embarrassing to wear. Plus, the time you spend in your orthodontist’s office for regular adjustments is time you can never get back.
This revolutionary orthodontic treatment offers you the chance to cut your time wearing braces by as much as 50% with zero downtime and just one treatment needed for many patients. In addition, patients who pursue this treatment are less likely to experience common negative side effects of braces, which typically worsen with time. These side effects can include pain from teeth movement, increased risk of cavities, staining, and gum inflammation.
Some of these conditions can require dental work and more bills after your braces are removed, and the health of your teeth and gums can be permanently impacted without proper intervention. The more quickly your orthodontist can move your teeth into place, the less time and money you’ll need to spend after treatment correcting negative side effects.
What Should I Expect?
If you’re considering treatment, our dedicated staff is ready to walk with you every step of the way. Every patient’s experience is different, but our goal is to help everyone achieve the same accelerated rate of treatment and exceptional results. Here’s a general idea of what our patients experience when they choose to pursue treatment.
Consultation
We always begin with an initial consultation, which allows one of our doctors to examine your teeth and discuss your unique concerns and goals for treatment. You’ll be able to ask any questions you may have, and our doctors will help you evaluate your candidacy for treatment based on your bone structure, teeth and gum health, medical history, and the issues which your braces will address.
This will involve a dental exam, which is critical to help us visualize any issues you may experience, and may also include X-rays to allow us to evaluate your bone structure and health. Once your doctor is finished evaluating your teeth, they will explain more about this accelerated treatment and the results they anticipate in your case.
After this, as long as you are an ideal candidate you will be approved for treatment. Your doctor will also recommend a personalized plan for accelerated orthodontics that fits your specific situation. For most patients, this involves 1-5 treatments spaced 6-8 weeks apart. After you are approved for treatment, you can begin looking forward to your first treatment.
Treatment
Your treatment will be performed in one of our office locations by a skilled and experienced doctor. First, your doctor will ask you to rinse your mouth with a sterilizing solution to make sure your teeth and gums are clean. Next, they will numb the target area, which is typically one quadrant of your mouth. They will apply a numbing gel to the gums above the target teeth, which takes between 15-20 minutes to take effect.
Once your gums are numb, your doctor will use a specially designed handheld device to create 1-3 tiny perforations in your gums and drill into your bone. This process involves little to no discomfort and takes just a few minutes to complete. When your doctor is finished, you’ll be able to return to your normal activities with zero downtime. You’ll be able to see the tiny, pinprick holes in your gums immediately after treatment, but they usually heal quickly over the next several days.
Recovery
Over the first few days after treatment, your gums will begin to heal. It’s advisable to avoid any strong or irritating foods or drinks during this time to prevent discomfort. In addition, you should be careful while brushing your teeth and avoid irritating the treated area. Your doctor may recommend that you avoid strong mouthwash for the first 1-3 days especially.
Most patients experience complete healing of the gums within one week. The tiny holes created in your bone will take longer to heal. During treatment, your immune system triggers a chain reaction that stimulates new bone growth. This bone growth is designed to repair the small holes and restore the integrity of your bone structure.
However, this process takes several weeks, during which time your teeth are able to shift more easily. This means that your orthodontist can accelerate your treatment and move your teeth towards their final positions in a shorter amount of time.
Results
Depending on your doctor’s recommendations, you may need more than one treatment in order to see optimal results. If this is the case, we typically wait 6-8 weeks between treatments. This allows the bone structure affected during your previous treatment to heal completely and reduces the risk of loose teeth moving too quickly.
Once your recommended treatment plan is complete, your teeth should be much closer to their intended final positions. Many patients are able to see the immediate change in their smile and experience a confidence boost as they look forward to having their braces removed. Once your orthodontist determines that you no longer need braces or an aligner, you should see straighter, correctly aligned teeth and a genuine smile thanks to your accelerated treatment.
Who Is an Ideal Candidate?
This treatment is ideal for most patients with solid, healthy bone structure and all their permanent teeth. We will perform a comprehensive dental exam during your initial consultation and may take X-rays to confirm that your bones are healthy and stable. Ideal candidates are often seeking faster results from their braces or aligners, want to spend less time at their orthodontist’s office, or are just beginning to wear braces or aligners and want to supplement their treatment plan.
Both children with all of their permanent teeth and adults are ideal candidates for treatment. Since adult teeth are more set in their current position, movement takes longer and is more uncomfortable. Adults often find that accelerated treatment alleviates the typical pain of traditional braces. Best of all, accelerated treatment means faster results for children and adults alike. One of our doctors will help you determine your candidacy during your initial consultation.
Contact Us to Learn More!
When you learn that you need braces, you may believe this means several grueling years of adjustments and discomfort. However, with accelerated orthodontics, you could cut your treatment time in half, preserve the health of your teeth, minimize discomfort, and see your results appear much faster. To learn more about how this treatment can deliver your perfect smile in a shorter time, contact Rollins & Peterson Orthodontics in Mesa, AZ to schedule an initial consultation. We look forward to serving you!
