With over 25 years of experience in the orthodontic field, Dr Geoffrey Storey has extensive knowledge in all appliances and can therefore guide you with all options available and as to which is the best approach for your individual needs. Our trusted and long-established team have successfully treated thousands of cases in Geelong and Lara and continually achieve excellent results. If you are considering orthodontics or would like a second opinion, then a consultation will assist to clarify your treatment options.
Traditional metal braces
Over the years, advancements in technology have meant that metal braces have become more comfortable and less bulky, meaning that their proven technology can be harnessed in a faster more effective manner, with happier patients and outcomes along the way.
Traditional braces work by applying constant pressure to the teeth to move them into the desired position. This movement can be in a number of directions and can resolve tooth crowding, ‘gappy’ teeth, gummy smiles, malocclusions, crookedness, misaligned bites, mal-aligned or underdeveloped jaws and a number of other dental and orthodontic issues.
At Lifelong Dental, your orthodontic braces are computer designed and customised for each individual person and assessed during your first consultation. We do NOT use a “one size system fits all” approach.
Benefits of Traditional Braces:
When considering straightening your teeth there are a number of proven benefits of traditional braces:
• Rapid, effective treatment for a wider range of cases, including more complex developments
• Can be used with extraction and non-extraction orthodontics
• Can be combined with more advanced appliances for correction of bites
• Compliance is not an issue as the patient cannot remove them or forget to wear them
• Customisable band colours (including tooth coloured) allows unique treatment for teen patients (often helping with compliance)
• In order to achieve the optimal results for an individual, we may have the choice of a combination of initial fixed appliance followed by removable aligners.
Orthodontics for Teens and Children
Traditional braces aren’t just recommended for teenagers. Metal braces can be an effective treatment choice for patients of all ages looking for an orthodontic solution.
The best time to have braces is during early adolescence as the jaw bone is still growing and strengthening and this allows for faster more effective treatment. This does not mean, however, that treatment cannot be conducted at any age. Rather if you are planning to straighten your child’s teeth, utilising growth will allow for shortened treatment times.
Adult Orthodontics
There is currently a revival in the number of adult patients with braces. Many adults prefer the convenience and ease of fixed appliances than the diligence and requirements of removable aligners.
Once your fixed orthodontic treatment is complete you will be required to wear a retainer to reinforce and lock-in the new tooth movement and prevent against relapse. It is very important you wear your retainer diligently as this is how you will maintain the straight smile you have just received.
Caring for traditional braces
Traditional braces need to be cared for to minimise emergency breakages, as well as the removal of food and plaque that can become caught in the brackets and rubbers. As part of undergoing your braces treatment, you will need to brush and floss every day with special brushes and all necessary instructions will be extensively provided by our team.
It is very important that optimal oral hygiene is maintained during treatment as during this time you are at risk of causing discolouration of teeth, inflamed (bleedy or puffy) gums but more importantly acidic demineralisation, which will lead to permanent patchy marks once the braces are removed and weakened enamel for the future.
Once your treatment is complete you will be required to wear a retainer. It is very important you wear your retainer diligently as this is how you will maintain the straight smile you have just received.
Clear Aligners
Straighten your teeth without traditional brackets and wires for an aesthetic treatment and result. Many patients and teenagers with aesthetic considerations may choose to straighten their teeth without the traditional brackets and wires of braces. Dr Geoffrey Storey designs your orthodontic treatment plan with the utilisation of Clear Correct aligner treatments. These sophisticated and computerised diagnostics ensure we provide you with the most optimal treatment outcomes.
Benefits of clear aligners:
The main benefit of clear aligners is the fact they are virtually invisible, meaning you can undergo treatment discreetly. This treatment option also allows you to remove your aligners when you eat and drink, and for special occasions, meaning straightening your teeth does not have to impact your social calendar.
Benefits of clear aligners:
• Virtually invisible treatment
• Custom designed and planned for your teeth
• Option to remove for important events, meetings
• Comfortable treatment with no wires or brackets, removable to eat
• Appropriate for adults and teens and people in with public engagements
Benefits of Orthodontic treatment at Lifelong Dental
Dr Geoffrey Storey has vast experience and passion in all aspects of overall dental care. With the compliment of his highly skilled auxiliary staff including associate dentists, dental hygienists and dental therapists, your complete dental treatment plans and options are formulated and administered in the one office. This is especially important when orthodontics is only part of a greater and sometimes more complex overall treatment plan.
Orthodontics at Lifelong Dental is a unique experience. Confidentiality and comfort are of the utmost importance to our patients. For this reason, our treatment rooms are organised so your orthodontic visits are not shared with multiple other patients as is often the case in some clinics. Dr Geoffrey Storey regularly attends national and international seminars to be at the forefront of new breakthroughs together with his association with “Progressive Orthodontic Seminars” for over a decade and continues to be at the forefront of orthodontic developments.
Dr Geoffrey Storey continues his families longstanding interest in growth and Orthodontics, with his late father being a Professor in the field. Dr Geoffrey Storey is a third-generation dentist, with his grandfather graduating in 1920. Now, that’s over a century of dentistry and experience flowing through Dr Geoff Storey and our team. Orthodontics is a highly specialised field for you to entrust your lifelong smile and occlusion (bite) outcomes with, and should be considered as your overall dental health goals. Contact us today for your consultation to learn more and let us get it right for you.
FAQs
How do traditional braces work?
Traditional braces apply constant pressure to the teeth, forcing them to move into new positions. The movement can occur in a number of directions and can work to resolve a wide range of dental and orthodontic issues, including crowding, gummy and gappy smiles, malocclusion, crookedness, a misaligned bite, and mal-aligned jaws. Thanks to advances in the field of modern orthodontics, traditional metal braces are much more comfortable and less bulky than they used to be.
Who can wear braces?
Traditional braces can be recommended for both teenagers and adults. The best time to have braces is during early adolescence as the jaw bone is still growing and strengthening, allowing for a faster, more effective treatment. That said, it is never too late to seek orthodontic treatment. Adults can also wear traditional braces and enjoy successful results.
Why opt for traditional braces?
Traditional braces are effective treatment and can correct a wide range of issues. One of the main benefits of traditional braces is that compliance is not an issue, as patients are not able to remove them, and can’t forget to wear them. It is also possible to customise band colours, which allows for a unique treatment for each patient and can be fun and exciting for teens and adolescence to participate in colour selections.
Contact Dr Geoff Storey and team today at Lifelong Dental for further information for you individualised orthodontic needs.
How do clear aligners work?
Clear aligners are a series of clear plastic trays that are placed over your teeth to consistently place pressure on your teeth moving them into the desired position. Typically, during treatment, you will be provided with a series of aligners which are progressed every few weeks to continue the movement.
Each aligner is custom designed and made for your teeth, ensuring the movement is in accordance with the desired end result. Your treatment process is constantly supervised to ensure maximum movement is achieved. We never provide generic ‘off the shelf’’ or online ordered systems.
How do I look after the clear aligners?
Being removable means that you brush and floss your teeth as usual by simply removing and replacing the aligners before and after cleaning. The aligners themselves can be cleaned and our team will instruct you on the best way to do this.
What is the compliance with clear aligners?
As clear aligners are removable there are at times cases of non-compliance. Not complying with the usage schedule, and not wearing your aligners for at least 20-22 hours per day can lead to a longer treatment period with less satisfactory results.
For this reason, it is very important you, or the patient is very committed to their treatment. This can often be the reason a dentist may recommend fixed braces over clear aligners for a teen.
How long does treatment take?
This depends on the level of correction required. In general, treatments may last from 6 – 24 months, from simply retreating or correcting the smaller aesthetic concerns to complex bite correction and complete tooth alignment. In complex cases, there may be of value to combine with fixed orthodontics for speedier results and in cases where aligners alone may not be able to fix developmental or skeletal (jaw growth) concerns. Contact Dr Geoff Storey today for more information in your case.