For Adults
Orthodontics For Adults
Orthodontia isn’t just for growing children anymore. At Playa Vista Orthodontics, our practice is built up of almost 50% adults. Playa Vista is the home of Silicon Beach and has some of the world’s most cutting edge technology companies, which possess a large workforce of professionals. This creates an increased focus on the aesthetics of straight teeth for professional and social reasons, as well as the desire to build confidence with a beautiful smile. Advancements in orthodontic treatment have made it more desirable for adults to go through the orthodontic process, with sleeker and more discreet braces, to virtually invisible aligners.
Since today’s adults are busier than ever with personal and professional responsibilities, it may seem as if orthodontic treatment may be impossible to fit into their schedules. But as technology has streamlined the treatment process, Playa Vista Orthodontics has made it quite easy for patients to get the smile they’ve always wanted. For many of today’s modern treatments, patients can now look forward to such benefits as faster treatment times, far fewer office visits, and increased levels of comfort. By making treatment as convenient as possible, Playa Vista Orthodontics realizes more and more people will take that important first step towards improving their oral health and personal appearance, promoting a huge increase in self-esteem.
Aesthetic Adult Treatments
Playa Vista Orthodontics sees almost as many adults as we do children, and we are proud to offer multiple different types of aesthetic treatment options to meet your needs. Besides our standard metal braces that so many of our patients still choose, we offer clear ceramic braces that are self-ligating – so no staining of rubber band ties! Our gold braces have been proven very popular in our adult community and have a very pleasing tone. But our most popular treatment option is Invisalign – which is barely noticeable to anyone else.
Invisalign Treatment
This innovative technology is the high-tech, new-age way of moving teeth. The clear plastic aligners fit snug over the teeth, they are removable, discrete and comfortable. Aligners are worn 20-22 hours a day, removing them only for food, drinks (besides water), brushing and flossing. Each case comes with a series of aligners, wearing each aligner for 10 days each. the aligners apply pressure to the teeth, steadily moving them stage by stage.
Gold Braces
Gold braces have gained a lot of popularity in our office. The gold bracket that we carry is a ‘soft’ gold color. When worn with opal colored ties you can make it look even softer, and when worn with gold colored ties it can brighten the soft gold up. We also use gold wires to complete the look. They work just as well as the metal or the clear brackets, and tend to be slightly lighter in color than our metal brackets.
Clear/Ceramic Braces
Clear, ceramic braces are a great option for those who prefer the ease of brackets glued onto the teeth so they are working constantly without needing to remove appliances for meals or drinks, but still get the ‘no show’ appearance. They are just as strong as metal braces. Many folks tend to be weary of clear braces due to discoloration from consuming dark-pigmented food or drinks, but the bracket itself does not discolor, it is the clear rubber tie around the bracket that causes discoloration. Which is why we offer self-ligating brackets. Self-ligating is a door that opens and closes around the bracket, so no clear ties are needed to hold the wire on. You can, of course, opt in for some colored ties just for fun if you want to.
Improved Oral Health
As is the case with many adults who have let their dental health slide over the years, many problems can develop that eventually require attention. For many adults, a variety of issues eventually develop, including tooth decay, gum and bone loss, irregular wearing of tooth enamel, and even TMJ and TMD pain that can become debilitating if left untreated. However, patients who seek adult orthodontic treatment with Playa Vista Orthodontics, can take advantage of their specialized knowledge and experience in treating adult dental issues, along with their state of the art technology. A person’s oral health as well as self-confidence can reach new heights.
Accelerated Orthodontics
A question that we hear nearly every day is, ‘How long is this going to take?’ At Playa Vista Orthodontics we offer two innovative ways to accelerate your tooth movement, decreasing your overall time in treatment, and assisting with more predictable movements for an overall better patient experience.
One way is with micro-perforations in the bone tissue, which creates inflammation, causing a cellular reaction that allows the bone cells to increase. As this process takes effect with orthodontic forsus on the teeth, they can move faster in a healthy mannor!
The second way is a device called a VPro+. It’s a vibration platform that you will gently bite down on for 5 minutes, and the micro-frequency in the device causes cellular turn around, seats your aligner and reduces discomfort by the soothing vibrations. This will decrease your treatment length and reduce discomfort.
Orthognathic Jaw Surgery
Jaw Surgery is to correct severely misaligned jaws that can’t be done solely with just orthodontic appliances. Today jaw surgery is much easier than before, it can be done in conjunction with Invisalign or braces depending on the jaw surgeon. In some cases, the surgery can be performed prior to the orthodontic treatment, reducing your overall treatment time. Orthognathic jaw surgery can help you sleep better, chew better, look better, and improve your overall health and life.
Retention
When your orthodontic journey comes to an end, we offer one set of clear plastic retainers, included in your treatment. Retention is a life-long commitment if you want your teeth to stay in the same position we left them in. As we age, our bodies can go through a lot of changes, there is no guarantee that teeth won’t shift, they actually have a tendency to relapse. We recommend replacing your retainer every few years to ensure that everything stays put, as these plastic retainers can loose their firmness, break or crack over the years.
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