You may have considered orthodontic treatment for yourself, but the sound of wearing braces for anywhere from 1-3 years was simply impractical. Or, you may have thought about InvisalignⓇ clear aligner treatment, which generally takes less than two years. Still two years is a significant amount of time.
Dr. Wayne Hickory and his team at Embassy Row Orthodontics are proud to offer a variety of services to patients, including accelerated orthodontics, or treatment that takes considerably less time to meet your orthodontic goals than you’d imagine. How is this possible? Read on to learn more!
You may simply feel that you’re not up for dealing with the discipline that must be practiced when you wear braces or Invisalign. With braces, you must limit what you eat and drink to avoid a higher risk for tooth decay and damage to your braces.
And even though you can eat whatever you want with Invisalign, you must still wear your aligners 20-22 hours per day and make sure to clean them properly.
Failing to care for your braces or your aligners properly, as well as wearing your aligners often enough can extend your treatment too, and require you to be immersed in orthodontic treatment even longer than you anticipated.
For some people, the time and hassle involved in typical treatment — the initial placing of your braces or aligners, plus follow-up appointments for adjustments or getting new trays — are deal-breakers.
Many of our patients are relieved and delighted to learn that we offer accelerated orthodontics, or treatment that takes significantly less time than standard treatment. Since one in three orthodontic patients are adults, we realized there was an urgent need — for many reasons — for an option that didn’t require the time investment that traditional treatment does.
You may know caring for your braces or aligners will be a challenge with a busy lifestyle. Or you might want braces to be on your teeth for as short a time as possible, even though they’re visually subtle. Perhaps you want faster treatment if you work in a high-visibility career, or you might want to look fabulous for an upcoming special event.
Dr. Hickory is pleased to offer multiple options to speed up your orthodontic treatment, so bite problems and straightening are realized sooner.
PROPELⓇ micro-perforations treatment is similar to microneedling for the skin, except for your mouth. As a skin treatment, microneedling became popular because your body’s healing mechanisms are provoked by slightly irritating your skin and introducing minute puncture wounds to it.
During PROPEL treatment, the Propel device makes tiny, pinprick-sized holes in your jawbone around the teeth that Dr. Hickory determines need it. The process softens your bone so your teeth can shift more easily and quickly, thereby speeding up your orthodontic treatment up to 30%.
Another popular accelerated treatment is PROPEL vibration technology, which involves Dr. Hickory using a device to send high-frequency vibrations that go through your teeth and jawbone. These vibrations help to invigorate remodeling of your bone to again provoke faster corrective movement of your teeth.
AcceleDentⓇ is a tool you use at home for 20 minutes per day. Its SoftPulseⓇ technology reduces treatment discomfort and enables your treatment time to be cut by up to an impressive 50%!
Another option is OrthoPulseⓇ, which involves using its device for just 10 minutes per day. It employs infra-red light technology to stimulate the bone around the roots of your teeth. The treatment can encourage tooth movement, as well as lessen the amount of time you need to wear your braces or aligners.
Before recommending accelerated orthodontics, Dr. Hickory makes sure that the treatment is appropriate for you. He carefully examines your mouth, assesses your treatment needs, and analyzes your dental health and history.
Your bone health needs to be stable and good, and you must be engaged in either treatment using traditional braces or Invisalign. Dr. Hickory finds that those who seek accelerated treatment often want to wear their braces or aligners for considerably less time than is typically required to reach orthodontic goals and don’t want to make frequent office visits.
Call our beautiful Dupont Circle, Washington DC, office to schedule an appointment and learn more about the exciting option of accelerated orthodontics, or request one through our website. With accelerated treatment, you can look forward to treatment that’s short and sweet!
