Braces

The time-proven treatment for crooked or overcrowded teeth

If you’re self-conscious about crooked teeth, or a misaligned bite is affecting your health, dental braces could be the perfect solution.

What are braces?

Dental braces are used to straighten crooked teeth, giving you a beautiful, straight smile and improving your oral health. Braces have been around for more than a century in one form or another, but the ones you can get today are light years ahead in both appearance and comfort. Usually, braces are a system of brackets attached to your teeth with an arch wire threaded through them. The arch wire is adjusted periodically to gradually move your teeth into the desired position.

What do I need to know about braces?

Braces not only make your smile look fantastic, but they can also have significant benefits for your overall oral health. Straightened teeth are easier to keep clean, less susceptible to uneven wear or breakage, and less likely to cause night-time teeth grinding or problems with your temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Dental braces are suitable for correcting overcrowding, incorrect spacing, misaligned jaws, underbites, and overbites – even in severe cases.

What other treatments are available?

Depending on your situation, some of the following treatment options might be recommended to transform your smile.

Featured
Invisalign®
Invisalign®

Straighter teeth without braces

Discover the more discreet, more comfortable, more flexible way to obtain a perfect smile.

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CEREC 3D instant teeth
CEREC 3D instant teeth

Same-day crowns that fit better, look nicer, and last longer

No more waiting! With CEREC, we can make and fit your crown in one visit.

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An attractive woman smiles confidently, showing her healthy and strong teeth after a visit to dentist, Dr Dave Richards, of Natural Smile Dental St Heliers, Auckland.
The luxurious, clean, quality Natural Smile Dental clinic in St Heliers, Auckland provides dental and cosmetic services using advanced technology for a stress-free dentist visit.

Common questions about braces

  • Not at all – braces can be fitted to adults too. If you’ve decided as an adult that you want to get your teeth straightened, you have lots of options. Dental braces are just one solution, but you might prefer newer treatments like Invisalign®, which can be less obvious to wear and more comfortable than braces.

  • The process of fitting braces to your teeth is painless, but because they are something new in your mouth, they may take a little getting used to. You may develop ulcers where they touch the inside of your cheeks and lips, and your jaw might ache a little as your teeth start to move. Both should be temporary.

  • Braces will make your mouth look different for a while, but today’s braces are much more attractive than they used to be. You can get ceramic brackets that are a similar colour to your teeth, or fun coloured brackets and bands to express your personality. Sometimes, you can get your braces affixed to the backs of teeth, so they are not even visible to others.

  • On average, braces take around two years to straighten teeth. It depends on what issue they are correcting and how severe it is when treatment starts. Some problems can be fixed in just a few months, while others may take several years. Sometimes, more than one method of treatment is required to achieve the desired result.

  • Yes, depending on how crooked your teeth are, you may only need a retainer, which holds your teeth in place with a single wire. You can remove it to eat and clean your teeth, and you may only need to wear it at night. You may be eligible for Invisalign®, which uses a system of clear, discreet, comfortable aligners to straighten your teeth.

  • The cost of your braces will depend on your unique treatment plan and the condition of your teeth and jaw. Come and have a chat with us about what you’d like to achieve, and we’ll give you an idea of how much it will cost.