As an adult, you want the most attractive and best functioning smile possible. Yet, your dental alignment has been noticeably off since childhood. Do you need orthodontic correction? Why not consult expert orthodontist, Dr. A. Stuart Loos? He has been evaluating patients of all ages for braces in his Canton, GA office for years. He can eliminate your smile problems and give you great oral function and aesthetics.

Do adults get braces?

Yes, in fact, the Harvard Medical School says that one in five orthodontic patients in the United States are adults who want straighter smiles which:

• Are more attractive
• Are easier to keep free of plaque and tartar
• Have proper bite (fully and equally meet together)
• Develop fewer cavities and gum issues
• Do not cause oral irritations such as biting the inside of the cheeks
• Allow ease of biting and chewing and clear speech

Additionally, many people need braces because they have chronic headaches and ear pain due to TMD, or temporomandibular joint dysfunction (jaw joint problems). Other individuals rest poorly or snore because of sleep apnea related to improper dental bites or crowded teeth. Braces also alleviate excessive and premature wear and tear on tooth surfaces, and orthodontics may address habitual teeth clenching and grinding (bruxism).

Finally, orthodontic care corrects what we all think of as typical smile issues:

• Overbite
• Underbite
• Crossbite
• Openbite
• Crowding
• Gaps
• Congenital absence of teeth
• Tooth rotation and tooth tipping
• Protruding front teeth
• Orthodontic relapse (teeth shift to their previous positions after braces are removed)

How can you know?

Dr. Loos and his dedicated team can evaluate your mouth to see if Canton braces can help your oral health issues. He'll visually inspect your teeth and take digital X-rays and other kinds of imaging as needed. Then, he'll devise an individualized treatment plan, outlining his findings, kinds of orthodontic appliances needed and more.

In his office, Dr. Loos offers traditional braces (bonded on brackets and arch wires), ceramic braces (which can be tooth-colored and less noticeable) and lingual braces mounted to the tongue-side of teeth. Also, he offers selected adult and teen patients Invisalign clear braces. These amazing invisible aligners correct a variety of orthodontic issues in less time and with fewer inconveniences normally associated with conventional braces.

Learn more

When you decide to straighten your teeth with orthodontic care, you have several options to choose from in terms of treatment plans. However, only one orthodontic treatment can straighten your teeth without the hassle of brackets or wires. Invisalign takes a different approach to renewing your smile, using aligner trays to carefully move the teeth into their final positions. Find out more about Invisalign with Dr. Stuart Loos at Loos Orthodontics in Canton, GA.

Can Invisalign help me? 
While Invisalign can help in many situations, not everyone is a good candidate for this treatment. Invisalign works best for patients over the age of 12 and adults who wish to straighten their smile and correct their bite issues. Invisalign requires excellent at-home dental care. Patients should brush twice daily and floss at least once to avoid tooth decay and gum disease which could hinder their Invisalign treatment. Patients should also be fully committed to their Invisalign treatment, wearing their aligner trays for at least 22 hours a day, then wearing their retainer for the recommended amount of time after treatment.

Invisalign vs. Traditional Braces
Invisalign uses clear plastic aligner trays which provide a totally different treatment experience than traditional metal braces. The most noticeable difference between the two treatments is that Invisalign’s trays are clear, blending into your look without being as obvious as metal brackets or wires permanently affixed to the teeth. Additionally, patients remove Invisalign to eat or perform their at-home oral care routine. This eliminates the need to avoid certain foods which could damage your traditional braces and use special floss to thread through each wire to floss your teeth every day. Decreasing the time required to eat or clean your teeth will increase the odds that you will remain diligent in your oral care routine.

Invisalign Treatments in Canton, GA
If you think you could benefit from Invisalign, you should consult with your orthodontist. If Invisalign is the best treatment for you, your orthodontist will take a 3D model of your mouth to send to Invisalign’s dental laboratories. Before creating any actual aligner trays, lab technicians will create a customized video based on the 3D model to show you exactly how your teeth will move and what your end result will look like. After approval, the lab sends the trays out to your orthodontist’s office where you will get a quick lesson on how to insert and remove the trays. After this initial visit, you will wear each tray in the series for about two weeks before switching it for the next tray. You will see your dentist about once every six weeks for check-ups.

For more information on Invisalign, please contact Dr. Loos at Loos Orthodontics in Canton, GA. Call (770) 345-8300 to schedule a consultation with Dr. Loos today!

It's impossible to hide the fact that you're wearing braces when every smile reveals a flash of metal. Thanks to innovative dental technology, the world doesn't have to know that you're straightening your teeth. Dr. Stuart Loos, your Canton, GA orthodontist, explains how Invisalign offers a more subtle approach to orthodontic treatment.

What is Invisalign?

When you wear traditional braces, your Canton orthodontist attaches brackets to your teeth and threads wires through them. Adjusting the wires, which must be done every four to six weeks, moves your teeth into alignment. The Invisalign system uses removable aligner trays that look similar to mouthguards to change the position of both your upper and lower teeth. Since the aligners are clear, they're practically invisible.

How does Invisalign work?

Your orthodontist creates a 3D image of your teeth using impressions, photographs and X-rays. Viewing the image allows him to custom design your aligner trays and your treatment plan. You'll wear your new aligners 20 hours per day and will usually only take them out to eat.

What are the benefits of Invisalign?

The fact that the aligners are transparent is one of their most important advantages as far as many people are concerned, but that's not the only advantage. Invisalign also offers other important benefits, including:

• Flexibility: Playing sports is easy when you wear Invisalign trays. Since the trays are removable, you don't have to buy a specially made mouthguard. You'll simply remove your trays and reinsert them when your game or practice is over. Your trays can also be removed if you'll be attending a special event and would prefer not to wear the trays for a few hours.
• Easy Oral Hygiene: Have you ever watched a friend try to remove food or popcorn kernels from their braces? Wires and brackets trap food, making oral hygiene a complicated procedure if you wear traditional braces. Because your aligner trays are removable, brushing and flossing remains an easy process.
• Shorter Treatment Time for Adults: If you're an adult, you may only need to wear your aligner trays for about a year. Children and teenagers spend the same amount of time in treatment, whether they choose traditional braces or Invisalign.

Interested in learning more about Invisalign? Call Dr. Loos, your Canton, GA orthodontist, at (770) 345-8300 to schedule an appointment.

You probably know a straighter smile will improve your confidence, but did you know it will help improve your overall oral health?

If you live in Canton, GA, and you are wondering what to do about issues such as severe overbite or crooked or crowded teeth, consider contacting a qualified orthodontist such as Dr. Stuart Loos, DDS.

The fact is, if you have a severe bite problem, spacing problem, or just have severely crooked teeth, you are risking even more than your look. In fact, not correcting an abnormal bite or crooked teeth can lead to a number of oral health problems.

What can happen if you don’t fix that bite/space/crowding problem? A lot, actually. For one, plaque buildup will become more of a problem. Plaque is the invisible sticky material that traps bacteria on teeth and gums, causing gum disease and tooth decay. If your teeth are crooked, crowded, or otherwise abnormally spaced, chances are you are going to find it much more difficult to effectively brush and floss. That means when you go to the dentist, chances are you will have a more severe plaque problem. Worse, even your dentist is going to have a difficult time effectively cleaning your teeth.

You want to avoid problems associated with tooth decayand you definitely want to avoid gum disease. In fact, people with severe gum disease are not only at risk for oral health problems but their risk of other health issues such as heart disease increases.

If you have an overbite, underbite, or crossbite, you may run into bigger problems than keeping teeth clean . You may be at an increased risk for jaw problems such as Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) disorders, which can cause serious pain as well as other problems with your jaw joint.

Fortunately, you don’t have to suffer with any of those problems. A qualified orthodontist, Dr. Loos, can help you not only get a bright, confident smile but can also help you head off oral health problems before they get too severe.

To find out more about how a straighter smile improves the overall health of your mouth, call Dr. Loos at (770)345-8300.

Many adults with crooked, gapped or otherwise misaligned teeth take steps to hide them from others. This can make speech difficult to understand or give off the impression of being standoffish or unfriendly. If you identify with this, you should know that at Loos Orthodontics in Canton, GA, you have options to straighten your teeth--ones that will fit well with your anatomical needs and your lifestyle and comfort level. Learn how Dr. A. Stuart Loos can help improve your smile here.

Traditional braces

Braces have changed quite a bit in several decades. The brackets are smaller, the wires are thinner and the treatment times are typically shorter than they used to be. Now there is also the option of wearing "clear" braces, which have plastic wires and tooth-colored ceramic brackets. Dr. Loos often recommends this type of orthodontic treatment to his adult Canton patients who have severe crowding, spacing or rotation of their teeth. Those wearing traditional braces much be willing to practice stringent dental hygiene to ensure that their braces stay stable and the teeth remain free of decay.

Invisalign

For adults patients with less extensive alignment issues, Invisalign can be a perfect solution! Your Canton dentist often recommends this orthodontic treatment--which involves wearing clear, removable plastic trays against the teeth--to patients who have had braces or other appliances in the past but are experiencing regression of the teeth. The trays, called aligners, place gentle pressure against the teeth, causing them to move in a similar manner as traditional braces. However, Invisalign trays are designed to be removed for eating and cleaning, which offers patients more freedom than traditional braces.

Your Canton, GA orthodontist, Dr. Loos, will fully evaluate your situation before helping you decide which braces option is best for you. If you've been considering straightening your teeth, there's no better time to call Loos Orthodontics for a consultation today!