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How Orthodontic Treatment Works

Orthodontic treatment works by applying gentle forces to teeth. The forces can be exerted with a variety of appliances. They can be removable retainers with springs and expansion devices or traditional fixed braces with wires. Clear removable plastic aligners like Invisalign® apply force by using a series of trays changed every seven to ten days. When a force is applied to teeth, the teeth respond by moving slowly.

Why orthodontic treatment?

You might need orthodontic treatment for several reasons:

• The most obvious reason is if your teeth are crowded. Crowding makes it difficult to clean your teeth and gums.
• Orthodontic treatment is also needed when there is a poor relationship between the upper and lower teeth. The teeth might be in cross bite where an upper tooth is trapped behind a lower.
• The upper front teeth protrude too far forward compared to the lower teeth and this excessive overjet might make the upper front teeth more prone to trauma and affect facial aesthetics.
• This poor relationship might extend to the jaws. If the lower jaw protrudes too far forward, this underbite would require orthodontic intervention.

Length of Treatment

Orthodontic treatment time varies based on the severity of the malocclusion. Simple cases treated with a removable retainer may only take six months, whereas complex cases with severe crowding and an excessive overjet may take up to 36 months. Most cases fall somewhere in this range.

In addition to the clinical details of a case, patient cooperation can affect orthodontic treatment time. The greater the patient cooperation the better the chance that the treatment time is less than estimated. Cooperation can take many forms:

• In cases of traditional braces, eating hard, sticky, or crunchy food can loosen brackets and deform wires, which will slow down treatment time.
• Elastic wear is needed frequently during treatment to improve the relationship between the upper and lower teeth. Noncompliance with elastics will also extend treatment time.
• In the case of clear removable plastic aligners, they need to be worn 22hours a day. Anything less will cause the aligners to not fit, make treatment take longer and potentially compromise the final result.

In cases where patients are cooperative with diet, elastic wear, and or aligner wear, the treatment time can be significantly reduced. The treatment result—your smile—will also likely be better.

Orthodontic Treatment at Dr. Ma’s Office

Visits to our Vancouver orthodontic office for adjustments can be every four to six weeks for traditional braces and six to ten weeks for clear removable aligners.

When you undergo orthodontic treatment with Dr. Ma and our team, you’ll notice a few unique features:

1. We are a small practice that delivers personal service and greater attention to detail. Dr. Ma provides frequent feedback to patients and parents during the treatment journey.
2. We are open on Saturdays, which give patients and parents more appointment time options.
3. We are a multilingual office fluent in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Tagalog, and Telugu.

Please contact Dr. Ma’s Vancouver orthodontic office to schedule an appointment and learn more about the treatments we provide.

One of the greatest advantages to using Invisalign is that it provides maximum results with minimal impact on your everyday life. Invisalign is comfortable, easy to insert, and simple to remove. Because you can remove Invisalign aligners, you can enjoy all your favorite foods and beverages without worries about getting food stuck in the wires and brackets of traditional braces.

Eating and Invisalign

While the aligner is durable and strong, you should remove it before you eat or drink beverages, as the chewing action inside your mouth can break, crack, or distort the aligner. Even minute damage to the Invisalign tray will prevent it from aligning your teeth properly. Furthermore, eating with Invisalign in your mouth can be quite messy.

Beverages and Invisalign

Repeated exposure to hot liquids may also cause the Invisalign aligner to distort. This distortion changes the shape of your aligner in a way that will affect how it straightens your teeth. Contact our Vancouver, BC office if your Invisalign aligner has distorted after consuming a hot beverage.

Fluids can settle inside the aligner to “bathe” the teeth. Bathing teeth in acidic fluids can be especially problematic, as the acids can wear away tooth enamel. Exposure to acidic fluids is not normally a problem, as saliva neutralizes and buffers the acid then washes it away. Wearing an aligner, however, prevents the saliva from doing those jobs, increasing your risk for tooth decay.

Colored drinks may also change the color of your teeth. Most discoloration is temporary but stubborn stains may occur.

To prevent discoloration and tooth decay, brush your teeth after every meal or beverage before putting in your Invisalign aligners. If you do not have access to clean water, chew sugar-free gum to remove bacteria, acid, and food particles from your teeth. As a last resort, you may leave your aligners out for an hour or two until you can brush and floss properly. Before inserting Invisalign, rinse the aligner in lukewarm water or use the Invisalign cleaning kit.

Contact our Vancouver, BC office for more information about eating and Invisalign.

Is it possible to straighten the teeth without braces? Yes, it is. Welcome to the world of Invisalign aligners. Invisalign aligners are made from a clear, thermoplastic material that is custom made to fit your teeth. Unlike conventional braces, Invisalign aligners are removable. More importantly, the clear thermoplastic material makes the aligners invisible, which is ideal if the thought of metal braces and elastics make you self-conscious. For the best results, proper handling and care of your Invisalign aligners is important. Follow these steps to take care of your aligners:

1. Do not eat or drink hot beverages while wearing aligners. It's a good idea to get in the practice of removing the aligners before eating and drinking. Because the aligners are made of plastic resin, heat can distort and damage them. Also, eating while wearing the aligners will cause sugar and other food particles to stay on your teeth, which contributes to plaque and tooth decay.

2. Clean the aligner trays regularly. Invisalign aligners are exposed to the same bacteria and plaque that your mouth is, so you need to clean them as regularly as you clean your teeth. However, avoid cleaning the aligners with harsh chemicals. We recommend using a cleaning kit or some other type of specific solution. When it comes to cleaning Invisalign aligners, carefully follow the instructions given by Dr. Daniel Ma.

3. Store aligners in a cool, dry, safe place. When you’re not wearing the aligners, store them in the case provided by our office. If you don’t use the case, they can easily be lost. Keeping them out of reach of small children and pets is also a good idea. The last thing you want is for Fido to think your Invisalign aligners are chew toys.

4. Don’t chew gum while wearing aligners. There’s one thing that conventional braces and Invisalign aligners have in common: chewing gum damages both of them.

5. Don’t soak aligners in mouthwash. Many popular mouthwashes contain a color pigment. It’s possible that soaking Invisalign aligners in mouthwash will tint or stain them.

For more tips and tricks for a successful Invisalign experience, contact our Vancouver, BC office!

Valentine’s Day is best known as a celebration of love in all its forms. Pink hearts, red roses, and cute greeting cards adorn every surface you see. What many people don’t realize is that the modern Valentine’s Day celebration arose from a religious holiday.

St. Valentine’s Day was originally celebrated as a religious feast day in honor of early Christian martyrs. Three martyrs named Valentine were honored: a priest in Rome, the persecuted bishop of Interamna (a town in central Italy), and a saint martyred in Africa. This saint’s day was celebrated throughout Christendom, although it was removed from the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints in 1969.

The origin of Valentine’s Day as a holiday for lovers began with Geoffrey Chaucer in his 1382 poem “Parlement of Foules.” Chaucer wrote, “For this was on Saint Valentine’s Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate,” and the modern romantic holiday was born. William Shakespeare and other writers mentioned Valentine’s Day as a day of love.

Valentine’s Day as we know it came about in the early 19th century. In Victorian England, printers began manufacturing small numbers of cards with romantic verses, lace, ribbons, and other frills. Anonymous Valentine’s Day card were a popular way for young lovers to exchange romantic sentiments in an otherwise prudish time. As the 19th century progressed, printers began mass manufacturing Valentine’s Day cards. People in the United States give an estimated 190 million valentines every year, and up to one billion if you count children exchanging cards at school! With the rise of the Internet, Valentine’s Day e-cards have become a popular mode of communication, with millions of e-cards sent each year.

The other items associated with Valentine’s Day include chocolate and flowers. The tradition of giving chocolates has been around for decades, and Richard Cadbury created the first box of Valentine’s Day chocolates nearly 150 years ago. Today, purchases of chocolate total over $1 billion in the United States alone, with 35 million heart-shaped boxes sold each year. Loved ones also exchange flowers, with red roses being associated with Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. On Valentine’s Day itself, florists sell nearly 200 million stems of roses.

Although many people dismiss Valentine’s Day as a commercialized “Hallmark holiday,” it is beloved to couples and romantics across the United States and other countries. The team at our office wants to remind all patients that no matter what your celebratory plans, February 14th can be a wonderful day to celebrate the loved ones in your life. Happy Valentine’s Day!