six-month braces

[alertleaf]

Hello, I'm a 24-year-old girl from Canada. The gap between my two front teeth has been widening since the last two years. It was perfectly alright a few years back and all of a sudden, it started widening. I'm getting married next year. On consulting a dentist at Discovery Dental in Ajax( http://www.discoverydental.com/blog/six ... nvisalign/ ), he told that normal dental braces need a minimum of two years for the gap to close. He suggested doing a six-month braces. Is this effective? Is Invisalign a better option? I'm really confused. Please help me.

[djspeece]

Welcome to the forum! There are many options for orthodontics so your confusion is understandable. For starters, I refer you to sirwired's "sticky" post on this forum on avoiding malpractice and trickery... at http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtop ... 13&t=47522. I personally would be very wary of anything like "six month smiles" which seems to be offered by general dentists after a weekend seminar by the manufacturer. The best course of action would be a formal evaluation by a board-certified orthodontist who can assess your situation and provide a recommendation for an approach that addresses your cosmetic issue as well as any functional issues, such as your bite. Most people on this forum seem to have braces anywhere from a year to three years, with 18-24 months most common. I initially had a two year plan, but due to a couple of stubborn gaps stretched into three years which ended last October. I'm not sure how six month braces could close a gap in 6 months but I suspect it would be at the expense of a normal bite, and could create more issues than it fixes. In any event, congratulations on your wedding, and best of luck to you!

[Tyrantblade]

I would go to an orthodontist and see what they say after a consultation, 6 month smiles would probably make your teeth look good on the surface, but would either be unstable, or just do nothing to fix any other problems you may have.