FAQ
Your frequently asked questions
For children and young people
Fitting a fixed brace is not a painful process. It takes around one hour, including advice and instruction. When you attend the appointment, we will also give you all the advice you need on your new brace along with tips on oral hygiene.
For the first few days after a brace is fitted, you should only eat soft foods. It is best to avoid tough, chewy and sticky foods (e.g. chewing gum) as well as hard foods (bread crusts, nuts, apples, etc.). After a week or two, you will be able to eat whatever you wish once again.
A removable brace must be removed to eat, so there are no limits on what you can eat.
Thanks to our self-ligating high-tech bracket system, less force is needed for moving the teeth, which means most of our patients feel hardly any discomfort. For the first few days after a brace is fitted (and after any reactivation), the pressure of the brace may cause some mild discomfort. At such times, we recommend avoiding hard foods (such as bread crusts).
No! However, this does depend on good oral hygiene, which we explain to your child in detail at the start of the treatment process. Keeping teeth healthy is our top priority, and often calls for a high level of cooperation on the part of our young patients.
Treatment times can vary greatly. Short treatment times (one year) may be enough for orthodontic adjustment. In the case of more pronounced tooth displacements and jaw malpositions, a course of treatment should not exceed three years for children and young people.
Like any other part of the body, teeth – and their positioning – can change over the course of a lifetime. Tooth position can be influenced by many natural causes (eating, speaking, etc.) and non-natural causes (e.g. grinding of the teeth at night). That said, once a good treatment outcome has been achieved and subject to appropriate aftercare, patients can expect to have straight teeth for a very long time (ideally permanently; see the Retention folder, available for download). If any changes do occur, these will generally be very minor (compared to the starting situation) and may be corrected at any point with minimal follow-up treatment.
Prices depend on the length of treatment, the type of brace used and the individual case. When you attend your initial consultation, we will be able to let you know the precise costs and the amount of the health insurance subsidy.
For adults
Fitting a fixed brace is not a painful process. It takes around one hour, including advice and instruction. When you attend the appointment, we will also give you all the advice you need on your new brace along with tips on oral hygiene.
Thanks to our self-ligating high-tech bracket system, less force is needed for moving the teeth, which means most of our patients feel hardly any discomfort. For the first few days after a brace is fitted (and after any reactivation), the pressure of the brace may cause some mild discomfort. At such times, we recommend avoiding hard foods (such as bread crusts).
For the first few days after a brace is fitted, you should only eat soft foods. It is best to avoid tough, chewy and sticky foods (e.g. chewing gum) as well as hard foods (bread crusts, nuts, apples, etc.). After a week or two, you will be able to eat whatever you wish once again.
No. However, this does depend on good oral hygiene, which we will explain to you. At every subsequent check-up, we will review the quality of your oral hygiene for the benefit of your teeth.
The duration of treatment can vary greatly. On average, it is 1 to 3 years.
Like any other part of the body, teeth – and their positioning – can change over the course of a lifetime. Tooth position can be influenced by many natural causes (eating, speaking, etc.) and non-natural causes (e.g. grinding of the teeth at night). That said, once a good treatment outcome has been achieved and subject to appropriate aftercare, patients can expect to have straight teeth for a very long time (ideally permanently; see the Retention folder, available for download). If any changes do occur, these will generally be very minor (compared to the starting situation) and may be corrected at any point with minimal follow-up treatment.
Prices depend on the length of treatment, the type of brace used and the individual case. When you attend your initial consultation, we will be able to let you know the precise costs and the amount of the health insurance subsidy.