FAQs

One of the most important things to note before heading into your treatment is that, for the most part, the length of time that you’re expected to wear braces will vary due to the exact issues you’re trying to correct. Certain things simply take longer to fix than others, meaning that it’s difficult to give you a true estimate without a proper examination.
Having said that, most people wear braces for roughly two years – give or take. But don’t worry, the Smiles From Us team will build a treatment plan that addresses your concerns, so you will know what to expect throughout your braces experience.

The good news is that taking care of your braces is easy – it’s just that you have to keep a few key things in mind. First, you’ll want to floss and brush your teeth after EVERY meal – particularly if you eat something that could get stuck in or around the brackets and wires. Likewise, there are certain types of foods that you’ll want to avoid for the best results (see below for more information).

Most people find that their diet doesn’t change all that much when going through treatment with braces. However, there are certain categories of foods that you’ll want to avoid for the duration.

For example:

• Hard foods, like pretzels or nuts
• Sticky foods, like candy or gum
• Chewy foods, like pizza or bagels
• Crunchy food, like chips or snack foods

Any one of these foods could damage the brackets or the wires that make up your braces, which could delay treatment.

Most people find that it’s never too early to take their child to the orthodontist, especially if they’ve already started to exhibit some of the issues that treatment methods like braces are designed to correct.

Having said that, it’s important to remember that a child’s jaw and teeth are still developing during these precious early years. Therefore, while your child should see a dentist on a regular basis, you would probably want to hold off on taking them to an orthodontist to make an appointment for braces until they reach the age of 7 or so.

To be absolutely clear, no – you’re literally never too old for braces. The types of issues that braces are a great solution for correcting can happen at absolutely any age – even later on in life. Therefore, if you’re looking for a way to correct problems like crowded teeth, an overbite or an underbite, you should absolutely feel comfortable making an appointment with your orthodontist to see which treatment options are available to you.

This is another question that is difficult to answer, as it’s going to be impacted by a number of patient-specific factors – like the total treatment time they can expect to experience. As a rule of thumb, you can usually expect to pay a few thousand dollars for comprehensive treatment. Again, your orthodontist will go over all of this with you well in advance so that you know exactly what to expect moving forward. We offer many different types of payment plans. Our experienced financial team will create a plan that meets your needs.

Our team works closely with a local oral surgeon, who performs procedures at our offices. If necessary, a treatment plan will be created with the help of your dentist or orthodontist. 

We know every family’s schedule is packed. That’s why our team co-schedules appointments to save your family time. We can schedule multiple children in the family for the same time slots. For those also seeing our orthodontists, we combine routine dental care appointments with orthodontic appointments.

We are providers in-network for many insurance companies including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, United Concordia, and MetLife. We also accept all major credit cards, checks, and cash.