Beginning as early as age 6 or 7, early interceptive treatment allows your child to stay ahead of and solve potential orthodontic issues they may encounter in their teen years. At this age, the teeth are still developing, the jaw is still growing, and permanent teeth have yet to come in. It can be beneficial to begin orthodontic treatment during this time as we can help the teeth to erupt through the gums into better positions, preventing conditions like crowding. Furthermore, early intervention can be useful to expand your child’s dental arch and jaw to further make room for permanent teeth. In our opinion, early orthodontic care can provide a huge advantage for the future of your child’s oral health, as it has many benefits including:

• Creating room for crowded, erupting teeth
• Creating facial symmetry by influencing jaw growth
• Reducing the risk of trauma to protruding front teeth
• Preserving space of un-erupted teeth
• Reducing the need for tooth removal
• Reducing treatment time with braces
• Preventing malocclusions (bad bites)

During your child’s first visit we will create a specialized treatment plan to fit his/her specific needs. The earlier you can bring your child into our office the better!Although more orthodontics may be needed later on, starting care early may shorten and simplify future treatments.

By incorporating tooth straightening and physical, facial changes, two-phase treatment maximizes your opportunity to achieve the most ideal, healthy, aesthetic orthodontic result. Throughout the first phase, we will concentrate on building a foundation for a beautiful smile through developing your jaw size to accommodate all of your permanent teeth and to align your upper and lower jaws to each other. Following the first phase, we will allow the remaining permanent teeth the freedom to erupt in the resting period. A successful first phase will have allowed room for your permanent teeth to come through in the correct path naturally.
The second phase of treatment focuses on making sure that each tooth is guided towards its correct and final position in the mouth. This phase usually employs braces, followed by retainers, to make sure that all of your teeth end up in their exact place to ensure you straight, healthy teeth that will last a lifetime!

Orthodontic Treatment can have benefits for all ages; orthodontics is not just for young kids and adolescents! Our Seattle orthodontist offers a variety of treatments for adults who are seeking to improve their smiles now and in the future. Adult orthodontic treatment has the ability to not only improve the appearance of your smile, but it can also enhance the overall health of your teeth and gums and raise your self-esteem. Seeking orthodontic care as an adult can help prevent you from encountering problems later in life such as:

• Severe tooth decay
• Gum and bone loss
• TMJ/TMD pain
• Worn dentition

To maximize your comfort and confidence, at Peralta Orthodontics we offer our adult patients many discreet treatment options including clear ceramic braces and 3M Aligners. These aesthetically pleasing braces options allow you the same efficiency and strength of traditional braces without a mouth full of metal! We also focus on timely treatment plans so that you will be out of your braces as soon as possible.

We offer the same discreet and timely treatment options for our adolescent patients as we do for our adult patients. As the mouth and jaw develop further during the teen years, it is important to monitor tooth movement and placement. With our teen orthodontic patients, we focus on taking advantage of this growth and aim to create a balanced facial profile as our patients enter young adulthood. Treatments for our teen patients include metal braces, clear braces, 3M Aligners for Teens and more.

Orthognathic surgery, otherwise known as corrective jaw surgery, is performed to correct a wide range of major and minor dental and skeletal issues, including jaw misalignment. Dr. Peralta will use the following indicators to determine if you are a candidate for corrective jaw surgery:

• Difficulty chewing or biting food
• Difficulty swallowing
• Chronic pain stemming from the jaw, jaw joint, or head
• Excessive wear of the teeth
• Large open bite, or a space between the upper and lower teeth when the mouth is closed
• Unbalanced facial appearance
• Facial injury
• Receding lower jaw or chin
• Protruding jaw
• Difficulty making the lips meet without strain
• Chronic mouth breathing
• Sleep apnea

Although surgery can be intimidating, orthognathic surgery can be necessary (and well worth it) as it improves basic living necessities such as chewing, speaking, and breathing.

Temporary anchorage devices (TADs) are miniature, titanium screws that are positioned in the mouth to serve as an anchor for moving specific teeth in a controlled and predictable way. Eliminating cumbersome appliances, such as headgear, allows certain orthodontic cases to be treated that were nearly impossible before. The anchorage device, removed within a few months, assists in tooth movement to help your teeth position themselves into the correct locations in your mouth. TADs are strong, comfortable devices that can allow Dr. Peralta to move your teeth in a quicker, more efficient way.

Sleep Apnea is a serious sleep disorder that occurs when someone stops breathing repeatedly during sleep due to his/her throat muscles relaxing and blockingthe airway. Signs and symptoms of sleep apnea include:

• Snoring
• Daytime sleepiness
• Impaired intellectual function
• Insomnia
• Depression
• Irritability
• Poor workplace performance

So, you may be wondering, how can orthodontics help me with something that happens in my sleep? With the use of safe and effective surgery, our Seattle orthodontist can help you breath easier and get a better night’s rest.

Dentofacial orthopedics consists of normalizing the growth of your bone structure to repair any imbalances in your face and jaw. The maxilla (upper jaw) and mandible (lower jaw) affect the profile of the face. An upper jaw that is deficient or a lower jaw that is excessive gives the appearance of an underbite or sunken in midface. A lower jaw that is deficient or an upper jaw that is excessive gives the appearance of a soft or weak chin. The teeth within the jaws support the soft tissue as well and thus, also affect facial appearance. If teeth are set too forward in the face the lips may look too protruded or full, if the teeth are angled back too far the face may appear sunken in.
Dentofacial orthopedics is a manipulation of the jaws with growth or surgery, as well as manipulating the position and angulation of the teeth to achieve a harmonious, esthetically pleasing and natural result.

What can you eat? Let’s talk about what you shouldn’t eat! For the first day or so, stick to soft foods. Avoid tough meats, hard breads, and raw vegetables. Before long, you’ll be able to bite a cucumber again. But you’ll need to protect your orthodontic appliances when you eat for as long as you’re wearing braces.
FOODS TO AVOID

• Chewy foods: bagels, hard rolls, licorice
• Crunchy foods: popcorn, ice, chips
• Sticky foods: caramels, gum
• Hard foods: nuts, candy
• Foods you have to bite into: corn on the cob, apples, carrots
• Chewing on hard things (for example, pens, pencils or fingernails) can damage the braces. Damaged braces will cause treatment to take longer.

When you get your braces on, you may feel general soreness in your mouth and teeth may be tender to biting pressures for three to five days. If the tenderness is severe, take aspirin or whatever you normally take for headache or similar pain. The lips, cheeks and tongue may also become irritated for one to two weeks as they toughen and become accustomed to the surface of the braces. This pain can be relieved by rinsing your mouth with warm salt water mouthwash. Dissolve one teaspoon of salt in 8 ounces of warm water and rinse your mouth vigorously. You can also put wax on the braces to lessen this. We’ll show you how when you get your braces on!

This is to be expected throughout treatment. Don’t worry! It’s normal. Teeth must loosen first so they can be moved. The teeth will again become rigidly fixed in their new, corrected positions.

Don’t be alarmed if a wire tie or elastic comes loose. This happens occasionally. If a wire protrudes and is irritating:

• Use a blunt instrument (the back of a spoon or the eraser end of a pencil) and carefully,gently push the irritating wire tie under the archwire. Simply get it out of the way.
• If irritation to the lips or mouth continues, place wax or wet cotton on the wire to reduce the annoyance.
• Call our office as soon as possible for an appointment to check and repair the appliances. If any piece comes off, save it and bring it with you to the office.

To successfully complete your treatment plan, as our patient you must work together with Dr. Peralta. The teeth and jaws can only move toward their corrected positions if you consistently wear the rubber bands or other appliances that our Seattle orthodontist prescribes. Damaged appliances lengthen the treatment time.

It’s more important than ever to brush and floss regularly when you have braces so the teeth and gums are healthy after orthodontic treatment. Patients who do not keep their teeth clean may require more frequent visits to the dentist for a professional cleaning. Adults who have a history of gum disease should also see a periodontist during orthodontic treatment.
It’s important that you visit your dentist and receive a cleaning every 6 months, as these appointments are essential to good oral hygiene. We offer to help coordinate removal of the braces arch wires for cleanings

If you play sports, it’s very important that you consult us for special precautions. A protective mouthguard is advised for playing contact sports. In case of any accident involving the face, check your mouth and the appliances immediately. If teeth are loosened or the appliances damaged, call our office at once for an appointment. In the meantime, treat your discomfort as you would treat any general soreness.

After your braces come off, orthodontic treatment is not necessarily complete. In order to maintain your beautiful, straight smile, retainers must be worn to hold your teeth in place while the gums, ligaments and bones adapt to their new positions. Your teeth will always try to return back home, so it is very important that you wear your retainers according to the specific recommendations of Dr. Peralta:

• Wear your retainers full time (unless eating or drinking something other than water), until Dr. Peralta instructs otherwise.
• When retainers are not in your mouth they should ALWAYS be in a retainer case. (Most appliances are lost in school lunchrooms or restaurants and pets love to chew on them .)
• Clean your retainers thoroughly, yet delicately, at least once a day with a toothbrush and toothpaste. Brushing retainers removes the plaque, and eliminates odors. If brushing is not possible, rinse your retainers with water when removing them from your mouth.
  Retainer Brite or other orthodontic appliance cleaners can be used, but do not take the place of brushing.Make sure you do not use denture cleaner on your retainers.
• Remove retainers when swimming.
• Keep retainers away from hot water, hot car dashboards, pockets, the washing machine, curling irons and napkins.
• Initially, you may find it difficult to speak. Practice speaking, reading, or singing out loud to get used to them faster.
• Retainers are breakable, so treat them with care. If retainers are lost or broken call us immediately.
• If you have any questions or concerns about your retainers, or your retainers need adjusting, call us. Do not try to adjust them your
  self.
• Always bring your retainers to your appointments.