Six Month Braces™. That’s right Six Month Braces. You are not dreaming. You did read that correctly. Six month braces is not a dream, but it can be the answer to the dreams of many patients.

As the name implies Six Month Braces is an orthodontic treatment that is completed in 6 months. Allow me to clarify; the great majority of cases are completed in a treatment time of 6 months. Some patient’s are actually treated in less time. Some very difficult cases can take more time. Even these difficult cases are often treated in just 8 or 9 months. So treatment is completed in 4 to 9 months with most cases being completed in 6 months.

The Goal of Six Month Braces

Most patients seeking orthodontic treatment have a chief complaint related to the esthetics of their teeth. Although some patients may have complaints related to TMJ problems, headaches, or facial profile concerns, the great majority of patients want to improve their smiles. 

The goal of Six Month Braces is to give the patient a great smile. Six month braces is analogous to porcelain veneers, bonding and other cosmetic dentistry procedures. Instead of preparing the teeth and bonding porcelain veneers to them, the teeth are moved orthodontically to their most beautiful position. This is not to say that we do not change the bite because we do, but the main focus of treatment is the anterior cosmetic of the front teeth. This usually solves the chief complaint of the patient and gives the desired result – a great smile.

 This patient wanted a great smile and she got it…in 5 months!

How Do Six Month Braces Work?

Six month braces is actually a combination of time tested orthodontic techniques that have been put together in a new and exciting way. Some of the techniques have been used for over 60 years and have been well documented in the orthodontic literature. These techniques were put together in the 1980’s and the technologies to implement them have finally been made available. A key ingredient of the Six Month Braces procedure is the use of  high-tech arch wires. These wires exert a light continuous force to gently move the teeth to the desired position.

Will Six Month Braces work on me? My teeth are all crowded together.

The most common chief complaint of patients seeking orthodontic treatment is crowding. Crowded cases are treated very well with Six Month Braces. So how do we gain space to fit all the teeth into the arch? Most crowded cases have large teeth in a small jaw, or arch. In many cases simply rounding out and developing the constricted arch will give you enough room to align the crowded teeth.

In this case simply rounding out the constricted arch gave enough room to alleviate the crowding and give the desired result.

Some more severe cases will require enamel reproximation along with arch development to obtain the desired result. Enamel reproximation is gentle polishing between the teeth and is also called slenderizing or reprox. Repox has a 60 year history in orthodontics. It is a very conservative way to help alleviate crowding, it is painless, it does not increase the incidence of tooth decay or periodontal disease and it can help increase long term stability of the final result by slightly flattening the contact points between the teeth.

The lower teeth had more crowding than the upper so a combination of reprox and rounding out the arch gave the desired result. Total treatment time was 7 ½ months.

Continued on the Next Page

Six Month Braces™ is a registered trademark of R.J. DePaul, Jr., DDS, Inc. It can NOT be used without the express written permission of the trademark holder. For more information, contact Dr. DePaul at www.sixmonthbraces.com.

Thanks to Dr. DePaul for submitting this article to ArchWired! Publication of this article is for informational purposes only and does not imply endorsement.