This page answers the general questions we get asked most often, and points you to the right page for everything else. Wright Orthodontics is a specialty practice in Severna Park, Maryland, and Dr. Benjamin Wright is a board-certified orthodontist.
We answer each question once, on the page that owns it, rather than scattering half-answers across the site. So if you are looking for something specific about cost, braces, aligners, or a particular appliance, the routing list further down will get you there faster than searching. If your question is not covered anywhere, call 410-544-0072 and ask us directly. Nobody will make you fill in a form first.
Where the Rest of the Answers Live
We answer each question in one place on this site rather than repeating it in five. Here is where to look.
- Cost, insurance, payment plans, HSA and FSA: every money question is answered on our financing page.
- How to tell whether an orthodontist is any good, and how to verify board certification: why choose us.
- Whether braces hurt, how long they take, and how the types differ: braces.
- Why some dentists steer patients away from clear aligners, and the wear rules: clear aligners.
- The right age for a first orthodontic check, and what early treatment does: early orthodontic treatment.
- Treatment as an adult, including old relapse cases and workplace concerns: adult orthodontics.
- Sports, mouthguards, instruments, and scheduling around school: teen orthodontics.
- Foods to avoid, brushing and flossing, staining, and chewing gum: life with braces.
- Broken brackets, poking wires, and what counts as an emergency: emergency care.
- Expanders, how long they stay in, and what a missed turn means: palatal expander.
- Retainer wear, replacement, and patients who had braces elsewhere: retainers.
- What happens at a first visit, what to bring, and whether a referral is needed: your first visit.
- Digital scanning, 3D imaging, and radiation questions: advanced technology.
- Mouth breathing, snoring, and how breathing relates to jaw development: airway orthodontics.
- Directions, parking, hours, and the office itself: our Severna Park office.
Still Have a Question?
Ask it. Call 410-544-0072 or request an appointment online, and the consultation is complimentary whether or not you decide to start treatment. Dr. Wright would rather answer questions before treatment starts than have you find the answers halfway through.
Wright Orthodontics 479 Jumpers Hole Road, Suite #203 Severna Park, MD 21146 410-544-0072
The Basics
What is orthodontics?
Orthodontics is the branch of dentistry concerned with the position of the teeth and the relationship between the jaws. It treats crowding, gaps, protrusion, and bites that do not meet correctly. The instruments are braces, clear aligners, expanders, and retainers, but the work itself is planning: deciding what to move, in what order, and when to stop.
What is an orthodontist, exactly?
An orthodontist is a dentist who completed an accredited residency in orthodontics after dental school, usually two or three additional years, and who limits practice to orthodontics afterward. Orthodontics is a recognized dental specialty. Any licensed dentist may legally offer orthodontic treatment, so the title is worth checking rather than assuming.
What causes crowding, gaps, and bite problems?
Mostly inheritance. Tooth size and jaw size are separately inherited, so a person can end up with large teeth in a small jaw, or the reverse. Early loss of baby teeth lets neighboring teeth drift into the space. Long-term thumb sucking, tongue posture, and habitual mouth breathing can all influence how the jaws develop. Injury and unusually late or early eruption account for most of the rest.
What kinds of orthodontic treatment are there?
Broadly, four categories. Fixed appliances such as braces attach to the teeth and work continuously. Removable appliances such as clear aligners work in a series and come out to eat. Growth-guidance appliances such as a palatal expander change the shape of a developing jaw rather than moving individual teeth. And retainers hold the result after everything else is finished. Most treatment plans combine more than one.
What should I ask before starting orthodontic treatment?
Ask who will actually perform the treatment at each visit, and whether that person is an orthodontist. Ask what the alternatives to the recommended plan are, including doing nothing for now. Ask how long treatment is expected to take, and what happens if it runs over. Ask what the retainer plan is, because it is part of the treatment rather than an afterthought. Ask to see the diagnostic records the plan was built from, and have someone walk you through them. Any practice worth choosing will answer all of that without hesitating, and will put the answers in writing.
What are the early signs that orthodontic treatment might be needed?
Teeth that overlap or twist as they come in. Noticeable gaps that do not close. Upper and lower teeth that do not meet evenly when the back teeth are together, or a jaw that shifts to one side to bite down. Difficulty biting through food with the front teeth. Chipping on the edges of the front teeth from contact. Any of these is a reason for an evaluation rather than a reason to worry. Our common orthodontic issues page describes each one in more detail.
What are the stages of orthodontic treatment from start to finish?
Five, in practice. A consultation and examination, where the problem is defined and the options set out. A records appointment, with scans and imaging used to build the plan. Placement of the appliance, which takes longer than a normal visit and is the one people remember. The active phase, where teeth move and adjustments are made at intervals. Then retention, which starts the day the appliance comes off and is the stage that protects everything before it. Most of the elapsed time sits in the active phase, but most of the thinking happens in the first two.
How often will I need appointments once treatment has started?
Patients in braces are usually seen every four to eight weeks, and those visits are short. Clear aligner patients are typically seen less often, because the aligners change at home and the visit is a progress check. Expander and other growth-guidance patients may be seen more frequently at the start. If something breaks, you are seen sooner, and that appointment is not counted against the schedule.
Will braces or aligners change the way I talk?
For a few days, sometimes. Aligners cover the upper teeth, so a slight lisp on s and z sounds is common in the first week and usually disappears as the tongue adapts. Braces are less likely to affect speech, though the lips take a little while to settle. Reading aloud for ten minutes a day speeds it up more than anything else we know of.