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When I was a child in about 7^th grade, Michael Jordan was the talk of the NBA.  He was the greatest basketball player I had ever seen.  He signed a deal with Nike to create a new style of athletic shoes – the “Air Jordan” basketball shoe.  I was an aspiring basketball player and would play every day in PE during free play and on the playground with my friends. I was convinced that these shoes would make me run faster, jump higher, and maybe even shoot better (all things that left a lot of room for improvement in my case).

However, my family did not have enough money to buy these expensive new “magic” shoes. Instead, when my existing shoes began to wear holes in them, I distinctly remember my mom bought me a pair of white Reebok shoes. I was so disappointed and every time I missed a shot or someone jumped higher than me to get a rebound, I looked down at my shoes and thought I knew the reason.

Years later, when I eventually bought my first pair of “Air Jordan” shoes, it became apparent that what mattered a lot more than the shoes was the person wearing them.

As an orthodontist, I am often asked what type of braces we use in our office.  There are several orthodontic manufacturers of braces in the US market with an excellent reputation for quality that have been in business for several decades.  There are certainly differences in the quality of manufacturing between a well-known and established manufacturer with excellent quality control and an Amazon reseller posting foreign made brackets with no quality control.

That being said - just like athletic shoes - when it comes to braces it matters a lot more who is putting the braces on your teeth than the name brand of braces being used. In our office, we use American Orthodontics, 3M Clarity Clear Braces, and Damon braces to give patients different style choices and because Dr. Budd has a preference for different brackets in different clinical situations. For aligners, we use Invisalign, but there are other reputable manufacturers out there including 3M Clarity Aligners and Spark Clear Aligners among others. However, as long as you are using a reputable manufacturer, there are no magic braces or aligners that can unleash the superhero powers in your chosen orthodontist.  Dr. Budd is a board-certified orthodontist in the Phoenix and Scottsdale metro area – give us a call today and let us help you achieve your dream smile - even without magic braces.

At Budd Orthodontics, Invisalign treatment with clear aligners has become a popular orthodontic treatment in today’s digital world. The treatment is based off of the information taken from a 3D scan of your teeth with an iTero digital scanner and the corresponding computer simulation of the movements of your teeth.

Although the software used to create this digital simulation is very accurate, it cannot account for all of the variables that make each of us unique – tongue pressure, lip pressure, swallowing patterns, and differences in how well patients wear the aligners. Sometimes when we arrive at the end of the simulated orthodontic treatment, what you see in the mouth does not match exactly what you originally saw on the computer screen. We correct this by completing what we refer to as an Invisalign “Refinement”.

An Invisalign Refinement is completed by essentially repeating the process that was used the first time to create the Invisalign aligners. A new 3D scan is taken of the updated position of the teeth, and any movements that were not achieved with the first simulation are completed in the refinement aligners.  It is a little fine-tuning of your smile to make sure that we get the best possible result. This allows us to overcome the limitations of the software simulation and create a smile you will love.  A significant number of Invisalign treatments don’t require any refinement, but we always have that as an available option to make sure we deliver the best possible smile. Give us a call today, and let us help you smile with confidence.

Among the 330 million people in the United States, there are a little over 200,000 practicing dentists according to the American Dental Association’s 2021 data. However, only 6% of those dentists are orthodontists. Orthodontists are dentists who have completed a 2-3 year residency training at an accredited program in addition to the 3-4 years of normal dental training.  Of the 6% who complete their orthodontic residency training, only 54% of them are board-certified orthodontists according to 2022 data from the American Board of Orthodontics. Based on these numbers, being a board-certified orthodontist in the United States is not very common.

American Board of Orthodontics board-certification is a voluntary credential.  In other words, it is not required to practice orthodontics or to advertise orthodontic services like braces or Invisalign. It represents a commitment by an orthodontic specialist to the highest standards of excellence in the specialty and to life-long learning.

Dr. Budd is a board-certified orthodontist with the American Board of Orthodontics. He strongly believes in the value of the additional education and certification he has received to provide his patients with the best possible treatment outcomes in a friendly, welcoming environment. Orthodontics involves much more than just making teeth straight. It includes the complexity of facial growth, alignment of the jaws, correction of the bite, and the overall health of the teeth and supporting structures. A general dentist is ideal for providing regular oral health check-ups, comparable to your family doctor. Many dentists offer orthodontic treatment, but they do not have the same extensive education required of a board-certified orthodontist. This is an important distinction to understand when you are selecting someone to help you or your family with their orthodontic care.

The majority of people in the world develop and grow one complete set of baby teeth and one complete set of adult teeth.  However, you might be surprised to learn that studies show up to 11% of people are born missing at least one adult tooth. This is called a congenitally missing tooth. The percentage of people with a missing tooth varies among different groups of people, but it is safe to say that you probably know someone that was born missing a tooth.

The missing tooth is often discovered in the first few visits to your dentist. If it is a wisdom tooth, it may not be discovered until later as these teeth start forming well into childhood. When you discover that one of your teeth never formed, there are few options to address it that you might consider.

First, when no adult tooth forms, the baby tooth will often remain well into adulthood because there is no adult tooth growing in to push it out. I have seen many adults well into their 40’s and even 50’s with baby teeth still present because the adult tooth never formed. You may be able to use this tooth for many years, although very few baby teeth will last a lifetime. When the baby tooth eventually fails, the missing adult tooth can be replaced with either a dental implant or a dental bridge.

Another option is to remove the baby tooth prior to orthodontic treatment and close the space for the missing tooth. This is called a substitution treatment and can be a great option for someone who is a good candidate.  Being a good candidate is determined by many factors including the location of the missing tooth, the bone health, a patient’s age, and the health of the surrounding teeth. The main advantage of this option is that you don’t have to worry about replacing the missing tooth with some form of a fake tooth in the future. If you were born missing a tooth, we can help you decide what option is the best option in your specific case.