In short: braces and clear aligners straighten crooked teeth and correct how your upper and lower jaws bite together. At Abhinav Dental Care, orthodontic treatment is planned and carried out by Dr. Abhinav Shrivastava MDS, an orthodontic specialist — not delegated. We offer metal, ceramic and lingual braces as well as invisible aligners.
Why straighten teeth at all?
Most people come in because of how their smile looks, and that is a perfectly good reason. But crowded and misaligned teeth cause practical problems too:
- They are harder to clean. Overlapping teeth trap plaque where a brush cannot reach, which means more cavities and more gum disease over a lifetime.
- An uneven bite wears teeth down unevenly. Some teeth take far more force than they were built for and chip, flatten or become sensitive.
- Jaw joint strain. A bad bite can contribute to clicking, tightness and headaches around the jaw joint.
- Speech and chewing. Large gaps or a severe overbite can affect both.
When should treatment start?
The classic window is between ages 10 and 14, once most permanent teeth are through but the jaws are still growing and easy to guide. That said, a first orthodontic assessment around age 7 to 9 is genuinely useful — not to start braces then, but because a specialist can spot a developing crossbite, severe crowding or a jaw growth problem while it is still simple to intercept.
Adults are treated routinely now. Teeth move at any age; adult treatment can simply take a little longer because the bone remodels more slowly. A large share of our aligner cases are working adults in their twenties, thirties and forties.
Types of braces we offer
Metal braces
Stainless steel brackets bonded to the front of each tooth, connected by a wire. They are the workhorse of orthodontics: the strongest, the most precise for complex movements, and the most affordable. Modern brackets are far smaller than the ones you remember from the 1990s, and coloured elastic ties let younger patients have some fun with them.
Best for: complex cases, growing children and teenagers, anyone who wants the most treatment for the money.
Ceramic braces
The same system, but with tooth-coloured ceramic brackets that blend into the teeth. From conversational distance they are much less noticeable than metal. They cost more, are slightly bulkier, and the clear ties can pick up stain from strong curry, tea and coffee between visits — though the ties are changed at every appointment.
Best for: adults and older teenagers who want discretion but need real bracket-and-wire mechanics.
Lingual braces
Brackets bonded to the inside surfaces of the teeth, facing the tongue. From the outside they are completely invisible. They are the most technically demanding option to fit and adjust, take some getting used to for the tongue and for speech in the first couple of weeks, and are priced accordingly.
Best for: patients who cannot have anything visible at all — often for professional reasons.
Clear aligners
A sequence of removable transparent trays, each one moving the teeth a fraction of a millimetre, worn about 20 to 22 hours a day and changed every one to two weeks. You take them out to eat and to brush, which means no food restrictions and much easier cleaning.
The catch is that aligners only work while they are in your mouth. Patients who leave them out lose weeks of progress. They also handle mild to moderate crowding, spacing and relapse extremely well, but are not the right tool for every case — severe rotations, large bite corrections and some extraction cases still do better with fixed braces. We will tell you honestly which category you fall into.
Best for: mild to moderate cases where appearance during treatment matters and the patient is disciplined.
How long does treatment take?
Most full orthodontic cases run 12 to 24 months. Mild crowding or a relapse case with aligners can finish in 6 to 12 months. Cases involving extractions, impacted canines or significant bite correction sit at the longer end.
Nobody can give you a real timeline from a photograph. After your first appointment — examination, digital X-rays and impressions or a scan — Dr. Abhinav will give you a specific plan with a specific duration.
What the process looks like
- Consultation and records. Examination, digital X-rays, photographs and study models or a scan.
- Treatment plan. You are shown what needs to move, which appliance options suit your case, how long it will take and what it will cost. Take this away and think about it — no one should be rushed into a two-year commitment.
- Fitting. Bonding brackets takes about an hour and is painless. Aligner patients receive their first trays.
- Adjustments. Every 4 to 6 weeks for braces; aligner patients check in less often.
- Debonding. Braces come off, teeth are cleaned and polished.
- Retainers. Non-negotiable — see below.
Does it hurt?
Fitting braces does not hurt. For three to five days afterwards, and for a day or so after each tightening, the teeth feel tender and bruised when you bite. Soft food and an ordinary painkiller cover it. Brackets can rub the inside of the cheek in the first week until the tissue toughens up; orthodontic wax handles that, and we give you some.
Aligners feel tight for the first day of each new tray. That tightness is the tooth movement.
Retainers: the part people skip
Teeth have a memory. Left alone after braces come off, they drift back toward where they started — this is called relapse, and it is the single most common reason people end up needing orthodontic treatment twice.
Retainers stop it. We fit either a thin wire bonded discreetly behind the front teeth, a removable clear retainer worn at night, or both. Wearing a night-time retainer is a small ongoing habit that protects a two-year investment. Please do it.
Looking after braces
- Brush after every meal, including around each bracket — an interdental brush is worth buying.
- Avoid hard and sticky food: ice, hard nuts, chikki, sugarcane, toffees. These break brackets and add visits.
- Cut apples, guavas and carrots into pieces rather than biting straight in.
- Sugary drinks with braces are how patients get white marks around the brackets. Those marks are permanent.
- If a bracket comes loose or a wire is poking, call us — do not cut wires yourself.
Orthodontic treatment in Jabalpur
Dr. Abhinav Shrivastava MDS treats orthodontic cases at our Madan Mahal clinic, from routine crowding to gold braces and full smile makeovers. Bring any previous X-rays or dental records to your first visit if you have them. If you are considering treatment for a child, come in for an assessment even if you think it may be too early — knowing the plan ahead of time is worth the appointment.