If you’re ready to start searching for an orthodontist you can trust to care for your teeth, you have a few options to consider. Your Google search results will bring up a few different options, including some completely online choices where you don’t have to go see an orthodontist at all and instead can just order some aligners online. This sounds too good to be true, probably because it usually is!
There are good reasons why you should opt to see an orthodontist in your local community rather than online options. Dr. Wedding and Dr. Thompson share their top reasons why it’s healthier, safer, and just better to go to a local orthodontist, and why Wedding Thompson Orthodontics may be the right choice for you!
Support a Local Business
With so many convenient online options available now, it might seem like online would be the best option for everything. We disagree! Spending our dollars locally does so much more than just get us the service we need. It’s a way to boost the local economy, invest in our community, and keep businesses open for others who may need them.
At Wedding Thompson Orthodontics, we are so proud and grateful for our patients in the Owensboro area who choose our practice and help keep our doors open. We do our best to give back through our staff, charities, and supporting other local businesses ourselves. It’s an amazing cycle of support, and it’s worth being a part of!
Get Early Interventions
It’s one thing to decide as an adult to seek orthodontic care. It’s another thing altogether when parents bring in their kids at a young age to help prevent oral health problems from ever starting! We recommend bringing in kids as early as seven years old for their first orthodontic appointment. This will allow Dr. Wedding or Dr. Thompson to evaluate how their teeth and jaws are growing. If there are significant interventions that need to be made, such as correcting a jaw misalignment, then it is much simpler to do while their bones are growing, avoiding more drastic measures like surgery later on.
Unfortunately, none of these interventions are available when you seek online orthodontic treatment. Not only can you not get early care for children, most of the time online companies won’t even be aware of significant bite problems and do not provide any long-term solutions that you will need to have healthier teeth, mouth, and jaw.
Treatment from a Board-Certified Doctor
Certification for an orthodontist is no easy feat. First, they need to go through all of dental school, and then continue on with orthodontic specialist training. After all of these many years of training, they will have to pass certification tests to prove that they have a deep understanding of how to align teeth for greater health. Thankfully Dr. Wedding and Dr. Thompson are both board-certified, which is why you can trust them with your smile. But online orthodontic retailers can’t guarantee that any experts ever look at your scans. Instead, they depend upon computer technology and technicians to simply print and send your aligners.
It makes a difference working with someone who has all the expertise you need to give you a smile that is beautiful and healthy. Don’t risk shifting your teeth with online aligners that could then cause even more problems. In order for orthodontics to be safe, you have to examine what’s under the surface as well as the teeth themselves, and only a board-certified orthodontist can do it!
Multiple Treatment Options
Braces
Some people assume that braces are either an old-school method or are just too inconvenient. That couldn’t be further from the truth! We love recommending braces to some patients who either prefer to have an ongoing treatment that they can’t forget or misplace or those who have more severe challenges that need extra care to resolve.
Wedding Thompson Orthodontics offers both metal braces and ceramic braces, depending on our patient’s needs and preferences. Metal braces are standard, and work efficiently to craft beautiful smiles, while clear braces are super discreet being made from tooth-colored ceramic.
Invisalign
Invisalign clear aligners are an amazing treatment option for many people. Those who are trying to buy their orthodontics online are probably thinking of it as the same thing as Invisalign. However, getting your aligners through a local orthodontist is so much better and safer in the long run.
These clear aligners go over your teeth, blending in almost perfectly with your smile. They need to be worn at all times aside from when eating or drinking in order to be effective at shifting your teeth. You typically move to the next tray in the series every one to two weeks, and that will be dictated by Dr. Wedding or Dr. Thompson. At each appointment, you will receive more aligners that you will wear over the next weeks and months, and your doctor will be overseeing your progress the whole time.
Prioritize Health and Cosmetics
When it comes to a local orthodontist, you won’t have to choose between a beautiful smile and a healthy smile. That’s what great orthodontic care can do. We evaluate your teeth, gums, and jaw to ensure that all alignments will be safe and healthy. Then we create a treatment that works! The same can’t be said of online aligners, but thankfully there are local options like Wedding Thompson Orthodontics that you can choose from to ensure the healthy smile of your dreams.
Questions About Choosing a Local Orthodontist
Are mail-order aligners as safe as treatment from an orthodontist?
No. Mail-order companies work from impressions or scans you take yourself, and nobody examines your teeth, gums or jaw in person. Moving teeth without that exam can create bite problems, gum recession or root damage that takes far more time to correct later. A local orthodontist checks your progress at every appointment and adjusts the plan when your teeth do not respond the way they should.
How old should my child be for a first orthodontic visit?
Around age seven. Most children have enough permanent teeth by then for Dr. Wedding or Dr. Thompson to spot crowding, a crossbite or a jaw that is growing off track. Catching those things early often means shorter and simpler treatment than waiting until all the adult teeth have come in.
What is the difference between Invisalign and aligners ordered online?
Invisalign trays are planned by an orthodontist from a digital scan taken in our office, and every stage gets checked against how your teeth are actually moving. Online aligners follow a plan set at the very beginning with nobody confirming it is working. That gap matters most in cases that involve bite correction, which online treatment usually cannot handle at all.
We Can’t Wait to See You At Wedding Thompson Orthodontics
After all this talking, it’s finally time to start working on that smile! Give our office in Owensboro a call today to set up a free consultation appointment! This will give you a preview of what is to come, and our staff will walk you through your options. You’ll see that a local orthodontist is the right fit for so many reasons. We can’t wait to have you here!