Straight teeth, your way

How braces and aligners actually move teeth

Teeth are not set in bone the way a nail is set in wood. Each root sits in a socket, held by a ligament, and the bone around it is living tissue that is constantly broken down and rebuilt. Orthodontics uses that. Apply gentle, steady pressure to a tooth and the bone ahead of the root gives way while new bone fills in behind it. The tooth migrates, and the socket rebuilds around its new position.

Braces deliver that pressure with brackets bonded to each tooth and an archwire that wants to spring back to its own shape. Clear aligners deliver it with a sequence of trays, each shaped a fraction differently from the one before, so every tray asks a few teeth to move a small amount. Same biology, different delivery.

Because bone remodeling is slow by design, treatment is measured in months rather than weeks. It is also why teeth can feel slightly loose partway through, and why they need holding while the bone finishes settling.

Who is a good candidate

Age is rarely the barrier. Adults in their fifties and sixties straighten teeth successfully, and plenty of orthodontic patients are adults whose teeth have shifted over the years, or who had treatment as a teenager and stopped wearing retainers. What matters more than age is the health of the foundation.

Gums and bone come first. If you have active gum disease, moving teeth through inflamed bone can make things worse, so our periodontist treats that before orthodontics starts. The same goes for untreated decay or a failing old filling. These are usually short delays, not disqualifications.

Some bite problems are skeletal rather than dental, meaning the jaws themselves are mismatched in size or position. Braces alone can camouflage a degree of that, but significant cases are better corrected with orthodontics combined with jaw surgery by our oral and maxillofacial surgeons. Clear aligners also depend on you. If you know you will not wear trays 20 to 22 hours a day, braces are the more reliable choice.

Your options, and what each one is best at

Traditional braces start at $3,500 and are still the most versatile tool we have. Because the brackets are bonded to the teeth, they work whether or not you remember anything, and they handle rotated teeth, impacted canines and large vertical movements that trays struggle with.

Invisalign also starts at $3,500. The trays come out, so you eat and brush normally, and most people at conversational distance will not notice them. They handle crowding, spacing and mild to moderate bite correction well, and they ask for discipline more than anything else.

Lingual braces start at $8,000. The brackets go on the tongue side of your teeth, so nothing shows from the front at all. They cost more because the appliance is customized to the inside surfaces of your teeth and the technique is more demanding. Expect a few weeks of adjusting your speech and getting used to your tongue meeting hardware.

Retainers start at $250, and they are part of every plan rather than an optional extra.

What the process looks like, first visit to last

Your first visit is a consultation and a records appointment. We take photos, a digital scan of your teeth and, where the case calls for it, CBCT 3D imaging, so we can see roots, bone and any unerupted teeth instead of guessing from the surface. Our orthodontist, Dr. Boback, uses those records to build the plan, and you leave with that plan and a written quote before anything is bonded or ordered.

Fitting day takes longer than the visits that follow. Braces are bonded and the first wire placed. Aligner patients have attachments bonded and collect their first trays. Expect two or three days of tenderness afterwards, which soft food and over-the-counter pain relief handle well.

After that you settle into a rhythm. Braces are adjusted every six to ten weeks. Aligner patients change trays at home and check in less often. We run Saturday appointments from 9am to 3pm, which is how most working adults and students keep treatment on schedule without missing work or class.

Cost, insurance and paying over time

Orthodontics is priced as a full course of treatment, not per visit. Invisalign and traditional braces start at $3,500, lingual braces at $8,000, and retainers at $250. Where your case lands depends on how much movement is needed and how long you are in treatment, which is why we quote you in writing after the records appointment instead of over the phone.

Many dental plans include an orthodontic benefit that behaves differently from the rest of your coverage. It is often a lifetime maximum rather than an annual one, and some plans apply it only to dependents under a certain age. We verify your benefits free of charge before you commit, so you are working from the real number.

For the balance, we offer financing through Cherry, Affirm and Sunbit, which spreads treatment across monthly payments. We also run an in-house membership plan for patients without insurance. Ask the front desk to price both side by side.

Treatments & pricing

Prices are estimates for self-pay patients before insurance. Insurance reduces costs significantly. Financing available - most patients qualify in minutes via Cherry or Sunbit.

Frequently asked

Learn more about this

• Invisalign vs Traditional Braces
• Braces or Invisalign - Which Is Better?
• How Invisalign Works
• Invisalign Cost in Houston
• Average Cost of Braces in Houston
• Dental Braces Options