RICHARDSON — Seven-month-old Mason isn't shy to share a smile, but his Dad is.
"I got to where I was guarding my smile a lot more," explained Jared Tye. "Smiling with my mouth shut, stuff like that."
At 28, Tye decided to get braces. He was thrilled to learn that he could shave months off the time he'd have to wear them.
Orthodontics hasn't seen a major advance for about 30 years. And while no one has figured out how to straighten teeth faster, technology developed in North Texas can mean less time with a "tin grin."
Thanks to computer technology, orthodontists can now get a 3-D image inside the mouth that helps them decide exactly how they'd like to align the teeth.
"Just like we move the tooth in your mouth, we can move it on the screen," explained Frisco orthodontist John Wise.
A state-of-the-art robot, located in Richardson, then bends the wire for the braces with accuracy impossible for human hands. The robot is precise to about 0.1 millimeter, which is about the width of a piece of paper.
This robot and computer imaging is part of the SureSmile process, developed in North Texas.
Dr. Wise is one of a handful of area doctors using the process. He considers it the first breakthrough in years in orthodontics.
"The efficiency that the process brings us will cut off several months of treatment," Dr. Wise said. "There's fewer appointments so it's more efficient. The teeth are not moving any faster; it's not the velocity, it's the efficiency."
SureSmile costs more, but can be covered by insurance. Prices also vary by doctor. Nine providers in North Texas currently offer the process.
Fourteen-year-old Avery Kuschel said good-bye to a "tin grin" five months ahead of schedule. His mother is even happier about that.
"Just the sheer fact of being able to get Avery less appointments," said Mary Kay Kuschel, "Taking him out of school. All those good things, it was much easier than I anticipated."
Jared Tye will spend about three fewer months in braces, meaning he'll flash perfectly straight pearly whites in time for his son's first birthday.
E-mail jstjames@wfaa.com
