Orthodontics

Braces for All Ages

Our practice recognizes that adults and children have different needs, and require a different level of attention and care. We will work with you to ensure that you receive the most appropriate treatments and that your needs are met with understanding, respect, and full commitment from us.

For Children

While there is no exact age for children to begin orthodontic treatment, the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) recommends visiting the orthodontist around age 7. Early treatment can allow Dr. San Martín to correct and guide your child’s jaw, create more space for crowded teeth, avoid the need for extractions later in life, and correct habits. There are a few things to watch for that may mean your child needs to see an orthodontist, such as crowded or misplaced teeth, difficulty chewing or biting, mouth breathing, thumb sucking, or popping jaws.

For Teens

Braces today come in a variety of styles, materials, and colors making life with braces much easier, more comfortable, and even more stylish than in the past. There are several treatment options to choose from, including traditional metal and ceramic braces as well as clear aligners. Treatment times can vary depending on how quickly your body responds and how much work is needed to give you the smile you expect. Regardless of the type of braces you choose, it is important to avoid sticky, hard, or chewy foods, as these may damage your braces and prolong your treatment time.

For Adults

Orthodontic treatment is no longer just for kids. In fact, the American Association of Orthodontists cites that one in five orthodontic patients is over the age of 21. Many adults are choosing to receive treatment because they understand the importance of maintaining their health and they want to feel better about their appearance. Our esthetic options include clear braces and Invisalign, which will be individually customized to meet your
needs.

Iconix® Aesthetic Braces

Iconix stainless steel champagne-colored brackets truly offer the best of both worlds – the durability of stainless steel and the aesthetics of “white” gold. A unique proprietary process ensures these brackets will stay champagne for the duration of treatment. When matched with gold wire and clear ligatures, Iconix offers a complete patient pleasing cosmetic system that requires literally no sacrifice on your part.

Life With Braces

Oral Hygiene with Braces

When you have braces it’s very important to brush and floss after every meal in order to keep your teeth and gums healthy throughout your treatment. If you need help choosing the right toothbrush, toothpaste, and dental floss, please ask us and we can help you choose the right products for your teeth and your appliance.

Eating with Braces

You’ll also need to be careful about what you eat to prevent breaking your braces or bending the wires. Before you can get back to the treats you love, you will need to take special care to avoid any foods that could damage your new appliances. These are some of the food items to avoid:

Chewy foods — bagels, licorice
Crunchy foods — popcorn, chips, ice
Sticky foods — caramel candies, chewing gum
Hard foods — nuts, hard candies
Foods that require biting into — corn on the cob, apples, carrots

Soreness Caused by Braces & Appliances

When you first get your braces, you may notice that your teeth and mouth feel a little tender or sore. This is perfectly normal and we promise your mouth will not be sore forever. If the pain is too much and does not go away, you can try taking a pain reliever. It is also not uncommon for your lips, cheeks, and tongue to become irritated until they toughen and become used to the braces. We would be happy to give you some wax that you can put over the braces to lessen the tenderness. If you need some wax, please let us know.

Loose Teeth

If your teeth begin feeling a little loose, don’t worry because this is normal. They must first loosen in order to move them into the right position. Once your teeth have been repositioned, they will no longer be loose..

Loose Wires & Bands

The wires and bands on your braces may come loose. If this happens, please contact us as soon as possible so that we can check and repair your appliance. If any piece of your appliance comes off, be sure to save it and bring it to the office with you.

You can temporarily fix the loose wire by using the eraser end of a pencil to carefully and gently push the wire back into place. If the loose wire is causing irritation to your lips or cheeks, put wax or a wet cotton ball over the broken wire to relieve the pain.

Take Care of Your Appliances Prescribed by Dr. San Martín

Damaged appliances can increase the length of your treatment process, so be sure to take care of all your appliances. Your teeth can only move if the appliances are in place and you consistently wear the rubber bands, retainer, or other appliances prescribed by Dr. San Martín.

Playing Sports With Braces

We have great news for athletes. You can still play sports even while undergoing orthodontic treatment. If you do play sports, it’s recommended that you wear a mouthguard in order to protect your teeth and appliances. Let us know if you need help finding the right mouthguard for you.

In case of a sports emergency, be sure to immediately check your mouth and your appliance for any damage that may have occurred. If you notice any loose teeth, or if your appliance has been damaged, please contact our office right away. You can temporarily relieve the discomfort with wax.

Two Phase Treatment

What is two-phase orthodontic treatment?

Two-phase orthodontic treatment is a specialized orthodontic process combining tooth straightening and physical, facial changes. The purpose of two-phase treatment is to maximize the opportunity to accomplish the most ideal, healthy, functional, esthetic result that will remain stable throughout your life.

What if I put off treatment?

In certain situations, it is possible that putting off treatment can result in a need for more invasive treatment later in life that may not completely fix your smile. Early treatment may be most effective for achieving lasting results.

Phase-One

The goal of phase-one treatment is to help the jaw develop in a way that will accommodate all of the permanent teeth and to improve the way the upper and lower jaws fit together. Children often exhibit early signs of jaw problems as they grow and develop.

An upper jaw that is growing too much or is too narrow can be recognized at an early age. If children, over the age of six, are found to have this jaw discrepancy, they are candidates for early orthodontic treatment.

Phase-one usually involves the placement of braces only on your child’s permanent teeth. During the initial consultation, Dr. San Martín will take records to determine if early treatment is necessary.

Resting Period

In this period after phase-one, the remaining permanent teeth are left alone as they erupt. Retainers may not be recommended if they interfere with eruption. A successful first phase will have created room for permanent teeth to find an eruption path; otherwise, they may become impacted or severely displaced.

At the end of the first phase of treatment, teeth are not in their final positions. This will be determined and accomplished in the second phase of treatment. Selective removal of certain baby teeth may be in the best interest of enhancing eruption during this resting phase. Therefore, periodic recall appointments for observation are necessary, usually on a six-month basis.

Phase-Two

The goal of the second phase is to make sure each tooth has an exact location in the mouth where it is in harmony with the lips, cheeks, tongue, and other teeth. When this is established, the teeth will function together properly. Phase-two usually involves full upper and lower braces.

At the beginning of the first phase, orthodontic records were made and a diagnosis and treatment plan established. Certain types of appliances were used in the first phase, to correct and realign the teeth and jaw.

The second phase begins when all permanent teeth have erupted, and usually requires braces on all the teeth for an average of 24 months. Retainers are worn after this phase to ensure you retain your beautiful smile.

Emergency Orthodontic Care

True orthodontic emergencies are very rare, but when they do occur we are available for you. As a general rule, you should call the office when you experience severe pain or when you have a painful appliance problem that you can’t take care of yourself. We can easily schedule an appointment to help you resolve the problem.

Call 210-404-9020

You may be able to temporarily solve many problems yourself until you can schedule an appointment with our office. When working with your appliances, you need to know the names of the parts of your appliances so you are able to identify what part is broken or out of place. Even if you temporarily resolve the problem, it is very important that you still call our office as soon as possible to schedule a time to truly repair the problem. Allowing your appliance to remain damaged for an extended period of time may result in disruptions in your treatment plan.

Emergency Orthodontic Care

General Soreness

When you get your braces on or after monthly appointments, you may feel some soreness in your mouth and teeth may be tender to biting pressures. This should only last for a few days, but if the tenderness is severe, take whatever you normally take for headache or similar pain. In the beginning, your lips, cheeks, and tongue may become irritated as they become accustomed to the surface of the braces. You can put wax on the braces to lessen this.

Loose Appliance

If any part of your appliance is loose or poking you, place wax to alleviate the issue and call our office to schedule a repair appointment.

Loose Bracket

If you notice that one of your brackets or bands have become loose and is still attached to the wire, you should leave it in place and stabilize it with wax. If the bracket comes out entirely, wrap it with a tissue and bring it to our office.

Loose Wire

If the wire becomes loose, the first option should be to come into our office so that we can correctly place it back to where it should be. If you are unable to do this, and as a last resort, use a small fingernail clipper to clip the wire behind the last tooth to which it is securely fastened.

Poking Wire

Using a pencil eraser, push the poking wire down or into its original position until it is no longer irritating the surrounding tissue. You can also place wax on it to stop the irritation.

What our patients say

We absolutely love Dr. San Martín and his amazing office staff. Dr. San Martín does an excellent job!! They were so accommodating around our busy schedules to get an appointment. We are so happy with our daughter's beautiful smile!! Dr. San Martín is conveniently located close to so many elementary and middle schools and the new high school behind Peiper Middle school. He is the best!!

M. Swadel

Dr. San Martín, his family, and his staff are all WONDERFUL! Our daughter was less than thrilled about having to get braces, but the team at San Martín Orthodontics made her feel welcome and at ease from day one. We are so grateful that our friends recommended them. It’s been an easy process and they are great to work with. They have a sparkling clean office that has a fun, relaxing, Texas vibe, complete with a coffee/tech charging bar, couches for parents, and seating by the dental chairs if your child wants you close by. Dr. San Martín is easily available via email if a need arises outside of office hours, and the few times we have needed him, he responds right away. They also have fun promotions every month and this past February we won concert tickets to the San Antonio Rodeo! I can’t say enough great things about this practice. If you’re looking for an orthodontist in the Stone Oak/Spring Branch/Bulverde area, you have found your place! ?

C. Haffke

Dr. San Martín is a really great orthodontist. During my treatment in braces, he was always extremely patient and gentle. He always took the time to answer any questions I had. He is one of those doctors who is extremely knowledgeable in addition to the fact that he genuinely cares about the well-being of his patients; something that is harder and harder to come by these days! I would recommend him wholeheartedly to anyone looking for a positive experience with braces, for themselves or their kids!

H.M.

My daughter had a fabulous experience with Dr. San Martín and his team. She had the braces for two years and had excellent results. They explained the complete treatment and were very honest. I recommend 100% San Martín Orthodontists to anyone.

M. Vazquez

Dr. San Martín was amazing! My daughter has received wonderful treatment for the duration of her ortho care. The staff is friendly and helpful, and the price is very competitive. I highly recommend Dr. San Martín for your ortho care!

T. Miller

The office and staff made me feel welcome and comfortable every visit. And, they were able to accommodate my busy work schedule with late Wednesday appointments.I would definitely recommend San Martín Orthodontics for any age... it's a great family place that's clean and safe.

Y. Correa

We've been clients of San Martín Orthodontics and Dr San Martín since 2015. We'd had zero experience with ortho until then. We are on our second kiddo in braces and have at least one more to go, maybe two. The staff and Dr. San Martín go above and beyond to make sure we receive the BEST care possible. Even though we now live an hour away we still make the trip to have Dr. San Martín be our orthodontist because he is THAT good! Wouldn't even consider anyone else. You will NOT be disappointed if you choose SMO!

L. Ranch

THE BEST ORTHODONTIST I HAVE EVER MET IN MY LIFE! Seriously so impressed with the ethical integrity and operational efficiency of San Martín Orthodontics. I would never choose another place!
THANK YOU for your PATIENT-CENTERED care!!!

My daughter and I absolutely love this practice. I will take my younger 2 kids here as well in the future. Dr. San Martín and his staff treat us like family. We always feel very comfortable and welcome when we attend our visits. I researched numerous orthodontists prior to choosing Dr. San Martín. We are happy with our treatment!!!

R. Daniels