Choonara Orthodontics Blog

On the day you get your braces off or finish your Invisalign treatment, we know you'll be excited. After all, you're seeing your gorgeous new smile in its full glory for the first time! But hold your horses – because while you may have finished the active stage of your treatment, you're not quite out of the woods yet. After braces or Invisalign comes the retention phase, and it's vital to ensuring that your new smile lasts a lifetime. As your Johannesburg orthodontist, we at Choonara Orthodontics are dedicated to helping you achieve the best possible smile, so here's why it's so important that you wear your retainer.

While many parents understand the importance of their child seeing their dentist for the first time at an early age, it can be a bit more confusing deciding when — or if — your child should see an orthodontist. As your trusted local Johannesburg orthodontist, Choonara Orthodontics is here to help struggling parents understand the importance of early orthodontics and the role it can play in your children’s life for years to come.

For children, teens, and young adults alike, having crooked or misaligned teeth can have a negative impact on self-esteem and self-confidence! With the rise of the “selfie” generation and the dominance of social media platforms, having crooked teeth can harm your child’s perception of themselves as they grow older, as well as their peers’ perception of them both in an academic setting and in a professional setting.

Wondering what types of braces are best? As there are many different kinds of orthodontic appliances out there to help correct smiles, our dental team at Choonara Orthodontics in Johannesburg can help you find the best set of braces for your unique personality, lifestyle, and age. From traditional metal braces and ceramic braces to Invisalign and Invisalign Teen, Dr. Sahide Choonara and our dental team have put together a detailed list of the various types of braces that can give you the smile you’ve always dreamed of; helping you make a more informed decision on what braces are best for you!

When you visit Choonara Orthodontics in Johannesburg, SA for the first time, you will receive an initial consultation with our board-certified orthodontist, Dr. Sahide Choonara! After a mouth evaluation and a few x-rays, Dr. Choonara and our dental team will be able to indicate a course of treatment that best suits your individual needs. In some cases, the first step of your orthodontic journey will include tooth extractions! While we generally try to avoid tooth extractions before administering braces, severe tooth crowding may require the removal of one or more teeth.

Here at Choonara Orthodontics, our dental team wants you to know that Cape Town isn’t the only place you should visit on your next trip to South Africa! Boasting a population of well over one million people in 29 different townships, our beautiful city of Johannesburg is filled with vibrant street art around every corner and a captivating cultural history; not to mention that it’s the one and only place in the world to explore the vast wilderness of the Cradle of Humankind! Below, our staff has complied a list of five of our favorite pit stops and destinations you should check out as you cross Johannesburg off your travelling bucket list:

We all want a brighter, whiter smile. Modern teeth whitening treatments make that easier than ever, but if you aren't looking for professional whitening, there are things you can do at home to whiten your teeth and create a more beautiful smile. As your dedicated Johannesburg orthodontist, Choonara Orthodontics is proud to help patients of all ages achieve beautiful smiles through orthodontic treatment, but we want to serve as a resource for every aspect of dental health. If you're looking for easy ways to whiten your smile at home, we can offer a few tips!

At Choonara Orthodontics, we're proud to help our patients achieve healthy, beautiful new smiles, and we strive to make the treatment process as convenient as possible for patients throughout the Johannesburg area. That's why in addition to offering popular treatment options like braces and Invisalign, we're excited to provide our patients with Propel accelerated orthodontic treatment: an innovative, advanced method for speeding up tooth movement and helping you achieve a new smile faster. But Propel has some important differences compared to traditional braces, and if you're looking to learn more about the difference between Propel and metal braces, we're here to help.

Oral hygiene is one of the most important parts of maintaining a healthy smile, and when you're undergoing orthodontic treatment, it becomes even more critical. During treatment with Invisalign or braces, your teeth are more vulnerable to the buildup of food, bacteria, and plaque, making them more susceptible to cavities and dental decay. Thankfully, it's easy to prevent these problems with strong oral hygiene – but you do have to know how to properly brush your teeth with braces. At Choonara Orthodontics, we strive to be a comprehensive resource for our orthodontic patients throughout Johannesburg, so here are our tips on brushing with braces.

Bad breath is always a potential worry, whether you have braces or not. At Choonara Orthodontics, our team is here to help you find solutions to your concerns and ways to prevent future issues. Our Johannesburg orthodontist, Dr. Sahide Choonara, proudly provides orthodontic treatment to the Johannesburg and Sandton areas. Check out a few of our tips to avoid bad breath with braces and reach out to schedule an appointment with a trusted orthodontist.

Back in the early days of orthodontics, metal braces were the only option if you wanted to straighten your teeth. Today, you have a variety of options to choose from for your orthodontic treatment, from clear ceramic braces and Invisalign to the traditional metal braces that are now smaller and more comfortable than ever before. You can find all of these options here at Choonara Orthodontics in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Invisalign is a great alternative to traditional braces for teenagers and adults who want to improve their smiles discreetly and conveniently. Because Invisalign has received a lot of media attention in recent years, most people are familiar with the so-called “invisible braces” that work to straighten teeth without any metal wires or brackets. But along with the widespread attention this orthodontic treatment option has received, there are also many myths being spread about Invisalign.

At Choonara Orthodontics, we’re all about giving our patients many options for improving their smiles, which includes Invisalign and several types of braces. But that’s not all! We also want our patients to earn a beautiful smile faster than ever, which is why we offer Propel Accelerated Orthodontics, to shorten treatment times and give patients the smile of their dreams faster than ever!

National Oral Health Month was in September, but at Choonara Orthodontics, we want to continue the awareness through October. The purpose of this annual observance is to make people aware of the positive impact oral health, as well as orthodontic treatment, can have.

At Choonara Orthodontics, we know the decision to start treatment is a huge one but the benefits greatly outweigh the costs. Below, you’ll find more information about the benefits of a straighter, healthier smile, and how it can change your life forever.

As the only practice in Johannesburg to offer Propel, we want to provide you with as much information as possible on this treatment supplement. Find out more about it below.

Dr. Choonara and the team at Choonara Orthodontics wants to warn former, current and potential patients about the dangers of DIY braces, as they can result in devastating consequences like severe infections of the gums and underlying bone.

As we ring in a brand new year, many of us are making resolutions that can help improve our lives. Our Johannesburg orthodontist, Dr. Choonara would like to encourage you to adopt a few New Year’s resolutions that can help keep your smile bright and healthy all year long.

Now that we’re heading into the festive holiday season, there will be many parties and other get-togethers planned where lots of delicious foods will be served. If you’re wearing metal or ceramic braces, this is a time to be extra careful about what you eat. With so many tempting foods available including foods which are hard, sticky, chewy and crunchy, it’s very important to remember that these types of foods can damage or break your appliances. Even though you have to steer clear of these braces-busting foods, you can still have loads of holiday fun as long as you follow these simple tips.

At Choonara Orthodontics, we know how much a beautiful smile means to our patients. On the surface, the purpose of orthodontic treatment is to fix malocclusions (bad bites) and misalignment in both teeth and jaws, which drastically improves your appearance and self-esteem. But did you know that neglecting orthodontic issues in your mouth can also negatively affect overall health?

At Choonara Orthodontics, we use a variety of methods to correct our patient’s bites and teeth. Often times we’re asked: Are braces or Invisalign the better treatment option? The answer isn’t as simple as it seems, as they each offer their own unique advantages and disadvantages. Everyone’s case is different, and it’s important to work with your orthodontist to create the most effective plan for you. Below, we outline some of the differences between our two most popular treatments.

The team at Choonara Orthodontics welcomes you to our blog! We appreciate you taking the time to explore our website and learn about our various treatments.