6 Month Smiles Liverpool: Reviewed by Dentists & Orthodontists

 

NOTE: We no longer offer Six Month Smiles because fixed braces, Invisalign, and Inman Aligner produce better results that will leave you much happier.

6 Month Smiles Reviewed

In this article our Smileworks dentists and specialist orthodontists will give a detailed and unbiased review of the Six Month Smiles braces system (6MS).  Six Month Smiles is a popular system here in Liverpool and certainly has some great benefits.  But time and again we’re seeing patients who are confused about the pros and cons of the system and we felt it was time to put the record straight.  For more general discussion about our different braces systems visit our main Braces Liverpool page. 

Here at Smileworks we have no commercial affiliations with any of the providers of braces systems and are free to make clinical judgments based on what we consider is in your best interests.  We also have both general dentists and a specialist orthodontist, Dr Laurence Masters.  You can find him on the specialist register here.  This means that we can give you a broad range of experiences to help you make informed decisions about treatment.

Our dentists and orthodontists have a huge amount of experience and have seen every conceivable type of conventional and short term orthodontic treatment on hundreds of patients.  This means we can give you an even and unbiased review so you can decide whether 6 month smiles is for you.

Six Month Smiles Pros & Cons (TL;DR)

Heres an image, short description and a useful  table of six month smiles pros and cons for those of you who dont have much time:

SIx month smiles moving the front six teeth into position
Six Month Smiles moving the social six (front six teeth) into position

What is Six Month Smiles

Six Month Smiles® are braces with clear brackets that are used by general dentists and not orthodontic specialists to align the front six teeth.  Costing £2,150, they are used for simple cases and are not suitable for more complex alignment.  The term ‘Six Month Smiles’ is misleading because the teeth do not move faster, your dentist will simply choose cases that can be completed in 6 months or less.

ProsCons
Quick (2-9 Months)No quicker than any other STO treatment. 6 Months is the average treatment time
Discreet BracketsClear brackets more likely to come off teeth causing problems
Discreet White WiresOnly for simple cases
Inexpensive (second cheapest treatment at Smileworks) Wires can discolour on brushing
No need for a specialist orthodontistYou might not be suitable
Can take longer than six months (patient expectations)

What is Short Term Orthodontics (STO)?

Six month smiles is a type of braces called short term orthodontics.  Confusingly this means that your treatment is done by a general dentist and not a specialist orthodontist.  In fact the system is designed precisely so non-specialist dentists can use it to correct simple and straight forward cases.  So any type of dentist can use Six Month Smiles.  You don’t need the expertise of an orthodontist to use this system.  In fact, an orthodontist would have no reason to use 6MS because they can literally put together the same package for you using their specialist skills.  Invisalign is the removable system that sits on the fence because orthodontists and general dentists like to use it. You can read about that in our main article here: Invisalign®.  Or to read our helpful price comparison take a look at this page: Invisalign prices.

The manufacturers of six month smiles say theyre an innovative system for the following reasons:

– Average treatment times of only six months

– Our Lucid-Lok® clear brackets and tooth-colored wires are barely visible

– Use of braces has been shown to provide the most conservative and predictable final result

– Our Patient Tray Kits ensure that your appointments are fast and comfortable

– Low forces and short term overall orthodontic treatment times increase comfort, safety, and hygiene.

– Were typically less expensive than traditional braces, aligner therapy, or veneers.

Here at Smileworks we gathered our team of experts to see whether we agree with these claims.  Note there is no mention of orthodontic extractions as that is usually the sphere of a specialist orthodontist. 

Average treatment times of only six months

Six months is an average treatment time.  But its not the maximum treatment time’ as many patients think.  So some cases will be done in 2 months and some will take 10 months.  They have taken all the treatments and come up with the average.  It also has a nice ring to it.  But statistically speaking your case has a 50% chance of taking longer than six months.  If your case is not straight forward,  however, then there is a 0% chance of it taking 6 months.

So are these braces faster than other systems?  Dentist Tom Hedge, DDS from Houston puts it very succinctly in his Real Self review;

Teeth can only move so fast.  The rate of movement is not determined by the type of braces or how frequently they are adjusted Orthodontics can only be “accelerated” by setting limited goals and/or choosing a less than satisfactory outcome.

So the reason it takes, on average, six months is because the cases are simple.  Theres no magic technology moving your teeth faster.

Here at Smileworks we offer 6MS and other similar systems called short term orthodontics.  These systems are faster because they only move the front teeth or what dentists call the social six. 

Heres what our general dentist, Dr MJ Rowland-Warmann  said about short term orthodontics;

“There are a tonne of STO on the market such as 6 month smiles, CFAST, Quick straight teeth, Fastbraces… there are so many!  The most important thing to bear in mind is that STO is for mild cases only that don’t need comprehensive adjustment of the bite and the way the teeth work together; it is mainly to correct the aesthetic appearance of the teeth without really treating the underlying causes of why the teeth are misaligned in the first place.”

So its becoming clear that short term ortho treatments are only for mild cases.  This seems a pretty important factor and many of the problems that we see with 6MS is nothing to do with the braces themselves but to do with dentists possibly trying to do too much with an inherently limited system.

Its also a fact that these systems are not any faster than other types of braces, they just have less far to go and are consequently done in less time.  Saying they are fast is perhaps a little misleading.  Its like saying one runner is faster than the other because she ran 100m in less time than it took someone else to run a mile!  So lets look at the next innovation.

Our Lucid-Lok® clear brackets and tooth-colored wires are barely visible

Its difficult to say what words like barely visible or ‘invisible mean.  So heres some pictures and you can judge for yourself.

Six Month Smile braces

6 Month Smile brackets

6MS before and after

We literally got the first few images that came up on google and havent edited them or searched for good or bad examples.  In fact, I would imagine these patients smiling on selfies would say their braces look pretty great.  And we agree.  Here at Smileworks weve got absolutely no problem with a mouth full of metal, in fact thats often the best way for us to fix your teeth straightening problems.

6 Month Smiles are certainly less visible than fixed braces that look like this:

traditional metal braces

Although whether youd consider them barely visible is a matter for you.  It all depends on your personality and how much discretion youre looking for.  Heres 6MS next to an Invisalign® patient.  Invisalign® is the invisible braces system that, in our opinion, certainly could be described as invisible or barely visible.  This is someones own selfie, not a shot from the Invisalign® website. We’ve also included an image of lingual braces called Incognito®.  These are braces that fix onto the backs of the teeth and are also ‘invisible’.

Braces invisibility compared

Lucid-Lok®, although being a registered trademark is just a type of tooth coloured or ceramic bracket.  There are tons of these available on all the other short term ortho systems and they can sometimes cost a little extra if you want them as an added feature with with your braces.

As they are made of plastic, they don’t stick to the teeth as well as metal or ceramic brackets used in conventional braces treatment.  Dr MJ Rowland-Warmann says: 

They are plastic brackets and don’t stick as well as metal.  They come off all the time and this can be an inconvenience for patients and sometimes  interfere with their braces treatment.  The tooth coloured wires are teflon-coated metal wires, which can lose their colour when brushing properly, as the white covering on the wire will wear off.  Also, tooth coloured wires have more friction with the bracket, so they can result in the bracket not moving so quickly.  It’s for this reason that most orthodontists, and our crew here at Smileworks, prefer to use metal coloured wires as the tooth movement can be quicker.

Other less-visible-than-metal braces systems include Inman Aligners which have a clear bar on the front teeth, and also Lingual braces that fit onto the backs of the teeth and and for this reason completely invisible.  The only  drawback with Lingual systems such as Incognito® is they are made from gold and that makes them pretty pricey.

Use of braces has been shown to provide the most conservative and predictable final result

We had some disagreements in the office about what this one is getting at.  I think they are saying that braces are awesome.  This is something that we whole-heartedly agree with here at Smileworks.  Or possibly its a dig at Invisalign, and they are saying that fixed braces are better than removable retainers or aligners.  Whether this system is conservative is another moot point.  It is conservative because theres a pretty low likelihood that a patient suitable for 6 month smiles is going to need extractions.  Cases where there is a need for removal of teeth are likely not suitable for 6MS.

But again, 6MS shouldnt really be claiming to have some magical way of doing a complicated job better than other systems in a more conservative way.  Thats not the case.  Again, theres no magical conservative features here.  Its just the way orthodontics works.


So perhaps this is a general statement about short term ortho treatment and not something that
s unique to six month smiles.  But you can judge that for yourselves.

Our Patient Tray Kits ensure that your appointments are fast and comfortable

Heres the patient tray kit.  We unboxed one and had a look.  The first thing we all agreed upon is theres nothing really worthy of a little in here.

6MS Patient tray Kit

Its all just the stuff your dentist needs to put your braces on.  Also this is dentist stuff not take home stuff.  We found some brace-wax in there that your dentist will give to you, but the rest unfortunately is for the professionals to play with and not a goodie-bag like many patients think.  If you come to Smileworks and have any STO then youll get some brace-wax.  Ours comes in all the colours of the rainbow.  Maybe we should get a little for that?  Or maybe not.

coloured brace wax
Coloured Brace Wax! (Starfish not included)

Basically a general dentist has less experience and less training than a specialist orthodontist so its nice to have everything all in one place so they can do the job of putting the brackets and wires on quickly and simply.  And thats that.  Its also a pretty cool little box and we thought it might be nice to bring sandwiches to work in.  Once your ortho treatment is finished, obvs.

Low forces and short term overall orthodontic treatment times increase comfort, safety, and hygiene

The shorter the case the fewer chances for complications.  These braces only work on straight forward cases, so in these cases you are unlikely to need more than low forces and 6-9 months to get the job done.  There is nothing special about Six Month Smiles that moves teeth in a special way more safely than any other system.  All STO have these benefits, and conventional braces do too – you just gotta use them correctly.

The safety question is important to mention here.  Theres certain risks associated with all orthodontic treatments.  Among these is something called root resorption and can be potentially bad for teeth.  Many believe that root resorption is caused by too much force on the teeth.  But again, we think it’s actually rather misleading to claim that 6MS are safer than other braces. 

Imagine you see an advert for the worlds safest car.  This car causes 90% fewer accidents than any other car.  You buy the car and take it for a spin.  Ten meters down the road you realise that your new car only has a top speed of 10mph.  Is it misleading to claim that its safe just because it doesnt go very fast?  Thats up to you.  Is it ok to say that this car is a innovation?  Thats also up to you to decide.

Were typically less expensive than traditional braces, aligner therapy, or veneers

Now with the price were really onto something.  Six Month Smiles is cheaper than a lot of systems and you can expect to pay from £2,150 for treatment.  In fact, it’s our second cheapest braces option tied with the other STO treatment Cfast. 

Six Month Smile Cost

Six Month Smiles Cost Compared (in Liverpool)

Braces
Systems
(whitening
Included)
Invisible? Cost
(for upper
& lower)
Speed
(Months)
Cases:
S=simple
M = Moderate
D = Difficult
Fastbraces®

NoFrom £2,500
Max £3,500
8-24E, M
Invisalign®Discreet &
removable
From £3,500
Max £4,000
6-18E, M, D
Six Month
Smiles
Discreet / tooth
coloured brackets
From £2,150
Max £3,250
6-9E
CfastNoFrom £2,150
Max £3,250
6-9E
DeltaforceNoFrom £2,000
Max £3,500
8-24E, M
Conventional
braces
NoFrom £1,500
Max £4,000
6-24E, M, D
Incognito®Completely
Invisible
From £5,000
Max £8,000
12-24E, M, D
Inman AlignerNo: but
Removable
From £1,299
(one arch only)
2-7E
Here's our comparison of the different types of braces and their costs here in Liverpool

It is a nice, simple, straight forward and inexpensive solution.  The fact that the patients treated for 6MS are all straight forward braces cases means less time and less work for the dentists.  This equates to less cost for patients.  Win-win!

Our Professional Review of Six Month Smiles

So in our opinion Six Months Smiles is a good system but its got nothing that sets it apart from all the other types of STO treatments like Cfast, Quick Straight Teeth and Fastbraces® which are also good systems.  In fact Fastbraces® makes a pretty good case for having some genuine innovations such as their triangular brackets and square wires that put different types of forces on the teeth to move them in a different way.  Its certainly a different and new way of doing things.  Whether it works better is up to our dentists and orthodontists to decide.  And they would no doubt disagree.

Were not sure if anything weve seen from Six Month Smiles is an innovation and the use of registered trademarks all over the place is typical of Short Term Orthodontic systems.  They are basically the same but are trying to convince patients and dentists that they have special features that make them different.

4.9
Based on 1454 reviews
I have recently received treatment (consultation, whitening, composite bonding and some general work) from Paula, ably assisted by Steph. Paula was recommended by a friend and did not disappoint, I cannot stress enough how happy I am with the overall process but also the end results. The advice was thorough, my options were clearly set out and I was reassured throughout. Incredible level of skill and service, massive thanks to Paula and Steph.
Frankie J.
10:57 22 Aug 24
Absolutely amazing service from start to finish! Eduardo made me feel at ease throughout the whole process of my invasalign. I would highly recommend smileworks. You can be guaranteed a pleasant experience, all staff are really friendly and nothing is too much trouble.
Ceri C.
20:47 02 Oct 24
Eduardo and Shay couldn’t have been more professional - the process was quick and efficient. Excellent!
will A.
17:09 25 Sep 24
Had a hygiene appointment today with Rebecca and Andreea. They were both very nice and polite and did a great job. They were also very informative and helpful throughout the process. Would recommend.
Kameron C.
14:09 24 Sep 24
Best practice I’ve ever been to lovely staff have all been amazing to me and so happy with the results of my teeth
Melissa K.
13:48 19 Sep 24
I cannot thank Smileworks Liverpool enough. After an initial consultation with MJ for a completely different treatment, she referred me over to Dr JK for recommended gum contouring and composite bonding. And I am so thankful she did!JK and Liv have been nothing but kind and welcoming to me. JK explained everything to me step by step and worked with me to create a smile that was naturally beautiful. It’s completely restored my confidence in myself and my smile.If you’re thinking of coming here for anything, please book your appointment. The team are also lovely and welcoming, the level of professionalism and knowledge of what they do is evident the moment you walk through the door.Thank you to the entire team, but especially to Dr JK & Liv for being so wonderful to me in the few months I’ve had treatment from you both, it’s been brilliant! 🙂
Faye W.
10:50 18 Sep 24
Would 100% recommend for anyone with teeth they aren’t happy with. I had my Invisalign for just over a year and I love my teeth now- Ana is super attentive and made the whole process easy for me. Haven’t had a single bad experience here, all the reception workers and assistants are lovely too. Thank you! 🙂
Anna M.
14:18 17 Sep 24
I had my Invisalign fitted today by the fantastic Eduardo and Martyn! I can’t believe how easy and pain free it was!They completely put me at ease and had the job done in no time at all!I cannot recommend Eduardo, Martyn and the Smileworks’s team highly enough!
Kate J.
13:12 11 Sep 24
An absolutely brilliant experience with Eduardo and Savannah, made me feel really relaxed and comfortable and will definitely be coming back. Brilliant experience and would highly recomend
Josh M.
11:51 10 Sep 24
I started my teeth journey with ana over 12 months ago now and from the start of my journey to still now ana and her husband who I have seen on occasions have been absolutely amazing. Made me so welcome and comfortable when in the chair. I now have my perfect happy smile with my new teeth. Thank you so much. I would highly recommend xx
Laura W.
11:01 06 Sep 24

Here in the office weve decided to rebrand Six Month Smiles to help you understand what youre getting a bit better.  Were calling it Straight Forward Smiles.  Straight teeth, straight forward, geddit?  This is probably more descriptive than trying to blind you with science thats unfortunately, a little shaky.

If there was something revolutionary about STO treatments then Orthodontists would be using Lucid-Lok® brackets on their patients.  Orthodontists would also probably be using triangle brackets by Fastbraces®.  But theyre not. 

We asked our resident Specialist Orthodontist, Dr Laurence Masters  what he thought of Six Month Smiles as a braces system The results may surprise you but they are certainly echoed by a number of other leading orthodontists who believe that Short Term Orthodontics, as well as being a misnomer is a little misleading:

Dr Laurence Masters

Six months smiles (like many so called short term orthodontic products) are putting orthodontics (a clinical speciality) in the hands of less qualified practitioners who often don’t get the best outcomes for their patients.
Teeth straightening as an industry is worth hundreds of billions worldwide and has become an industry controlled by big powerful companies and not orthodontists and the people caring for patients.  Many Orthodontists agree that STO is all about making money at the patient’s expense.
Obviously there are simple cases where we might require basic alignment of teeth, as in relapse cases or very mild malocclusions where we are not changing the patient’s bite. Unfortunately most GDPs will take on cases that require comprehensive orthodontics. They forsake occlusion and function for “quick fix” cosmetic goals because they lack the knowledge to know which cases are suitable and which are not. This is what I call “Alignodontics”.  If you have a heart condition, would you see your GP or would you rather be seen by a Cardiologist?
These claims that they are faster and safer than other braces are unsupported by scientific evidence or literature.  The companies market the claims in a way that is often misleading and false. Not so long ago the one of the biggest orthodontic providers got into trouble for claiming that their braces were faster and safer than conventional brackets and shot themselves in the foot in doing so.  The UK Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint made by an orthodontist that basically accused them of misrepresenting the benefits of self-ligating braces.

Who is Suitable for 6 Month Smiles / STO in general?

But advertising and joking aside, there are some serious concerns that both our dentists and orthodontists have surfaced with the entire principle of accelerated orthodontics.

Its all to do with the choice of patients.  A lot of the time patients will see short term ortho products and want them.   They read that these systems straighten the front six teeth and are smarter, better, faster and stronger than all the rest.  They think, great, my front 6 teeth are crowded so Im suitable.   What they dont realise is that the crowding is often also present in their back teeth too.  But they cant see those teeth so dont notice it.  So a good dentist will manage the patients expectations and choose a comprehensive product.  Or refer them to an orthodontist. 

But unfortunately this hardly ever happens and we see dentists trying to treat all sorts of cases with STO and getting every shade of dodgy result imaginable.  Some dentists will simply have a go when the case is borderline and this typically leads to relapse and unhappy outcomes.  This is why you hear one complaint of this system time after time after time;

“Aaaaagh! My six month smiles took 14 months!

This is not good for the patient or the dentist because theyll often be working hard having to see a patient for double the time it should have taken to finish the case.  And the patient has to continue in braces when they want to be showing off their beautiful smile. 

R. William McNeill, an Orthodontist from the States sums up the position nicely;

I find that most patients who come in for a consult do not realise that they have crowding at the back of the mouth as well as the front. So normally we have to correct the whole dental arch Accelerated ortho is only useful for mild cases and usually only at the front.

And here are some of the reviews of Six Month Smiles from the front page of Real Self.  These are all almost 100% cases that should not have been attempted with STO:

Patient review of 6MS

This is also confirmed by a number of Orthodontists including Ron D Wilson, an Orthodontist from Gainsville who says;

In my opinion, a six months smile is not possible with any type of treatment Teeth need time to move and must move within the bodies own natural physiological ability to adapt to the change in bone and soft tissue

Many Orthodontists would agree with this statement although its clear that if the correct cases are chosen wisely then there should be no problems.  What Dr Wilson is saying is that a complex case cannot be done in six months.

So if youre looking for a perfect result then perhaps six months smiles is not for you.  But if youre looking for an inexpensive and more-subtle-than-metal-braces treatment then it will be suitable along with all the other types of STO available from your dentist.

Is Six Months Smiles is right for me?

Well the answer is that you cant ever know without seeing a dentist for a consultation.  Youll need to see a dentist or orthodontist to have an assessment and theyll advise you on what are the best options.

There are some things you should be aware of when choosing a dentist.  There are some dentists who are not specialist orthodontists and only do Six Month Smiles.  This should be a warning sign.  Do you think that a dentist who only uses one or two systems might be more likely to say youre suitable for one of those two systems?  We think so.  And this is supported by a whole ton of negative reviews from patients whove had problems.

Also you need to choose a practice where there are not only dentists but also specialist orthodontists present.  This will ensure that you are getting the best level of care and dont end up as one of the patients complaining on Real Self that your Six months Smiles was a 15 month disaster!

To learn more about all the different types of braces and orthodontic systems available from Smileworks take a look at our main page here: Braces.

To make an appointment for an orthodontic assessment or braces assessment fill out the form in the footer below and we’ll be in touch immediately.  Or you can call the team on 0151 236 5166.

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