Dental Expertise in Indianapolis

Orthodontic Treatment for Adults and Teens in Indiana

If your teeth have crowded, drifted, or never quite lined up the way you'd like, orthodontic treatment can change how your smile looks and how comfortably you bite and chew. Dr. Matthew Fraiz and the team at Indy Dental Health straighten teeth for both adults and teens, and we do it without shuffling you between offices or rushing you into a decision.

We're a multi-location practice serving Indianapolis, Greenwood, Shelbyville, and the surrounding central Indiana communities. That means your consultation, your planning, your adjustments, and your follow-up all happen with a team that truly knows what you need.

To talk it through, reach the location closest to you: Indianapolis at (317) 872-3465, Greenwood at (317) 865-1193, or Shelbyville at (317) 398-6399.

Quick Takeaways

• Treatment usually runs somewhere between 8 and 24 months, depending on how much movement your teeth need.
• We offer both clear aligners and traditional braces, and we help you weigh which fits your goals, your bite, and your daily life.
• All care stays in-house across our three locations.
• Ask what your specific case will cost, how long it should take, and what your insurance actually covers. We'll walk you through all three at your consultation.
• You'll get a real assessment and a written plan before you commit to anything.

How We Manage Orthodontic Treatments

The path from crooked to straight is more predictable than most people expect. Here's how it goes.

1. A full evaluation before anyone talks about a product

We start by examining your bite, your alignment, your jaw structure, and what you actually want out of treatment. This matters. Some people come to us uneasy after being pointed toward a specific appliance before anyone really looked at their teeth. We do the looking first, then we talk options. Learn more about our comprehensive dental care.

2. A treatment plan you can read and question

You'll get a plan that lays out what we recommend, why, roughly how long it should take, and what it will cost. Most consultations run 45 to 60 minutes, and you typically leave the same visit knowing where you stand, no second trip required. We offer both clear aligners and traditional braces, and we'll walk through which fits your teeth and your routine at that visit.

3. Active treatment with focused check-ins

Once you're underway, adjustment visits usually take 20 to 30 minutes and happen every six to eight weeks, depending on whether you're in aligners or braces. We track your progress closely and tell you plainly how it's going each time.

4. Retainers and long-term follow-up

Finishing active treatment isn't the end. Teeth like to drift back, so we fit you for a retainer and check your progress at 3, 6, and 12 months afterward to make sure your results hold.

What Straightening Your Teeth Actually Does for You

Orthodontics is worth doing for more than appearance, though appearance is a perfectly good reason on its own. The benefits show up in ways that affect your daily comfort, your long-term oral health, and yes, how you feel when you smile.

• Easier cleaning: Straight, evenly spaced teeth are simpler to brush and floss, which lowers your risk of cavities and gum problems over time. Pairing this with routine preventive care keeps your smile healthy for the long haul.
• A more comfortable bite: Correcting how your teeth meet can ease the strain that comes with an off bite and make everyday chewing feel more natural.
• Better wear patterns: When teeth line up properly, they wear more evenly instead of grinding down in spots.
• Confidence that carries: A lot of adults tell us they held off for years. Feeling good about your smile in professional and personal settings is a real payoff, and it pairs well with cosmetic treatments if you want to take things further.
• A fix that lasts: Paired with faithful retainer wear, straightened teeth stay put.

Is Orthodontic Treatment Right for You or Your Teen?

People come to us for all sorts of reasons, and most of them are good candidates.

Adults with crowding, spacing, or bite issues

Whether your teeth have been crowded since your own teenage years or have gradually shifted over decades, treatment can address both the look and the function. Age is rarely the barrier people assume it is; we treat patients well into their 30s, 40s, and beyond with options like Invisalign and traditional braces.

Teens whose permanent teeth have come in

Most teens are best evaluated between roughly ages 11 and 14, when the permanent teeth have arrived but the jaw is still growing. That window lets us time things well. Often a general dentist points a family our way when a teen reaches that stage, and Invisalign Teen is one route we can consider.

Anyone whose earlier results slipped

If you had braces or aligners before and things moved back, that's common and usually correctable. We look at what happened, why it didn't hold, and what approach makes more sense this time. Retreatment often takes less time than the original.

If your case turns out to be better suited to a different route, we'll say so and talk through the alternatives rather than pushing treatment you don't need.

How Long Orthodontic Treatments Take

The length depends on how far your teeth need to travel, and we give you a concrete estimate at the consultation instead of a vague promise. Most cases fall into these ranges:

• Minor alignment corrections: about 6 to 12 months
• Moderate cases: roughly 12 to 18 months
• Complex or full-mouth cases: 18 to 24 months

A few things nudge that timeline one way or the other:

• How much crowding, spacing, or bite misalignment we're correcting
• Whether any prep work, like an extraction or a filling, needs to happen first
• How your teeth respond to movement, which varies by person and age
• Which method you choose, and how consistently you wear your aligners or keep your adjustment visits
• Whether we're redoing work that shifted after earlier treatment

We break the plan into phases with milestones so you always know roughly where you are: early movement and space creation up front, the major alignment work in the middle, and final positioning and bite refinement in the last stretch.

Ready to take the first step? Reach the location closest to you: Indianapolis at (317) 872-3465, Greenwood at (317) 865-1193, or Shelbyville at (317) 398-6399.

Cost, Insurance, and Payment Options for Orthodontic Treatments

Cost is one of the first things people want to know, and we'd rather you ask early than wonder. The right figure depends on your case, so we give you a full breakdown at your consultation instead of a number that may not fit your situation. That breakdown covers your appointments, adjustments, retainers, and follow-up care, with no surprise charges appearing later.

To make treatment workable, we can:

• Verify your insurance benefits and handle the claims side for you
• Set up a payment plan that spreads the cost across your treatment
• Offer different payment schedules depending on what suits your budget
• Connect you with third-party healthcare financing when that's the better fit

Many dental plans include orthodontic benefits with a lifetime maximum, and we'll tell you exactly what yours covers versus what you'd pay out of pocket before you decide anything.

Why Families Across Central Indiana Choose Us for Orthodontics

We're not an implant-only clinic or a corporate assembly line. Indy Dental Health is a group of specialized providers who work together, so your orthodontic care sits inside a practice that can handle whatever else your smile needs.

• Everything under one roof: Planning, adjustments, and retainer care all stay in-house. No chasing referrals or repeating your story to a new office.
• Three convenient locations: Indianapolis on North Meridian, plus Greenwood and Shelbyville, so treatment fits around where you actually live and work.
• Doctors who take the time: Our providers exceed their continuing education requirements and genuinely explain the reasoning behind what they recommend.
• Digital planning and tracking: We map your treatment and monitor progress so appointments stay efficient and on schedule.
• Help between visits: If a bracket comes loose or an aligner cracks, we sort it out rather than making you wait weeks.

Patients across all three offices tend to describe our team the same way: thorough, friendly, and invested in getting it right.

Frequently Asked Questions About Orthodontics

Is it worth getting orthodontic treatment as an adult?
For a lot of people, yes. Because adult bone is denser, treatment can run a little longer than it does for teens, but the results are just as effective. The process and outcome are the same — it just takes a bit more patience in some cases.

How do I know if my teen is ready for an orthodontic treatment?
Readiness comes down to a clinical exam of jaw development, the teeth already in place, and how the bite lines up rather than age alone. The timing window we look for is covered in the candidacy section above.

Clear aligners or traditional braces, which should I pick?
It comes down to your case and your preferences, and we'll walk you through which one fits your teeth and your routine at the consultation.

Will my insurance help pay for orthodontics?
We verify your exact coverage during your consultation and give you a clear breakdown of what the plan pays versus what you'd owe. Many dental plans include orthodontic benefits with a lifetime maximum, and we'll tell you exactly where yours stands before you decide anything.

What happens after my teeth are straight?
Retainer wear is what keeps your results in place, and most people wear one nightly after an initial full-time stretch. We fit your retainer and give you specific instructions when you finish active treatment.

Let's Talk About Your Smile

Whether you're just starting to weigh your options or you've been thinking about it for years, a consultation is the easiest way to see what's realistic for your teeth. You'll get an honest assessment and a written plan, and you're free to take your time with the decision.

When you're ready, reach the office that's most convenient for you:

• Indianapolis (N. Meridian): (317) 872-3465
• Greenwood: (317) 865-1193
• Shelbyville: (317) 398-6399

We'd be glad to help you get started.