At OP Smiles, we help adults achieve confident, healthy smiles with modern orthodontic options that fit your life, your schedule, and your budget.
At OP Smiles, we help adults achieve confident, healthy smiles with modern orthodontic options to fit your life, your schedule, and your budget.
It’s never too late for orthodontic treatment. We care for young professionals, busy parents, and any adults whose teeth have shifted over time, helping them finally achieve the smile they’ve always envisioned.
Adult orthodontics isn’t just about straighter teeth. It’s about how your smile looks, feels, and functions every day.
Many adults seek treatment because they’re noticing:
At OP Smiles, we balance beautiful results with healthy function and thoughtful care. From your very first interaction, our goal is to make the experience clear, supportive,and encouraging so treatment feels achievable, not overwhelming.
Whether you visit us in Boone or North Wilkesboro, your first visit is pressure-free and informative. We’ll take photos, digital scans, and any necessary X-rays , evaluate your teeth and bite, and discuss your goals. You’ll learn why your teeth may have shifted and which options best fit your lifestyle, timeline and budget.
Finances shouldn’t stand in the way of quality orthodontic care. We partners with OrthoFi, to offer flexible payment options to fit your budget, along with convenient online account management. Insurance benefits are verified at your initial visit and claims are handled for you so you can maximize your benefits with ease.
When the bite is not in harmony, teeth can wear unevenly, gums can recede, restorations can fail, and jaw joints can become strained. Small imbalances over time can lead to sensitivity, fractures, clenching discomfort, or TMJ symptoms. By creating skeletal and occlusal balance, we reduce destructive forces, protect the joints, and establish a functional foundation that supports comfort, durability, and long-term stability.
Jaw position affects far more than appearance. It influences facial aging patterns, airway volume, breathing quality, and lip posture at rest. Poor skeletal support can contribute to a flat profile, lip strain, or airway constriction. By optimizing jaw position and tooth support, we enhance facial harmony, promote healthier breathing patterns, and create soft tissue support that maintains a natural, youthful look over time.
Insufficient arch development can lead to crowding, dark corners in the smile, cheek collapse, and compromised function. Proper transverse development improves bite coordination, enhances facial support, and allows the smile to appear fuller and more confident. A well-developed arch form not only looks better, it functions more efficiently and supports long-term stability.
The relationship between the upper teeth and lower lip directly influences how youthful and natural a smile appears. Too little tooth display can make a smile look aged; too much gum display can distract from tooth harmony. By carefully controlling vertical tooth position and smile arc, we create a dynamic, balanced smile that looks vibrant in photos, in conversation, and at rest.
Crowded or improperly angled teeth are harder to clean, more prone to uneven wear, and less stable over time. Incorrect angulation or inclination can also compromise lip support and bite function. Precise alignment improves hygiene, distributes biting forces properly, enhances esthetics, and reduces the risk of relapse. This creates a result that is both beautiful and biomechanically sound.
When dental midlines are off or occlusion is unbalanced, the smile may appear shifted or uneven. By coordinating dental and facial midlines and ensuring occlusal balance, we create symmetry that looks and feels natural, harmonious, and confidently centered within the face.
Even perfectly straight teeth can look unnatural if proportions are off. Teeth that are too narrow, too wide, too short, or disproportionate to neighboring teeth can disrupt harmony. Proper proportions ensure that light reflects evenly, the smile flows naturally, and function is preserved. Balanced dimensions create a refined, cohesive smile.
Color is often the first thing people notice in a smile. Even minor shade inconsistencies can distract from otherwise excellent alignment. Once function and positioning are optimized, enhancing brightness and uniformity elevates the final result. Color reinforces a healthy, vibrant appearance and maximizes the visual impact of the completed treatment.
Gums are the frame of the smile. Uneven or excessive gum display can overshadow ideal tooth positioning. Healthy, symmetrical gum contours protect the teeth biologically while enhancing esthetics. Proper gum architecture ensures the smile appears balanced, clean, and refined — completing the overall result.
Teeth naturally shift throughout life due to growth, aging, and functional forces. Without a defined retention strategy, even beautifully finished results can relapse. Thoughtful retention planning preserves alignment, protects bite relationships, and safeguards the investment made in treatment. Long-term stability ensures that today’s result remains tomorrow’s confidence.
After your consultation, we bring everything together into a plan tailored specifically to you. Using our proprietary ten-point framework, known as The OP Smile™, we evaluate everything from bite function and facial balance to smile symmetry and long-term stability because a truly finished smile is about far more than straight teeth.
Whether we use Damon braces or Spark clear aligners, every phase of your treatment is crafted to follow the natural progression of a well-designed smile.
You’ve likely heard of Invisalign. Spark™ clear aligners work in a similar way, but with advanced materials and exceptional clarity, making them the preferred choice of our doctors for a more discreet, refined treatment experience. These nearly invisible trays fit snugly over your teeth and can be removed for eating, drinking, and brushing.
For adults who want a discreet, flexible alternative to braces, clear aligners offer convenience without interrupting your daily routine.
The Damon® Ultima System uses an advanced, low-friction approach that goes beyond simply straightening teeth to create broader smiles, improved facial balance, and healthier overall results, often with less need for extractions.
Unlike traditional braces, Damon Ultima brackets and wires are designed to work together more efficiently, using lighter forces to move teeth more comfortably. This can mean fewer adjustments, easier hygiene, and a more comfortable treatment experience overall.
Because braces work continuously 24/7, they’re often the most effective option for more complex cases or for adults who prefer not to manage aligner wear time.
Your orthodontist will guide you through both braces and clear aligner options so you can choose the approach that best fits your goals, lifestyle, and timeline.
Beyond braces and aligners, we offer a full range of specialty services to support airway health, facial balance, and the kind of finishing details that take a great result to the next level.
We take an airway-centered approach to orthodontic care, evaluating and addressing concerns that can impact breathing, sleep quality, and overall health. Our team uses advanced diagnostics and treatment planning to help create a strong foundation for both a beautiful smile and better wellness.
If you’re concerned about excess gum display, our orthodontists offer solutions to create a more balanced, natural-looking smile. We use modern techniques and appliances to gently adjust gum line and tooth display, enhancing both esthetics and confidence.
Precise gum contouring brings harmony and symmetry to your smile. Our gum shaping procedures are designed to improve the appearance of your gum line, making your smile look polished and complete.
Small, conservative changes to tooth shape and edges can make a big difference in your smile’s overall flow and proportion, and are often the finishing touch you never knew you needed. Tooth reshaping is a subtle way to enhance your smile without major restorative treatment.
Our in-office and take-home whitening treatments are safe, effective, and designed to help your final result shine. We’ll help you achieve a brighter, more radiant smile as the final enhancement to your orthodontic journey.
Follow-up visits are spaced to keep your treatment moving while minimizing disruption to work and family schedules. Using remote monitoring during your orthodontic treatment, we can assess your progress from anywhere with no disruption to your normal schedule. This technology ensures that every visit to our office is worth the trip and keeps your treatment moving efficiently.
It’s never too late to achieve a smile you deserve, one you’ll feel proud to share every day, for years to come. Take the first step by scheduling a complimentary consultation with our team at OP Smiles in Boone or North Wilkesboro.
In most cases, no. As long as your teeth and gums are healthy, adults of many ages can benefit from orthodontic care. If you’re unsure whether treatment is right for you, a complimentary consultation is the easiest way to find out.
It depends on your goals, lifestyle, and the complexity of your case. Clear aligners are ideal if you want a more discreet, flexible option and are comfortable wearing them consistently. Braces are often the better choice for more complex treatment or if you prefer a system that works continuously without needing to manage wear time. Your orthodontist will recommend the best option based on what will give you the most efficient, lasting result.
Every smile and bite is different, so timing will depend on your specific needs. In general, many adult treatments fall within a range of several months to a couple of years, depending on how complex your crowding, spacing, or bite concerns are, the type of treatment you choose, how consistently aligners are worn, if aligners are chosen, and keeping regular appointments and following home-care instructions. At your consultation, your orthodontist will walk you through an estimated timeline and what you can do to help keep things on track.
Many adults are excellent candidates for orthodontic treatment. Orthodontic care may help with crowding or overlapping teeth, spaces or gaps, overbites, underbites, crossbites, and open bites, and teeth that have shifted years after childhood braces. If you have crowns, bridges, implants, or other dental work, your orthodontist will factor those into your plan and coordinate with your general dentist as needed. If orthodontic treatment is not the best solution for a specific concern, we’ll explain why and help you explore the right next step.
Visit frequency depends on your treatment type and stage. For many patients, remote monitoring means fewer in-office visits without any loss of progress. We’ll outline what to expect at your consultation and do our best to schedule visits around your work and family commitments.
Spark clear aligners are designed to be discreet. We’ll help you choose an option that lines up with how subtle you’d like treatment to look throughout the process.
Our team will walk you through available payment options and help you understand how your benefits apply so there are no surprises. We pride ourselves on clear communication about finances so you’ll leave with all your questions answered and a flexible payment option that meets your needs.
Patients often come to us directly, and a referral typically isn’t required to schedule a consultation. If a referral or pre-authorization is required by your insurance, we’ll let you know.
