Dr. Christopher Maulik feels it is truly an honor to be trusted with the smiles of his patients. He is thankful to be able to help children and adults gain self-confidence while creating beautiful healthy smiles. For him, bringing together thoughtful planning and analysis and blending the creativity of art is extremely rewarding.

Being an orthodontist also allows Dr. Maulik to build relationships with patients that can span generations. He loves watching kids in their formative years as an elementary or middle school student grow up into young adults in college and beyond. The best compliment he receives is when former patients bring in their own children, and he gets to start the smile-creating journey all over again!

Dr. Maulik went to theUnversity of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, one of the top dental schools in the country, where he received his Doctorate of Dental Medicine. He was also inducted intoOmicron Kappa Upsilon, a national dental honor society that accepts only those who are in the top five-percent of their class and have demonstrated exemplary traits of character. After dental school, Dr. Maulik completed a three-year orthodontic residency at the University of Connecticut and worked in a private orthodontic practice in Connecticut.

Dr. Maulik strongly believes in scientific evidence guiding his decisions in patient care, and thus it is of the utmost importance for him to stay current on all recent scientific findings pertaining to orthodontics. He is a regular attendee of the American Association of Orthodontics annual sessions and Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists annual sessions, as well as San Diego Academy of Orthodontists lectures, where he meets with and learns from his peers and world-renowned leaders in the orthodontic community. Armed with this knowledge, Dr. Maulik feels confident that he is up to date on the most current thoughts and philosophies to achieve the best orthodontic outcome possible.

For most people, achieving a healthy, beautiful smile is the reason for receiving orthodontic care. If youre self-conscious about your smile, correcting your concerns with orthodontics will greatly improve the way you look and feel.

When your treatment is complete, you will have the smile youve always dreamed of and the confidence to show it off! We also want you to feel comfortable and confident throughout your entire orthodontic experience, and our practice is dedicated to making sure that you receive the quality care you deserve.

Orthodontic appliances are made of metal and ceramic. They may be removable or they may be brackets bonded to the teeth. By placing a constant, gentle force in a carefully controlled direction, braces slowly move teeth to the proper position.

Gone are the days when a metal band with a bracket was placed around each tooth. You can now choose clear or metal brackets and, in some cases, the color of your appliance. Wires are far less noticeable, and the latest materials are designed to move teeth faster with more comfort. Today, any age is a great age to wear braces!

Treatment time varies and can last less than one year or up to three years, depending on several factors including age, treatment method, and how minor or severe your case is. A big factor in a successful treatment is you! The more involved and diligent you are, the more efficient your treatment will be. For children, receiving interceptive or early treatment can also help provide a quicker treatment time.

Phase 1 orthodontics is the treatment of children aged 5-12. Phase 1 is early intervention to reduce both the treatment time and cost of orthodontics. 80% of phase 1 treatment is completed before adult teeth are present, using natural growth to prevent crowding.

The success of phase 1 treatment depends upon the cooperation of your child, with younger children often being more willing to wear appliances. Early orthodontic treatment creates beautiful smiles and healthy jaws, prevents snoring and speech problems, and removes the need for future extractions of permanent teeth.

Conventional wisdom argues that orthodontic treatment shouldnt start until all the adult teeth have grown in, but some issues with bite, alignment, and facial development can show up long before those teeth do. Thats where interceptive or phase 1 orthodontics comes in.

An orthodontist can help your childs jawbones grow properly to have more room for the adult teeth and provide the structure for a healthier bite. Correcting problems like malocclusions (bad bites) as they appear makes future orthodontic treatment much faster and easier and, in some cases, unnecessary!

Interceptive orthodontics seeks to correct problems with jaw growth and damage from harmful habits such as thumb sucking, nail-biting, tongue thrusting, and mouth breathing. Each of these habits contributes to bite problems such as a narrow upper arch, an underdeveloped lower jaw, a deep bite, and an open bite, as well as dental crowding, which in turn can make it difficult to chew and swallow effectively and speak clearly.

One of the most noticeable differences between phase 1 and phase 2 orthodontics is that phase 1 is less focused on actual braces. Those typically come later, if they are still needed. Some of the treatments commonly used in Phase 1 include:

Phase 2 orthodontics is the treatment of adults and children 12 and older. Phase 2 straightens teeth using orthodontic braces or clear aligners. This process is most successful when it immediately follows phase 1, and generally takes 1 to 2 years. Here at Scripps Poway Orthodontics, we offer a wide array of orthodontic treatments to our phase 2 patients:

If youre out of your teens, you might think you missed your chance for straight teeth, but thats not true! Modern orthodontic treatment, including Invisalign, is for adults as well as teens. And even if you had braces before, your teeth might still shift over time, which is another reason to consider treatment as an adult.

So whats actually happening on the cellular level during orthodontic treatment? Specialized cells called osteoclasts and osteoblasts respond to the pressure around the periodontal membrane (the pocket of gum tissue connecting the tooths root to the jaw bone). Osteoclasts break down the bone tissue so that the tooth can move, while osteoblasts gradually form new bone tissue behind it. So its not just your teeth moving into position; your jawbones are reshaping themselves too!

Your teeth still remember where they used to be for a while after the braces come off, which is why its so important for you to remember to wear your retainers as directed. Retainers will help your teeth get used to their new position, and theyll prevent unrelated shifting that happens to most people naturally over the course of time.