My Journey to A Beautiful Smile with Stouffville Orthodontist Dr. Jason Tam

My name is Emma and am currently a Registered Dental Hygienist at a Markham Orthodontist. I've been in the dental field for about 8 years now, starting as a Level II Dental Assistant at an Endodontic (Root canal specialist) office. I joined TeamMCO in the fall of 2011 and after seeing so many beautiful MCO smiles, I decided to get my own perfect smile!

When I was younger, my mom could not afford braces. Understandable seeing as she is a single mom with three kids. Wanting the perfect smile, I decided to seek out a consultation when I was 19 at a previous Orthodontist office. The Orthodontist informed me that I am a surgery case. Meaning I would need 3 years of braces, with upper and lower jaw surgery because my lower jaw was too far back. Being 19, my body stopped its growth, therefore we were not able to direct my lower jaw forward with appliances. Then I was told once my lower jaw came forward with surgery, my chin might have to get shaved down because it was very prominent. Once hearing about that last part, I decided against it. So life went on and I always had the idea of braces in the back of my mind. Working with MCO Orthodontics brought that back to the forefront.

Dr. Jason Tam gave me an alternate treatment option knowing that I did not want surgery. The option was braces for 2 years, with an extraction of my upper left premolar to correct my deviated midline and class 2 elastics. I could have chosen Invisalign, ceramic braces or metal braces. I decided on metal braces. As we move forward in my 2 years of treatment, I will describe the process of getting the braces and the journey that comes along with adjustments as well as getting my premolar extracted!