Braces in Townsville and Bohle Plains

Braces move teeth by pushing on them gently and continuously for months on end, which is why the appointment that matters is not the day they go on but every adjustment after it. At both clinics that is every appointment from the assessment to the day the brackets come off.

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Why Local Matters More for This Than Anything Else

Adjustments come round every few weeks and each one is short. Having them at whichever of our two clinics is closer, Kirwan or Bohle Plains, rather than across the city, is the difference between a quick stop and half a day gone.

A bracket comes loose on a Thursday, a wire starts digging in, a school holiday moves an appointment. All of that is manageable when the clinic is in town and genuinely difficult when it is not, and it is the reason courses of treatment get abandoned halfway through.

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The Three We Fit

• Metal braces. Stainless steel brackets and a wire. The most robust option and the one that handles the widest range of movements, which is why it is still the most common.
• Ceramic braces. The same idea with tooth-coloured brackets, so at conversational distance they are far less obvious. This is usually what adults are asking about when they ask whether there is a discreet option that is not aligners.
• Fastbraces. A different bracket system, available here. Whether it suits your case is a question for the assessment rather than a decision made off a website.

We are not going to tell you which one is best in the abstract, because there is no answer to that. Which system suits you depends on what your teeth and your bite are actually doing.

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Braces or Clear Aligners

Braces and aligners are both available at Kirwan and Bohle Plains, which is worth saying plainly: the recommendation is not shaped by what we happen to offer.

Aligners are removable and close to invisible, and they come out to eat and clean. That is the advantage and it is also the catch, because they only work for the hours they are actually in. Braces are fixed on, so they keep working whether or not anyone remembers them, and there are movements they manage that aligners find harder. For a teenager who will not reliably wear a tray for twenty hours a day, that difference decides the case on its own.

There is more on our clear aligners page for Kirwan and the one for Bohle Plains.

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Before Anything Goes On

An assessment first. Braces move teeth through bone, so the gums and the bone have to be healthy enough to take it, which is why adult treatment often starts with the gums, and any decay is dealt with before brackets go anywhere near a tooth. Records are taken with an intra-oral scanner and 3D imaging at either clinic, so the plan is made from what is actually there.

You get the plan, the alternatives and the written quote before anything is fitted. If we think aligners, or nothing at all, would serve you better, that is what we will say.

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Cleaning Around Braces

Braces make teeth harder to clean and easier to mark, and white patches around where the brackets were are a permanent souvenir of a course of treatment cleaned badly. It is entirely avoidable, but it takes more than a quick brush. We show you how, and the check-ups during treatment are partly about catching this early.

If you play contact sport, you need a mouthguard made to go over braces rather than a shop-bought one jammed on top. We make those at both clinics, and there is more on our sports mouthguards page.

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Retainers Are Part of It, Not an Extra

Teeth drift back towards where they came from. A retainer, worn the way you are told, is what keeps the result you paid for, and that is a commitment that outlasts the braces themselves by years. We go through what that will involve at the start rather than presenting it as a surprise on the day the brackets come off.

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Kirwan and Bohle Plains: What Is the Same and What Differs

Both clinics fit and adjust metal braces, ceramic braces and Fastbraces, and both offer clear aligners (Invisalign, Spark, Angel Aligners, Clearpath and Aalto). The same options are on offer at either address, so choosing between them is mostly a question of which one is easier to reach. What they share, and the few things that differ:

• At both clinics: the same three bracket systems and clear aligners, on-site parking, intra-oral cameras, 3D imaging, and a periodontist who consults at both. Hours are Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm.
• Records: the Kirwan clinic uses a Trios 3 intra-oral scanner and the Bohle Plains clinic uses a Medit i700. The 3D imaging unit at Bohle Plains is a Dentsply Sirona Orthophos XG 3D.
• Kirwan: on Thuringowa Drive, near The Willows.
• Bohle Plains: inside the Kalynda Chase estate, in Townsville’s western growth corridor, with a kids’ play corner.
• Languages: Hindi, Punjabi and Nepali are spoken across our clinics, and Dr Pa Sia, who works at both Kirwan and Bohle Plains, speaks Hmong. Who is rostered varies by day, so ask when you ring. There is more on our languages page.

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Choosing a Clinic When You Will Be Back Every Few Weeks

A course of braces is a long run of short visits, so the practical test is which clinic fits your week. Both are open Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm and neither keeps weekend hours, which means every adjustment is a weekday appointment. For a school-age patient that means planning around the school day, and for an adult around work. It is worth saying so when you book, so the time suits you.

You can book online or ring the clinic: Kirwan on (07) 4723 2090 or Bohle Plains on (07) 4735 8500.

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Children, Teenagers and Adults

Children and teenagers. Children are seen at both clinics, and watching how a child’s bite is developing is part of children’s dentistry. When braces are the right step is decided at an assessment, not by age alone. Parents often ask about the Child Dental Benefits Schedule. We bulk bill it at both clinics, but braces and aligners are not covered by it, so it is worth knowing before you plan around it.

Adults. Gum health decides whether teeth can be moved safely, so treatment for adults often starts there. Gum disease treatment is provided at both clinics and a periodontist consults at both, so if your gums need attention before braces go on, that can be looked after at the same clinic.

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Questions Worth Asking at the Assessment

The assessment is the time to ask. These are worth having ready:

• Which system do you recommend for my teeth, and why that one rather than the others?
• Would clear aligners suit me, and if not, what stops them working in my case?
• How often will I be back, and how will that fit around school or work?
• What does the retainer plan look like once the braces come off?
• What is the full written quote, and what might my health fund contribute?

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If a Bracket Breaks or a Wire Pokes

Things do break between adjustments. A wire that is digging into your cheek can be covered with orthodontic wax until you are seen. A loose or broken bracket is often not urgent, but ring whichever clinic is closer and we will tell you whether it can wait. Both clinics hold time each day for urgent problems, and our emergency dentist page for Townsville and Bohle Plains covers what to do when it is more than a bracket.

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Who We See Around Kirwan and Bohle Plains

Braces are a long run of short weekday appointments, so for most households the real question is whether the clinic fits around school and work. Bohle Plains and Kirwan are both on the western side of Townsville, and the figures below describe the people living around the two clinics.

Bohle Plains is one of Townsville’s youngest suburbs: the median age is 28, against 38 across Queensland, and 48.5% of local families are couples with children. Defence is the largest employer of Bohle Plains residents, at 18.2%, and we see DVA card holders at both clinics.

Kirwan is one of Townsville’s largest suburbs, with 20,780 residents and a median age of 38, in line with the state. Together the two clinics serve the western side of Townsville.

Population figures: ABS 2021 Census QuickStats for Bohle Plains and Kirwan.

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What It Costs

The fee depends on what needs moving and how long the case runs, so you get a written quote after the assessment, before anything is fitted. Orthodontic treatment usually sits under a different part of a health fund policy than general dental, so whether yours contributes depends on your cover: we check it at the desk through HICAPS. Interest-free payment plans are available, and there is more on our payment options page.

The same applies at both clinics. Afterpay, ZipPay and humm are available at both as well, but their limits are relatively low for treatment of this size, so larger plans such as orthodontics are handled with other flexible payment arrangements. Ask the team which arrangement suits a course of braces. There is more on our health funds page.