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Orthodontist Ivan de Spa says it is becoming more common for adults to come to his specialist practice seeking to achieve a perfect smile.
He says improvements in technology mean that a lot can be achieved for adults as well as younger patients.
Ivan de Spa Orthodontics has been providing its services to patients on the North Shore for more than 30 years and recently opened a satellite practice, in Silverdale Street.
The team includes Ivan’s wife Susan, who is Practice Manager, and Orthodontic Auxillary Lee-Anne Croucher.
Currently they work two days a week in Silverdale and three in the Takapuna practice.
The practice is an approved provider of Invisalign – an alternative to braces – and this is Lee-Anne’s speciality. A mould is taken of the teeth at the clinic and sent to the United States where a 3D model is created. Ivan plans a patient specific predictable treatment, and all the aligners are sent back to New Zealand. Lee-Anne says Invisalign is particularly popular with adults, as it cannot be seen in the mouth.
Ivan qualified as a dentist in 1975 and gained a Masters in Orthodontics in 1984, both at Otago University’s school of dentistry. In between, he worked all over the world as a dentist, including two years in Christchurch. He gained his pilot’s licence in a small Piper aircraft in Australia and then worked as a Flying Dentist for two years, visiting isolated mining towns in Western Australia. He and a dental nurse, with portable dental equipment on board, would spend a day in each town but demand for the service was high.
“I had to get a night flying licence in the end, because we’d always run over time,” Ivan says.
He travelled widely, and worked for a time in England as a dentist under the National Health service.
He says he enjoys orthodontics because it’s a positive experience for patients, with results that you can see.
“It takes money, and time, but people are prepared to invest those things in order to gain a great smile,” he says.
He says prices for braces have remained relatively stable over the years.
“The cost comes from the time it takes, the expertise of the operator and the capital outlay for any dental practice,” he says.
Ivan has worked at Whangaparaoa Dental in the past, and also owned an olive grove in Waitoki, so he’s well acquainted with the Coast.
“It’s growing so fast around here and I think the Silverdale practice will have to keep pace with that.”
Contact details:
Address: Unit 1, 1 Silverdale Street, Silverdale
Phone: 0800 299 000
