San Luis Obispo · Arroyo Grande
A smile you’ll be confident in for a lifetime.
An orthodontist Central Coast families trust to guide them on their smile journey. Braces and Invisalign in San Luis Obispo and Arroyo Grande.
Or call the office: San Luis Obispo 805.544.3223 · Arroyo Grande 805.489.4625
Before you call anyone
Braces aren’t what you remember.
If you had braces, you probably remember three or four years of them. A tightening every four weeks that made dinner hard. Headgear. A tray of putty that made you gag. That is what most parents are picturing when they bring a child in, and it is why they wait.
Times and technology have changed dramatically. The brackets we use move teeth with far less force, so there is far less soreness. A two-minute digital scan replaced the putty. Most people finish in a year to a year and a half, and come in every two months rather than every four weeks.
Meet your orthodontist
One orthodontist, start to finish.
“If this is my son, my daughter, my mom, my dad, how would I treat this case?” That’s the question Dr. Garrett asks himself about every case. He has treated his own children and his parents, and they got the same plan anyone else would.
It isn’t only the patient in the chair. It’s the parent who drove them, the brothers and sisters who came along, the afternoon it took out of your week. Nobody should feel like coming to see us is a burden.
You’ll see Dr. Garrett at every appointment, not a different doctor each visit. He studied mechanical engineering at Cal Poly, a couple of miles from our San Luis Obispo office, before he ever thought about orthodontics. He earned his dental degree at Nova Southeastern University, completed his orthodontic residency at Loma Linda University, and came back to practice here.
- Board Certified Diplomate, American Board of Orthodontics
- BS Mechanical Engineering, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
- DMD, Nova Southeastern University
- MS Orthodontics, Loma Linda University
- Early Invisalign doctor panels
Your first visit.
Come in and meet us
A full exam, a digital scan and a look at what’s actually going on. No cost, no obligation.
See your plan
A treatment plan designed around your teeth and the smile you want: how we’d get you there, how long it takes, and the full fee in writing.
Start when you’re ready
If you’re ready, we can usually get started soon after the consultation. If you’d rather take the plan home first, that’s completely fine.
Two offices, so there’s almost always a day that works.
We alternate: San Luis Obispo on Tuesday and Thursday, Arroyo Grande on Monday and Wednesday. Same doctor, same records, same plan. Pick whichever suits your week, and switch when it doesn’t.
Arroyo Grande
Monday & Wednesday, 8:30–4:30 · Friday 8:30–12, front office
1040 E. Grand Ave.
Your treatment options.
Braces
Self-ligating brackets mean less pressure on your teeth, less soreness, and a shorter treatment overall. Best of all, appointments fall every two months.
Invisalign
Straighten your teeth without anything showing. Take the trays out to eat, and brush and floss exactly as you do now. Scanned in about two minutes.
Early treatment
A first look around age seven, while the jaw is still growing. It’s when we can make room for teeth that are coming in crowded and guide them in before they overlap or damage the tooth beside them.
Invisalign Touch-Up
Had braces years ago and things have moved? A short course to bring it back.
What it costs
Interest-free monthly payments.
We don’t let cost get in the way of you getting the smile you want. With in-house 0% interest financing and discounts for paying in full, we make sure the smile you deserve is affordable and easy. You get the whole figure in writing at the consultation, before you decide anything.
We verify your insurance benefits before you come in, file the claims, and show you what your share is expected to be.
Most emergencies
A poking wire or a broken bracket doesn’t come with a bill.
Your first retainers
After the braces come off, and the retainer check that follows.
No surprise fees
The figure you agree at the consultation is the figure you pay, the whole way through treatment.
“It is easier than you think. Financially you can make it work.”
— Parent, and a patient herself
Almost everyone who finally comes in says a version of the same thing afterwards: they wish they had done it sooner. Not because of the teeth. Because of the years spent keeping their mouth closed in photographs, or covering a laugh with a hand, or thinking about it every time they met someone new.
For children there is a timing element as well. Around age seven the jaw is still growing, which is when we can make room for teeth that are arriving crowded. Waiting doesn’t close every door, but it closes some of them.
“If you don’t, you’re gonna be thinking about it over and over and over, just wondering what your life would be like now.”
— Invisalign patient, who waited a year and a halfWhat it’s actually for
It’s more than just straightening teeth.
Dr. Garrett puts it this way: it’s about feeling more confident, assured and happy with your smile for the rest of your life. The part people don’t expect is the other half: a bite that finally works. Patients come back after treatment and tell him they bit into a piece of pizza and it was fantastic.
“My overbite was significant enough that I physically had to move my jaw backwards just to get my back molars to touch… Being able to just eat like a normal person.”
— Braces and jaw-surgery patientWhat our patients say.
Over 500 five-star reviews across our two offices, and voted Best Orthodontist in SLO County for the 10th year in the New Times Reader Poll, most recently 2026.
“Every time I walk through the door, without even giving the front desk my name, they already know who I am.”
— Invisalign patientShe was told she needed jaw surgery. She was treated with braces instead.“Knowing that I was to have jaw surgery was kind of scary, but since I figured out I could fix it with braces… I was glad to have a solution to the problem.”
— Braces patient“It’s less of a business thing and more they’re just like friends trying to take care of you.”
— Invisalign patient
The GO Team
Most of us have been here a long time.
Some of the GO Team have been here since 2008. You’ll see us around town: at the Special Olympics we sponsor, on the sideline of a game, in line at the store. By your second visit we’ll know your name, and your younger sister’s too.
We sponsor Special Olympics San Luis Obispo County and we’re at the Mid-State Fair every year.
“They supported my softball team. They sponsored it.”
— Patient, age 10Questions we get a lot.
Will it hurt like I remember?
Almost certainly not. Parents tell us all the time that their child hasn’t had any discomfort and ask whether the teeth are even moving. The brackets we use slide with far less friction than the ones you grew up with.
How old should my child be for a first visit?
Around seven. Not because treatment starts then. Usually it doesn’t. It’s because that’s when we can see how the jaw is developing and step in early if it saves work later.
My teeth shifted after braces years ago. Can that be fixed?
Usually, and often quickly. A short Invisalign touch-up is enough for most cases where teeth have drifted since treatment.
What does the first visit cost?
Your consultation is complimentary. You’ll leave with a treatment plan built around your teeth and the smile you want, the full fee in writing, and the interest-free monthly options, all before you decide anything.
