Orthodontics (Braces)
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Orthodontics (Braces)
A beautiful healthy smile is an amazing part of looking and feeling your best. The great news is that orthodontic treatment has never been easier, more efficient, and more affordable.
Our advanced techniques and materials will increase your comfort while reducing your treatment time.
Problems with Teeth
- Crooked teeth (misaligned) can affect the way you chew and talk.
- There may be extra spaces or no space at all between crooked teeth.
- This can make the teeth harder to clean and you can end up with more cavities.
- Sometimes crooked teeth can affect the way your jaws line up and can even cause pain in your jaw and neck.
TYPES OF BRACES AVAILABLE
Metal Braces
Metal brackets are the ones that are most frequently used. They appear as small metal buttons that are glued to the front of each tooth. These tend to be less expensive than other types of brackets. Additionally, they can be made colorful with ligature rubber bands that come in a wide range of colors.
A major drawback of these braces is there color which makes its use very limited in cases of adult orthodontics.
Ceramic (Tooth Colored) Braces
Ceramic brackets are made of composite materials. They are very strong and generally do not stain. Adults like to choose ceramic because they “blend in” with the teeth and are less noticeable than metal. Teeth can slowly be moved and shifted into proper position by applying pressure in certain directions. Bands, wires and elastics are placed on the teeth to move them in the right direction. This takes place slowly and carefully over an extended period of time. Shifting teeth back into a functional position can take months to years, but eventually you’ll have a new and improved mouth! Retainers are often used after the braces, to hold the teeth in their new position until they are stable. It is important to wear the braces or an appliance for however long it takes. If you quit at any point during treatment, the teeth can shift back into their old position.
Invisible/Lingual
These are the ultimate in brace concealing technology. They are placed on the backs of your teeth so nobody will even see that you have them on, unless they get an up close and personal look at the inside of your mouth.Usually, lingual brackets are made of metal.
Orthodontists need special training to be able to treat patients with lingual braces. Therefore, not every orthodontist provides them.
Caring for your teeth when with braces
Foods to Avoid
Candy and foods that are sticky and chewy, or hard and crunchy, create the biggest problems for kids and adults wearing braces or retainers.
Therefore, in general:
- Nothing hard
- Nothing sticky
- No big mouthfuls
- No biting into anything hard
Remember
Crunchy, chewy, sticky, gooey foods can damage your braces and lengthen treatment time. AND
When you follow these instructions about what to eat and how to keep your braces in good shape – YOUR help and cooperation lead to great results!
Instruction
- Wear the retainers as explained. PLEASE DO NOT MODIFY DOCTORS INSTRUCTIONS.
- Initially retainers may induce more spit than usual; this is a temporary phase and will pass in a matter of days.
- As the upper retainer covers your palate, speech thickens for a few days only.
- Clean the retainer twice with the help of hand brush and toothpaste OR a separate toothbrush and a mild soap will do.
- DO NOT USE HOT WATER TO CLEAN THEM.
- When you are instructed to wear them only part-time, store them safely in the retainer case in a moist environment.
- If they are worn irregularly they become tight, uncomfortable and ill-fitting. DO NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN.
- Avoid flipping or playing with the appliance with your tongue.
- Pets find retainers very attractive. Please keep them out of their reach.
- Purses and pockets are not meant to store retainers. In case of breakage, contact us for an early appointment.
- REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR RETAINERS AT EVERY VISIT.
- If you are wearing a semi-permanent lower wire retainer (LBR); do not bite into hard items such as apples with front teeth. In case it is dislodged, please bring it back to us, ask for an early appointment.
- Remember that retainers are not for ever.
Wear the retainers at all times. Brush it and your teeth after each meal. Don’t lay it aside to eat – your memory may be poor.
Retention
YOUR FUTURE FOLLOWING ORTHODONTICS
Congratulations ! Finally the braces are gone. No more appointments ! No more rubber bands ! Your treatment is finished at last, Right?
Well, not quite,
What we call “active treatment” is over. But there is still one important step called RETENTION. This final stage of your treatment is essential to ensure a lifetime of beautiful smiles and healthy teeth. You have done a great job so far. It hasn’t always been easy, but you have done it anyway. Now do not risk losing what we have achieved due to your effort and co-operation and our skill and experience.
NEED FOR RETAINERS :
Each and every patient needs removable appliances to hold the teeth in their new position after braces are removed. If retainers are not worn/worn irregularly then teeth are likely to shift to their original position specially in the first three to six months period immediately after braces are removed.
It is obvious that these retainers work only when they are in the mouth.
Some facts about Adult Orthodontics/Braces
Orthodontics, the science of correcting Irregular and Malformed jaws and teeth, is always wrongly assumed that it is successful and indicated only in growing Children.
Orthodontics is also as effective and successful in fully grown Adults as well as in middle-aged people too, when the dental and jaw structures are healthy and normal.
TREATMENT, OR ORTHODONTIC CORRECTION, can vary from the comparatively simple closing of front space in a few months, to the realignment of unsightly and disfiguring teeth, to a complete rehabilitation of a neglected mouth that could take up to two years or longer.
Most orthodontists agree that adult treatment will usually take from 10 to 20 percent longer due to the difference in the physiologic responses of the tissues in the mouth of an adult as compared with a ten-or twelve-year-old. Simply put, an adult’s bone structure is denser and firmly set, so a slightly longer response time to tooth movement can be expected.