What is orthodontics?
What are the benefits of early treatment?
How do braces straighten crooked teeth?
Do I need a referral from my family dentist?
Do I need to have teeth pulled before braces?
How can cosmetic dentistry help improve the appearance of my smile?
What is orthodontics?
Orthodontics is the branch of dentistry that focuses on the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of dental and facial irregularities. Braces, aligners and other appliances or devices are used to make these corrections by moving teeth and bones.
What are the benefits of early treatment?
Early treatment provides the opportunity to:
1) guide the growth of the young jaw bones creating a better environment for those new emerging permanent teeth
2) guide incoming teeth into optimal positions
3) regulate the width of the jaws
4) lower the risk of trauma to prominent front teeth
5) correct harmful sucking or tongue thrusting habits
6) reduce the likelihood of teeth becoming stuck or impacted under the gums
7) preserve or gain space for arriving permanent teeth
In most cases, early treatment (Phase One) strives to create a better environment for the permanent teeth. Early treatment is often initiated to 1) prevent a problem from developing 2) intercept a developing problem, or 3) guide the growth of the jaws that support the teeth. After the permanent teeth have grown in, full braces (Phase Two) are usually need to straighten the teeth into their final position.
How do braces straighten crooked teeth?
Braces use steady, gentle pressure over time to move teeth into their proper positions. They don’t look like they’re doing much just sitting there, but in fact, every moment or your orthodontic treatment, there’s something happening in your mouth. There are two main component to traditional braces, the bracket and the arch wire that connects them. The bracket is a piece of specially shaped metal or ceramic that we affix to each tooth. Then we bend the arch wire to reflect your ‘ideal” bite (what we want you to look like after treatment). The wire threads through the brackets and, as the wire tries to return to its original shape, it applies pressure to actually move your teeth. Picture your tooth resting in your jaw bone. With pressure on one side from the arch wire, the bone on the other side gives way. The tooth moves, and new bone grows in behind. Thanks to new superelastic arch wires treatment times are less and more comfortable when your parents and I had braces.
Do I need a referral from my family dentist?
Referral from your family dentist is not mandatory unless you are in a managed care plan with a “gatekeeper” primary care dentist. Bringing a referral from your family dentist helps communicate your dentist’s concerns to us more clearly. Word of mouth recommendations from friends and families of existing patients is often the primary way we meet new patients. Spread the word if you like your smile!
Regular dental exams and cleaning visits with your family dentist are essential in preventing dental problems and maintaining the health of your teeth and gums while wearing braces. At these visits, your teeth are cleaned and checked for cavities. Additionally, there are many other things that are checked and monitored to help detect, prevent, and maintain your dental health.
Do I need to have teeth pulled before braces?
Only if your we cannot save or make enough room for all your teeth or if baby teeth are getting in the way of treatment. Whether or not to extract teeth is a big decision but in 20 -30% of cases there is not enough room in the patients mouth for the teeth to be aligned stable position without extractions. Don’t worry, if you have teeth pulled, we will close the spaces and no one will even notice!
How can cosmetic dentistry help improve the appearance of my smile?
If you’re feeling somewhat self-conscious about your teeth, or just want to improve your smile, cosmetic dental treatments may be the answer to a more beautiful, confident smile.
Cosmetic dentistry has become very popular in the last several years, not only due to the many advances in cosmetic dental procedures and materials available today, but also because patients are becoming more and more focused on improving their overall health. This includes dental prevention and having a healthier, whiter, more radiant smile.
There are many cosmetic dental procedures besides orthodontics available to improve your teeth and enhance your smile. Depending on your particular needs, cosmetic dental treatments can change your smile dramatically, from restoring a single tooth to having a full mouth make-over. Ask your dentist how you can improve the health and beauty of your smile with cosmetic dentistry.
Cosmetic procedures include:
Orthodontics: Less visible and more effective brackets and wires are making straightening teeth with orthodontics much more appealing to adult patients. Also, in some cases, teeth may be straightened with custom-made, clear, removable aligners that require no braces.
Teeth Whitening: Bleaching lightens teeth that have been stained or discolored by age, food, drink, and smoking. Teeth darkened as a result of injury or taking certain medications can also be bleached, but the effectiveness depends on the degree of staining present.
Composite (tooth-colored) Fillings: Also known as “bonding”, composite fillings are now widely used instead of amalgam (silver) fillings to repair teeth with cavities, and also to replace old defective fillings. Tooth-colored fillings are also used to repair chipped, broken, or discolored teeth. This type of filling is also very useful to fill in gaps and to protect sensitive, exposed root surfaces caused by gum recession.
Porcelain Veneers: Veneers are thin custom-made, tooth-colored shells that are bonded onto the fronts of teeth to create a beautiful individual smile. They can help restore or camouflage damaged, discolored, poorly shaped, or misaligned teeth. Unlike crowns, veneers require minimal tooth structure to be removed from the surface of the tooth.
Porcelain Crowns (caps): A crown is a tooth-colored, custom-made covering that encases the entire tooth surface restoring it to its original shape and size. Crowns protect and strengthen teeth that cannot be restored with fillings or other types of restorations. They are ideal for teeth that have large, fractured or broken fillings and also for those that are badly decayed.
Dental Implants: Dental implants are artificial roots that are surgically placed into the jaw to replace one or more missing teeth. Porcelain crowns, bridges, and dentures can be made specifically to fit and attach to implants, giving a patient a strong, stable, and durable solution to removable dental appliances.
