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ORTHODONTICS
Orthodontics
& Dental Health:
Orthodontics is the branch of dentistry concerned with the
proper positioning of jaws and teeth. Although straight teeth improve
appearance, there is much more to orthodontics than a pleasing smile.
Orthodontics (meaning “straight teeth”) integrates with
facial orthopedics, which is the branch of medical science concerned with
bones, muscles and supporting tissues. Certainly, appearance is one very
important reason to undergo orthodontic treatment. Since our self-concept is closely
tied to our facial proportions, straight teeth do positively affect our
self-esteem.
Orthodontics impact our overall health and well being.
Misaligned and crowded teeth can cause decay, infection, gum disease, loose
teeth and jaw posture misalignment. The potential problems go beyond the mouth.
An uneven bite can cause related health problems, such as headaches, dizziness,
ear symptoms, neck discomfort and jaw joint (TMJ) disorders.
Many people do not realize the importance of a stable bite.
When the upper and lower teeth close, they should fit together comfortably like
the gears of a machine. When your bite is uneven, the muscles and jaw joint
components must compensate. In these cases the chewing muscles have to work
harder and inappropriately to bring the teeth together. Muscles fatigue and
become tired and strained, eventually, becoming quite uncomfortable. This can
cause problems in your face and jaw region, neck, head and ears.
Orthodontics is concerned not only with the teeth, but also
with the jaw bones, the jaw joints (TMJ’s), supportive ligaments and the
chewing muscles. The aim of orthodontic correction is to establish a correct,
solid bite that is in harmony with the jaw muscles, and head-neck posture.
Functional
Appliances:
The use of functional appliances is one of the newer
developments in orthodontics. In many cases, functional appliances can be used
to alter the growth of jawbone itself. Soft memory wires gently and effectively
move the teeth. These appliances work with the muscles, tissues and surrounding
structures.
Correction at
Any Age:
Because living bone tissue is constantly being repaired and
regenerated throughout life, there is no age limit for orthodontics.
Orthodontic correction is an excellent way to correct a bad bite, while
maintaining and optimizing your natural teeth.
Interceptive
Orthodontics and Facial Orthopedics:
- Harmful habits such as tongue thrust and thumb sucking are
best corrected early to prevent open bite and misshaped jaws.
- Timely treatment of crowding may involve preserving or
regaining space, and guiding the eruption of permanent teeth into
favorable positions.
- Orthopedic forces can often be used to correct a cross
bite, establish proper functioning of the teeth, improve facial profile,
and prevent the need for future surgery.
Anticipated
Benefits of Timely Treatment:
- Improve the smile/ self-confidence
- Influence growth of the jaws in a positive manner
- Improve the width of the dental arches
- Reduce or eliminate the need to extract permanent teeth
- Reduce or eliminate the need for jaw surgery
- Lower the risk of injury to protruded front teeth
- Correct harmful oral habits
- Reduce appearance-consciousness during critical
developmental years
- Simplify and shorten treatment time for full braces
- Increase the stability of final treatment results
- Reduce the likelihood of impacted permanent teeth
- Improve speech development
- Guide permanent teeth into more favorable positions
- Improve lip closure
- Preserve or gain space for erupting permanent teeth
- Reduce potential for damage to jaw joints
- Take advantage of cooperation before the teenage years
Q. Why is “early treatment” recommended for some
children?
A. In some cases, preventive
or interceptive care can guide the jaws and erupting teeth into more favorable
positions, improve the growth and alignment of the jaws, preserve space for the
permanent teeth, and/or reduce the likelihood of fracturing protruded front
teeth.
Q. Why is the adolescent growth spurt so important in
orthodontics?
A. This is a
time when much of the growth of the face occurs. Treatment during this period
provides and opportunity to favorably influence the facial profile in a growing
child. Once growth of the facial bones is complete, correction of jaw
discrepancies usually requires surgery. For this reason, early treatment may
save considerable time and money.
Ortho Quiz:
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Crowded teeth
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Impacted teeth
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Spaced teeth
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Harmful habits
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Missing teeth
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Crossbite
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Deep overbite
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Openbite
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Midline discrepancy
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Protruded teeth
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Retruded teeth
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Facial growth problems
We
Use The Damon System in Our Office
- Passive self-ligating braces that eliminate the need for
elastic or metal “ties” and high technology wires that move teeth faster
and require fewer adjustments.
- With the Damon System, treatment time is typically shorter
than with conventional braces.
- The days of having braces tightened are over. Damon System
braces have a unique slide mechanism that reduces pressure on your teeth
and allows them to move more comfortably to their correct positions. This
revolutionary new approach to orthodontics ensures greater comfort
throughout treatment.
Clinically Proven
Advantages
- Significantly reduced treatment time
- Significantly fewer appointments
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