If you have crooked teeth or gaps in your smile, orthodontic treatment can improve both their appearance and how well they fit together. In addition, straightening your smile can alleviate the stress on the gums and jaw joints caused by excessive biting force, reducing your risk for developing tooth decay and other oral health problems.
But if you are not experiencing dental emergencies such as a toothache, swollen gums or a chipped tooth, your dentist may recommend that you wait to see an orthodontist before getting braces. This is because dentists are equipped to handle the more common dental issues like tooth decay and gum disease, while orthodontists are trained to diagnose and treat misaligned teeth and bites.
An orthodontist is a specialist in aligning the teeth and jaws, offering both cosmetic and restorative treatments. They are specially trained to diagnose a wide variety of conditions, such as overcrowding and the lack of space for adult teeth, an underbite (where your lower teeth stick out further than your upper teeth), crowded front teeth, asymmetry of the lips and face, and even the need for a jaw surgery known as a mandibular advancement procedure.
In some cases, orthodontists can use a special type of fixed brace to change the way that the jaws grow and develop. This is called functional braces and can help reduce the amount of time that you need to wear fixed braces, especially for crowded teeth.
Traditional fixed braces consist of brackets that are bonded to the front surface of your teeth, bands that fit around each one, and wires that connect them. These wires, which are often made of stainless steel, are usually invisible and can be clear or tooth-colored to make them less visible. They apply a constant pressure on your teeth to move them into alignment.돌출입교정
These wires are also used to create spaces between your molars. If you have overlapping molars, the orthodontist will place small rubber bands, known as separators, between them to push them apart. Alternatively, they might use a power chain, which is a series of metal links that are connected and stretched across more than one tooth to provide extra force to close or open the spaces.
Once your teeth have been straightened, orthodontists will provide you with a retainer to keep them in the new position. This is important to prevent them from drifting back to their old positions, which can cause your smile to look crooked again over time.주걱턱교정 You should wear your retainer as directed by your orthodontist to ensure its long-term effectiveness.
The best time to visit an orthodontist is when your teeth are growing and maturing, between the ages of seven and twelve. In most cases, a child who exhibits signs of an overbite or underbite will require early treatment to avoid the need for a costly and difficult procedure later on in life. This will also reduce the chances that permanent molars will need to be extracted due to crowding.