ORTHODONTICS

Orthodontic treatment improves your smile.

Orthodontic treatment will make your smile look fabulous. The fabulous smile will last for the rest of your life. Braces are one of the things you can do for you or for your kids to insure their health throughout their lifetime.

Orthodontic treatment can focus on dental displacement only, or can deal with the control and modification of facial growth. The word comes from the Greek words ortho meaning straight and odons meaning tooth.

Orthodontic treatment can be carried out for purely aesthetic reasons—improving the general appearance of patients' teeth and face for cosmetic reasons—but treatment is often prescribed for practical reasons, providing the patient with a functionally improved bite (occlusion).

Orthodontics is that branch of dentistry for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of problems in the alignment of teeth and jaws.
The technical term for these problems is malocclusion, which literally means bad bite.

Orthodontic treatment involves the design and use of corrective appliances (such as braces, plates, headgears and functional appliances) to bring the teeth and jaws into proper alignment.
 
In most cases, orthodontic treatment is commenced as soon as the last baby tooth has been shed. This usually occurs in the early teens.  In some cases, it is an advantage to start just before the last baby teeth are shed.
The basic process involved in moving teeth is the same at any age and orthodontic treatment is also successful for adults.

Orthodontic problems:

Crowded teeth: A disharmony between tooth-size and jaw- size can result in crowded, irregular teeth.Crowded teeth can look unattractive and can be more difficult to clean.

Sometimes it is necessary to extract teeth to provide sufficient space to allow the teeth to be aligned in a stable and harmonious position within the jaws and face.

Spaced teeth: Spaces can result from a disharmony between tooth-size and jaw-size or by abnormal tongue thrusting activity.

Spaces between the teeth can look unattractive and can interfere with speech.

Abnormal tongue activity must be eliminated or the spacing is likely to recur.

Protruded teeth result when the position of the upper jaw is forward of the lower jaw.
In severe cases, the lower lip may sit behind the upper front teeth and push them further forward to accentuate the disharmony.

In severe cases, especially if growth is complete, jaw surgery might be required to correct the jaw disharmony.
 
Under-bite:  When the lower jaw is forward in relation to the upper jaw, the lower front teeth protrude beyond the upper teeth and an “under-bite” result.

An under bite can be unattractive and can cause uneven wear of the front teeth and jaw joint problems.


Deep bite: The upper and/or lower front teeth can overupt to produce a deep bite.In severe cases, the upper teeth can cover the lower teeth completely.

A deep bite can cause excessive wear of the front teeth and can damage the gum behind the upper front teeth.

Deep bites can exert excessive strain on the jaw joint resulting in tempero-mandibular joint problems.
 
Open-bite: An open-bite exists when opposing teeth don't meet.

An open-bite can cause eating problems and excessive wear of those teeth which do make contact. An open-bite can be unattractive and can be associated with speech problems.

Open-bites are often caused by abnormal tongue habits and, although the open-bite can be closed with braces, unless the abnormal tongue habits are corrected, the open bite is likely to recur.

Sucking the thumb (or fingers) can produce a localised deformation of the teeth and supporting bone. This problem looks like an open bite.

Cross-bite: If the upper jaw is too narrow, the lower jaw usually swings to one side to allow the back teeth to mesh. A posterior cross-bite result.

Posterior cross-bites can result in uneven wear of the teeth and can place extra strain on the jaw joint resulting in tempero-mandibular joint problems.

Orthodontic treatment involves the use of a fixed or removable appliance to widen the upper jaw (maxillary expansion RPE).

Once the upper jaw has been widened, the lower jaw can close normally.
Front teeth can also erupt in anterior cross-bite.

Missing teeth: Missing teeth can be unattractive. Opposing and adjacent teeth can drift into the space to create further problems.

Orthodontic treatment involves moving all teeth into correct position, and creating proper space to facilitate replacement of the missing teeth.



Impacted teeth: Impacted teeth don't have sufficient space to erupt.

Orthodontic treatment involves creating space to allow the impacted tooth to erupt.





Ectopic teeth: Ectopic teeth are teeth which develop in the wrong position.
In most cases, ectopic tooth can be repositioned with braces.

In this case, an ectopic canine was surgically exposed and braces were used to move it into its correct position.