Orthodontics is a dental specialty that focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of tooth misalignments and jaw irregularities (malocclusions) using braces, clear aligners and other appliances. Not just for aesthetic enhancement, orthodontics also serves to improve a patient’s overall oral health for a lifetime, and can even help with speech impediments.
Orthodontics is a dental specialty that focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of tooth misalignments and jaw irregularities (malocclusions) using braces, clear aligners and other appliances. Not just for aesthetic enhancement, orthodontics also serves to improve a patient’s overall oral health for a lifetime, and can even help with speech impediments.
Children and teenagers are ideal candidates for orthodontic treatment. Because the jawbone is soft and still growing, a young patient’s smile is particularly receptive to re-alignment. In addition to enhanced aesthetics, a straighter smile also offers significant health benefits including improved speech and better access for oral hygiene.
Braces aren’t just for kids anymore. In fact, one in five orthodontic patients is over 21. With the invention of more discreet orthodontic appliances such as clear braces and aligners, adults feel comfortable stepping out in public during all phases of treatment.
Two-phase orthodontic treatment, also called “early phase treatment”, is a specialized process that takes advantage of a critical period of jaw growth to maximize the potential for successful tooth alignment in the future. In some cases, correcting tooth and jaw positioning early on encourages more satisfactory dental and facial development during the teen and pre-teen years.
It is not sufficient to categorize orthodontic malocclusions on the basis of a classification of the teeth alone. The relationship with other craniofacial structures must also be taken into consideration.
The classification of bites are broken up into three main categories: Class I, II, and III.
Impactions can be caused by improper positioning of the developing tooth bud. This can cause the tooth to fail to erupt into the mouth. Missing teeth is the absence of a tooth or teeth that should normally be present. This can be caused by trauma or lack of development.
Crowding is the lack of space for all the teeth to fit normally within the jaws. The teeth may be twisted or displaced. Crowding occurs when there is disharmony in the tooth to jaw size relationship or when the teeth are larger than the available space.
There are several different types of orthodontic disorders to be aware of. The most common orthodontic disorders include; Crossbite, overbite, class II overbite, overjet, class II overjet, underbite, and class III underbite.
The American Association of Orthodontics recommends that all children get screened at about age seven, or after the upper front adult teeth erupt. This allows for any budding problems to be identified and for inceptive treatment to begin. Early diagnosis and treatment are very important to prevent future issues with teeth and jaw development. In most cases, orthodontic care begins after age 10. If no intervention is necessary after the first orthodontic check-up, the information gained through the exam and x-ray are valuable for monitoring proper growth and development at future visits.
Profound results are seen in the correction of growth imbalances with orthodontic treatment. This is one of the primary reasons why it is so important to screen young kids for potential oral health issues around seven years of age. At this stage, there is still plenty of time for more facial growth.
But orthodontics is not strictly geared toward kids and teens. Adults can receive treatment at any point in life. It is never too late to correct an imperfect smile. Sometimes tooth loss can lead to shifting of the remaining teeth. Some adults may have worn braces when they were teens, but their teeth moved out of the proper placement. Others never had the opportunity to benefit from orthodontic care in their younger years.