Orthodontics: It Is never too late.
Many people still feel orthodontic treatment, (braces and retainers), are for adolescents. Not true. Many adults benefit from having their teeth moved to a more ideal position. The most common procedure I perform in adult patients is eliminating crowding of the lower front teeth. The natural movement of these teeth is to the front of the mouth. It is thought that this is to compensate for the natural wear between teeth throughout life. When teeth are ideally aligned the movement is not perceptible. If a tooth is out of position, however, the forward movement allows teeth to slip past each other, progressively becoming more crowded. Many adults with crowded front teeth had braces in their youth and “relapsed”. We now know much more about the forces that will cause relapse and how to protect against them. I use a variety of methods to eliminate the crowding, from nearly invisible clear plastic aligners and retainers to bonded braces. (By the way even braces are smaller and less visible that those used years ago.) After careful analysis of the patient’s bite a recommendation that best meets the patient’s unique needs is made.
Another relatively simple correction is to upright tipped teeth. The uprighting allows better cleaning of the formerly tipped tooth and delivers the forces of biting down the long axis ofthe tooth which is how the natural shock absorbing system of ligaments works best. Many times teeth are tipped because the tooth next to them was removed or congenitally missing. The tooth next to the space tips into the void. Uprighting allows us to place an appropriate replacement for the missing tooth. When teeth are too narrow for the arch they occupy, spaces occur. A large space between the upper front teeth is a common occurrence. Sometimes moving the teeth just a little allows the restorative dentist the opportunity to widen many teeth just a little achieving a more pleasing result than making just a few teeth unnaturally wide. Orthodontic movement permits a superior result over bonding or veneer placement alone!
There are times when crowding, arch form and alignment, even jaw relationships are so unbalanced that correction of function and esthetics requires the combination of comprehensive orthodontics and a variety of restorative procedures. The final restorative procedures may include crowns, bridges, veneers, bonding, implants, bleaching or all of the above. I personally choose to share these very complex cases with board certified orthodontic specialists. At times we also call on the services of board certified maxillofacial surgeons to correct a very serious skeletal unbalance. While the goal of orthodontics may be solely cosmetic, many times orthodontic therapy assists in or is required to treat dental pathology. Periodontal disease treatment is assisted by allowing access for cleaning and minimizing the trauma from forces on teeth caused by chewing and grinding on teeth with bad alignment. There are severe cases where teeth have worn so thin and the bite is so tight that there is no way to restore the teeth without permitting room for the crowns required. Without orthodontic treatment the teeth will become more sensitive and eventually
Another relatively simple correction is to upright tipped teeth. The uprighting allows better cleaning of the formerly tipped tooth and delivers the forces of biting down the long axis ofthe tooth which is how the natural shock absorbing system of ligaments works best. Many times teeth are tipped because the tooth next to them was removed or congenitally missing. The tooth next to the space tips into the void. Uprighting allows us to place an appropriate replacement for the missing tooth. When teeth are too narrow for the arch they occupy, spaces occur. A large space between the upper front teeth is a common occurrence. Sometimes moving the teeth just a little allows the restorative dentist the opportunity to widen many teeth just a little achieving a more pleasing result than making just a few teeth unnaturally wide. Orthodontic movement permits a superior result over bonding or veneer placement alone!
There are times when crowding, arch form and alignment, even jaw relationships are so unbalanced that correction of function and esthetics requires the combination of comprehensive orthodontics and a variety of restorative procedures. The final restorative procedures may include crowns, bridges, veneers, bonding, implants, bleaching or all of the above. I personally choose to share these very complex cases with board certified orthodontic specialists. At times we also call on the services of board certified maxillofacial surgeons to correct a very serious skeletal unbalance. While the goal of orthodontics may be solely cosmetic, many times orthodontic therapy assists in or is required to treat dental pathology. Periodontal disease treatment is assisted by allowing access for cleaning and minimizing the trauma from forces on teeth caused by chewing and grinding on teeth with bad alignment. There are severe cases where teeth have worn so thin and the bite is so tight that there is no way to restore the teeth without permitting room for the crowns required. Without orthodontic treatment the teeth will become more sensitive and eventually
