Orthodontics

Orthodontics is the dental specialty that deals with improper bites and “crooked” teeth. Even though orthodontic treatment is often done for purely aesthetic reasons like improving the general appearance of your teeth and smile, it is also done for the correction of functional problems related to speech, chewing, and breathing.

The various modes of treatment deal with the prevention and treatment of malocclusions caused due to irregularities of the jaws and teeth. Orthodontic treatment can be carried for purely esthetic reasons to improve the look of a person, but more importantly, it is carried out to correct tooth irregularity, disproportionate jaw relationships, or both which affects the speech, chewing, and breathing functions of a person.

Orthodontic treatment can be of a preventive nature, where the treatment focuses on preventing the development of a future problem by tackling the cause of it very early. This might include appliances to stop habits like thumb sucking or finger sucking, space maintainers in cases where the milk teeth are lost early due to caries or habit modification appliances for abnormal swallowing patterns, etc. In addition, if a deficiency or an excess in the growth of the maxilla or mandible is detected, growth modification appliances can be given in the growing stage, in order to try and prevent the development of a major malocclusion later on.

Interceptive Orthodontic treatment is done in order to intercede in a developing malocclusion. The various treatments are usually carried out during the period when the child has started losing his milk teeth and his or her permanent teeth have started erupting. During this phase, functional appliances or other growth modification appliances can be given to prevent the development of a major problem at a later stage. Developing crossbites, arch length-tooth material discrepancies, etc may also tackle at this stage.

The corrective orthodontic treatment procedures are most often done only when the permanent teeth (excluding the “wisdom” teeth (permanent third molar teeth)) have erupted into the mouth. Fixed appliance therapy with or without extraction of teeth is usually done during this time.

At times the malocclusion may be too severe, especially in cases where there is excessive growth or deficiency of growth or asymmetrical growth of the maxilla or the mandible or both. In such cases, orthodontic therapy alone may not correct the problem and may need a combination of orthodontic and surgical (orthognathic surgery) treatment for its solution.

After the active phase of orthodontic treatment comes the most important and most difficult part of orthodontic therapy, but is frequently the most neglected part of the treatment process – the retention phase. This is the time retainers (which may be fixed or removable), are used in order to retain the treatment results achieved.

Orthodontic braces make use of gentle pressure on the teeth over a period of time to help move the teeth to the desired position.

Fixed Orthodontic Braces nowadays have evolved and have become less bulky and obvious. They are also available in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Yet there are two main varieties that are being widely used nowadays namely, tooth-colored braces and invisible braces. Tooth-colored braces make use of ceramic brackets fixed to the teeth with tooth-colored wires running through them. Invisible braces or Lingual braces use brackets fixed to the back of the teeth to keep them in the desired place. Invisible braces are seen much preferred for their aesthetic, cosmetic reasons, and also comfort quotient.

Once the suitable braces are selected and fixed on your teeth, you need to come periodically to get them adjusted to move the teeth to the required position as desired. The average treatment time involved may be approximately 18 months to 24 months. After removing your braces you may have to wear retainers to keep your teeth in their new position.