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How
do orthodontists save room for
the permanent teeth? |
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Baby teeth hold
room for the permanent teeth that
will come in later. A lower lingual
arch space maintainer can be placed
when the baby canine and baby
molars are getting loose or fall
out prematurely. The space maintainer
prevents the lower back permanent
molar from slipping forward and
prevents the lower front permanent
incisor teeth from tipping toward
the tongue. This saves or preserves
the maximum amount of space for
the permanent teeth (canines and
bicuspids) that grow between the
permanent back molar and the permanent
lower incisors.
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How
do orthodontists make more room
for permanent teeth? |
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They use headgear/night
brace which applies pressure to
the upper teeth and jaw, lip bumpers
which applies pressure to the
lower molar teeth and restrains
lip pressure away from the lower
front teeth, expanders which apply
sideways pressure to the teeth
to widen the jaws the teeth are
imbedded in, springs which move
teeth away from one another, Herbst
which holds the lower jaw forward
encouraging the bone and jaw muscles
to support the lower jaw in this
new forward position and sophisticated
removable "retainer like"
appliances. Some of these approaches
take advantage the fact that bone
is pliable or flexible and can
be pushed, pulled and reshaped.
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Will
you have any teeth pulled? |
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Only if your
orthodontist cannot save or make
enough room for all your teeth.
Don't worry, if you have teeth
pulled, recovery is about 2 days
for most patients. Your orthodontist
will close the spaces and no one
will even notice.
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What
is serial extraction? |
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If your permanent
front teeth do not have enough
room to grow in properly, it is
sometimes advisable to remove
certain baby teeth in sequence.
Removing/extracting baby teeth
is like robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Room is gained for the front permanent
teeth by borrowing room from the
teeth along the sides. Eventually
the borrowed/loaned space must
be repaid, by using orthodontic
appliances to increase the space
or by taking permanent teeth out.
Why do serial extraction at all?
Because carefully timed early
extractions may prevent unfavorable
positioning of permanent teeth
and damage to the roots of adjacent
teeth.
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Why
does orthodontic treatment sometimes
take longer than anticipated?
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Patients grow
at different rates and speed of
the biological process that allows
teeth to move can vary between
patients. Slower than normal tooth
growth and poor patient cooperation
are the two things that lengthen
treatment the most and both are
out of the direct control of the
orthodontist.
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Can
tooth alignment change later?
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Studies show
that people's teeth may shift
as they age. This maturational
shift continues to some degree
throughout life. The most common
change is crowding of the bottom
front teeth. Surprisingly, careful
studies have shown that third
molars or wisdom teeth, do not
cause or contribute to this crowding.
Wearing retainers can minimize
tooth position changes of this
type
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What should do if your child does
not want braces? |
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First, ask your
child "Why?" If your
child has misconceptions, have
your orthodontist address them.
If a reasonable explanation to
all of your child's objections
does not change your child's mind,
then don't push or force them
into braces. Everybody loses when
a child begins treatment against
their will. Circumstances may
change over time and your child
may become more receptive even
if that takes growing into adulthood.
You can lead a horse to water,
but you can't make it drink.
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What is "instant orthodontics"?
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Instant Orthodontics
is not orthodontics at all in
you define orthodontics as moving
teeth to straighten them. Instant
Orthodontics is performed by non
orthodontists. The leave the roots
of crooked teeth crooked and place
crowns or veneers on the top half
of the tooth to make it look straight.
In the December 2006 Journal of
the American Dental Association,
Dr. Gordon Christensen wrote:
"Even the most conservative
ceramic veneer placement procedures
remove some tooth structure, during
either initial tooth preparation
or finishing procedures. Ceramic
veneers have a finite life expectancy.
Veneers placed on a young adult
will require replacement several
times during life, each time requiring
the removal of more tooth structure
and potentially causing damage
to pulp and/or supporting structures.....the
orthodontically treated patient
retains his or her own tooth structure
and tooth anatomy, which can serve
for as long as a lifetime."
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