Orthodontic treatment is a comprehensive technique since its procedure can be different depending on a patient’s need. For some instances, getting dental braces is the only procedure needed. However, for others, they need other dental procedures before proceeding with the actual treatment. If you want to improve the alignment of your teeth, schedule an appointment at Bondi Beach Dental today.

What Is an Orthodontic Treatment?

Orthodontics is a method of moving or straightening teeth, enhancing the appearance and function of the teeth. It can also help manage your gums, teeth, and jaw joints’ long-term health by improving the biting pressure over all your teeth.

An orthodontist is a professional dental health practitioner in this field. They can make a treatment plan that aims to accomplish the following:

• straightening crooked teeth
• addressing an improper bite
• closing wide spaces between the teeth
• aligning the tips of the teeth
• improving talking or chewing capacity
• advancing the long-term health of teeth and gums
• preventing excessive wear or injury of the teeth

An orthodontic treatment plan can enhance the presence of the teeth. However, it can also improve or maintain good oral health.

Other benefits you can get from orthodontic treatment include:

• Increased self-esteem and confidence that comes from looking one’s best
• Correct teeth alignment
• Improved capacity to chew food
• Lowered risk of injury from bulging teeth
• Easier to clean, brush, and floss teeth
• Lessening of speech impairment
• Decreased cavities and gum disease
• Reduced grinding and chipping of teeth

To accomplish the objectives and get these incredible benefits, the orthodontist applies a scope of medical, dental appliances, such as plates, headgear, and braces. Orthodontic appliances can establish the foundation for an extended period of improved oral health while at the same time helping you and your kids put their best selves forward.

Who Should Get an Orthodontic Procedure?

Malocclusion can happen once the jaws and teeth alignment do not meet adequately. The teeth will be misaligned or crooked, the base and top arrangements of teeth may not arrange.

Malocclusion is not an illness, and it does not influence physical wellbeing. It is a variety in the condition of teeth alignment. Nonetheless, it might affect the state of the face and the presence of the teeth, causing embarrassment, an absence of confidence, and even depression.

Reasons incorporate trauma to the teeth or facial bones and regular finger or thumb sucking, among others.

Extreme malocclusion may influence speech, eating, and keeping the teeth clean.

Orthodontics can help address the following:

• Protruding Front Teeth

The orthodontic procedure can enhance the appearance and protects the teeth from harm during falls or sports injuries.

• Crowding

In a narrow jaw, there may not be sufficient room for the entire teeth. The orthodontist may eliminate one or more teeth to have space for other teeth to develop.

• Impacted Teeth

This condition can occur when a grown-up tooth does not develop properly or only emerges incompletely.

• Asymmetrical Teeth

The top and bottom teeth do not coordinate, particularly when you closed your mouth, yet the teeth appear.

• Overbite or Deep bite

When you clench your teeth, the upper teeth come down excessively far over the lower teeth.

• Reverse bite

When you bite down your teeth, the upper one’s bite within the lower teeth.

• Open bite

In an open bite, there is an opening or hole when you clench your teeth.

• Underbite

The upper part is excessively far back, or the lower teeth are excessively far forward.

• Crossbite

At least one of the upper parts does not come down slightly before the lower teeth when you bite down your teeth. They are too close to the tongue or the cheek.

• Spacing

There are spaces or gaps between the teeth. This condition can happen because of a missing tooth, or the teeth do not sufficiently occupy the mouth. This case is something contrary to crowding.

An orthodontist can make a treatment plan to address these concerns and help solve issues like clenching or grinding of teeth and clicking the sound of the jaw.

When Will the Orthodontic Treatment Begin?

Typically, orthodontic treatment begins around 12 or 13 years, when the mature teeth have developed completely.

If complications do not arise until later, the orthodontic procedure may start at a later date. Children with a cleft lip and palate may need treatment before the full development of their adult teeth.

Proper oral hygiene is necessary before proceeding to any orthodontic treatment. Once the orthodontist placed the appliances on the teeth, food particles are bound to get stuck. That is why it is more important to brush much more carefully and frequently to promote good oral health and prevent cavities during treatment.

During treatment, poor dental hygiene habits can put your oral health in a negative situation, increasing your risk of tooth decay. The orthodontist may suggest avoiding sugary snacks, fizzy drinks, and other products that can promote tooth decay and cavities.

Diagnosis

The orthodontist will evaluate the condition of your teeth and anticipate how they are probably to develop without treatment.

The assessment will include:

• Getting a complete medical and dental health history
• Implementing a clinical assessment
• Taking x-rays of the jaw and teeth
• Bringing plaster models of the teeth

Then, the orthodontist will design a treatment plan according to your condition.

Common Orthodontic Devices

There are several orthodontic appliances, though you can categorize them into fixed or removable devices.

Fixed Orthodontic Appliances

These devices are the most popular orthodontic treatment. Dentists use fixed appliances when precision is essential.

An individual can eat typically with fixed devices. However, they should avoid a few foods and drinks like hard candy, carbonated drinks, gum, other sticky foods.

Individuals who participate in physical sports need to inform their orthodontist, as they may require special gum protections.

A popular example of fixed orthodontic appliances includes:

Braces

Dental braces consist of wires, brackets, and bands. Dentists fix the bands firmly around the teeth and fill in as anchors for the device, while brackets are typically attached to the front of the teeth.

Wires looking like a curve go through the brackets, and the dentists fix them to the bands. As they tighten the archwire, the teeth receive tension and pressure. Over time, this shifts the teeth into correct alignment.

Follow-up includes monthly appointments to tighten or adjust the braces. Treatment may last from quite a few months to several years.

Removable Orthodontic Appliances

These devices might be applied to address minor issues, like correcting slightly crooked teeth or preventing thumb sucking.

The dental devices should only be taken out when eating, cleaning, brushing, or flossing. At times, the orthodontist may suggest the patient eliminate them during specific activities like cycling or playing a wind instrument.

Removable orthodontic appliances include:

Aligners

This option, in contrast to braces, may be beneficial for adults. Aligners are a transparent device that other people cannot quickly notice, and you can remove them when you eat, brush or floss your teeth. You will use an aligner for two to three weeks, then changed it for a tighter one.

Palatal Expander

This device is intended to make the arch of the upper jaw more extensive. A palatal expander comprises a plastic plate with screws that dentists place on the palate or top of the mouth. The screws put tension on the joints in the bones, driving them outward. This extends the size of the space in the roof of the mouth.

Headgear

A strap around the rear of the head is connected to a metal wire toward the front. Headgear aims to hinder upper jaw development and keeping the back teeth in position while the dental device pulls back the front ones.

Retainers

Retainers are usually advisable after dental braces. They help prevent the teeth from moving back to their original alignment.

If you are interested in getting orthodontic treatment, make an appointment with your dentist and know which procedure best suits you.