Orthodontics is a branch of dentistry dealing with correction of the upper and lower jaws and teeth disorders. Because of it is too difficult to clean obscure and mispositioned teeth the risk of periodontal (gum) disease and early loss of teethis very high. In addition, it may result temporomandibular (joint linking the upper and lower jaw) joint disorders, headaches, back, and shoulder pain because of over preassure on jaw muscles. Teeth disordes also affects your appearance. Orthodontic treatmentwill help people with a healthy mouth, better look and long life teeth.
Some orthodontic problems are listed as follows:
Overbite : Upper front teeth is abnormally in front of the lower front teeth.
Underbite : Lower front teeth is annorammly in front of upper front teeth.
Crossbite (cross-closing) : Upper and lower front teeth are closed on top of each other.
Openbite (on closing) : The upper and lower front teeth do not come into contact with each other during the closing.
Midline Shift : The mid line of upper front teeth and mid line of lower teeth do not overlap each other.
Spaces : Naturally or because of tooth extraction, abnormal spaces between teeth.
Deviousness : Not enough room on the jaws for healthy teeth alignment.
The alignment of the teeth is done by the force applied with smart wires and small brackets placed on teeth and connected to this wire.
There is a misblief about wires cause tooth decays. Wires of brackets does not cause tooth decays but because of the extra surface that create a suitable environment for food leftovers. Food leftovers may cause as normal months so daily oral care is very important in orthodontic treatment like other people.
Time for orthodontic treatment varies according to the severity of the anomaly but usualy it takes a long time. Some disorders of the jaw closing can be solved in a single-phase but some treatments may have several phases. Good results usually need a good team work with participation of patient, patient's family, the family dentist and orthodontist. Orthodontist duty is to prepare necessary game plan and techniques to get desired results.
There is no age range for orthodontic treatments. But treatments in early ages get better and more successful results and helps to enter adulthood with more perfect facial shape. It is advised to finish the orthodontic treatment before the completion of bone structure development.