What Is Orthodontics?
Orthodontics is focused on diagnosing and treating malocclusion, where your teeth and jaws are misaligned and cannot bite together correctly. Orthodontic treatment can improve the overall appearance of your teeth.
Who Is an Orthodontist?
An orthodontist is a dental specialist. After qualifying as a general dentist, they have received several additional years of training in this specialty. Usually, an orthodontist would not perform general dental procedures like crowns, bridges, dental fillings, or root canal therapy.
Which Issues Can Be Treated by an Orthodontist?
An orthodontist can address a wide range of problems, including:
- Overlapping teeth.
- Overcrowded teeth.
- Rotated or crooked teeth.
- Underbites, where the lower teeth stick out beyond the upper teeth.
- Overbites, where the upper teeth stick out too far in front of the lower teeth.
- Crossbites, where your teeth cannot properly meet on one or both sides of your bite.
- Open bites, where your upper and lower front teeth cannot bite together when you close your jaws.
- Impacted teeth that are partially erupted or completely stuck in the jawbone.
What Are the Potential Benefits of Orthodontics?
Many people, especially adults, seek orthodontic treatment because they wish to improve the appearance of their smile. Our orthodontist can realign teeth to create a fuller and more attractive smile and facial profile, ensuring your teeth provide the right support for your lips and cheeks.
While improved appearance is a perfectly valid reason, it’s worth considering that orthodontics can significantly and positively impact oral health.
Some other potential benefits can include:
- When your teeth and jaws are correctly aligned, it can reduce your risk of common oral diseases, including gum disease and tooth decay, as your teeth will be easier to brush and floss thoroughly.
- Properly aligned teeth help to ensure your teeth wear down more evenly.
- Treatment can protect your jaw joints, called temporomandibular joints, from excess wear and tear.
- Straightening your teeth can make it easier to bite and chew food thoroughly, potentially improving digestion.
Who Can Have Orthodontics?
Orthodontic treatment is suitable for people of all ages, from young children through to older adults. You are likely suitable if you have strong, healthy teeth and no dental restorations like bridges or dental implants.
Types of Orthodontic Treatments
Numerous orthodontic treatments are available, depending on whether the treatment is for a child or adults.
Children’s Orthodontics
Clock Tower Dental can offer early orthodontic evaluations for children as soon as age five or six. Our pediatric orthodontist, Dr. Simons, can assess how your child’s teeth and jaws are developing and if orthodontic treatment is required. If so, she may propose a two-stage treatment plan.
Early Orthodontic Treatment
Early orthodontic treatment can involve using fixed and removable dental appliances like palate expanders. These can be used to correct problems caused by oral habits like mouth breathing and finger and thumb sucking.
Early orthodontics can also help maintain the proper space for adult teeth to erupt. This can be useful if your child loses their milk or primary teeth too soon.
Our kids’ orthodontist can help correct and guide the growth of your child’s teeth and jaws while they are still developing.
Orthodontics During Adolescence
Sometimes early orthodontic treatment can reduce the need for orthodontics during adolescence or mean it is unnecessary. If your child does need to wear braces after early orthodontic care, it could be a matter of helping to perfect their smile.
What types of Braces Are Available for Children and Teens?
Children can have traditional metal braces, but older teens may be suitable for clear aligners like Invisalign or lingual braces that fit inside their teeth.
Adult Orthodontics
An increasing number of adults are seeking orthodontic treatment. Some may have worn braces previously during childhood but have seen their teeth shift with age. Others may never have worn braces.
Orthodontic options for adults include:
Traditional Braces
Most people are familiar with traditional braces with metal brackets and wires powered by elastics. These braces work extremely well and are cost-effective. However, they are very visible, and more discreet solutions are available, such as clear braces, aligners, and lingual braces.
Clear Braces
These fixed braces have clear or ceramic brackets that are bonded onto teeth. Thin wires are attached to the brackets; some may be tooth-colored for a more discreet solution.
Some clear braces need elastics, while others have self-ligating brackets that automatically tighten to move teeth correctly.
Clear Aligners
Clear aligners are removable. They are clear plastic aligner trays that you wear most of the time but are removable for meals and oral care. The trays are computer-generated to move teeth into the right positions gradually. Invisalign clear aligners are a popular choice for teeth straightening, offering a removable and nearly invisible solution.
Lingual Braces
Instead of sitting on the outer surfaces of teeth, lingual braces have brackets that fit on the inside surfaces of your teeth, so they are very discreet. These fixed braces can provide good results but are only suitable in certain circumstances. They also tend to be more expensive because the brackets must be custom-made.
How Much Will Orthodontics Cost?
Everybody is different, and your treatment costs will depend on the complexity of the bite issues that need correction and the straightening system you select.
If you have complicated bite problems, treatment will take longer and cost more. In comparison, mild orthodontic issues that only affect the appearance of your teeth can be quite quick to correct and very cost-effective.
Will Dental Insurance Cover the Cost of Orthodontic Treatment?
It depends on whether your orthodontic treatment is necessary for oral health or is cosmetically oriented. If orthodontics will benefit your dental health, then your dental insurance will likely cover at least part of the cost, depending on the orthodontic system used.
Contact Us to Learn More about Orthodontics
If you’ve been looking for the best orthodontist locally, contact Clock Tower Dental to schedule your consultation with Dr. Simons. She can examine your mouth, discuss your concerns, and create a custom treatment plan. Dr. Simons will clearly explain all possible options and the costs of treatment.