What do you need to know about braces?

The importance of braces goes way beyond having straight teeth. I would like to sum up some of these extremely important reasons to have braces.

First, the obvious reason crowded teeth cause cosmetic and, aesthetic problems that can make people self cautious about their smile.

Second crowded teeth are normally more difficult to clean, and the food gets stuck and trapped a lot more in-between than normal. This will make these teeth more susceptible to decay, and the gum tissue more prone to gingivitis.

Third, crowded teeth have less surrounding bone , and more unhealthy gum tissue. In other word, they have a weaker, and less supporting  structure

Forth crowding, spacing, rotations, cross bite, excessive overbite etc., could cause an improper and sometimes traumatic bite. Traumatic bite happens when teeth are not aligned properly causing excessive bite force on certain teeth, that could teeth drifting,  damage enamel, localized sensitivity, tooth mobility, muscular  and TMJ problems.

It’s important to remember that worn out and broken teeth not only look bad, they cause shifting of the bite, which in turn could cause  TMJ issues, that might cause clicking, popping, and tenderness of the joint, headaches, and migraines. Worn out teeth are not as sharp and functional as normal teeth, hence causing the muscles to function a lot more to chew food.

Fifth, there is a clear scientific evidence that orthodontic treatment can have a positive influence on airway and sleep apnea.

Basically, an orthodontic treatment should achieve straight teeth that function within a well balanced bite, so teeth will last longer. This is goal is reached by, correcting, or improving all the above listed problems.
Let’s not forget that a nice smile will promote self –esteem that is a valuable tool for everybody’s social, and carrier success.

Braces are recommended for younger individuals to avoid problems. However, in the recent years more adults are having orthodontic treatment, to stop an existing problem from causing more damage.
In our office, we monitor kids as young as 5 years old), to see if there is a problem, or a potential for a problem. We also provide a free orthodontic exam and screening