More Than Braces: 7 Orthodontic Services You Should Know

Don’t fret if you have crooked teeth as you can hire orthodontic services to help you achieve proper teeth alignment. Straight teeth can boost your confidence, making your appearance appealing and adding charm to your smile.

Before getting into the list of common orthodontic services, some little background information on the causes and possible effects of crooked teeth will be needed.

Causes Of Crooked Teeth

The following are some of the common reasons for crooked teeth:

• Genetics: Your parents could be the source of your crooked teeth. If your family members have the same teeth structure, then it might be due to genetics that you get them.
• Early childhood habits: As a kid, you may have engaged in some early behaviors such as sucking your thumb, prolonged use of pacifiers, and tongue thrusting. These apply pressure to the gums and force the teeth to grow outwards.
• Facial injury: A jaw injury from a facial accident could result in your teeth growing crooked.
• Extra teeth: If you have more teeth than the usual 32, the extra ones may cause crowding and misalignment.
• Abnormally shaped teeth: Your jaws have a natural capacity to accommodate the normal shapes of incisors, canines, premolars, and molars. If any of these is abnormally shaped, the rest can grow in weird alignments.

Problems Associated With Crooked Teeth

Crooked teeth are associated with the following issues:

• Difficulties in chewing, sometimes making the process painful
• Speech problems
• Finding it hard to clean teeth, which may subsequently lead to bad breath
• Increased risk of gum disease
• Lower confidence around people with beautiful smiles

Orthodontic Services

It’s estimated that two out of ten people have crooked teeth. The good news is with proper orthodontic treatment, the condition can be corrected. Orthodontic services revolve around the straightening of crooked teeth. These are best performed by trained and certified ortho experts like Supersmilesortho.com and others. 

Here are 7 orthodontic services you should know:

1. Dental Porcelain Veneers

Dental porcelain veneers are thin shell-like materials that help you to correct misalignment by changing the color, size, shape, and length of your teeth. They cover your front teeth’s surface and are fitted perfectly such that one can’t easily tell you’re using them.

The skinny shells of porcelain give your teeth a straighter look. You can wear them for up to ten years before replacing them. If you want to enhance the appearance of your teeth, you can choose to have them long, short, or in any color you desire.

2. Dental Crowns

A dental crown is a cap placed over the teeth. The crowns can be made from different materials such as porcelain, ceramic, composite resin, metal, and zirconia. 

Before having the crown in place, your dentist typically performs an x-ray on your teeth to check the root cavities and the surrounding bone to confirm whether they’re strong and healthy enough to support the covering. These are the most common types of crowns: 

• Temporary crown: This is used as you wait for a procedure. The adhesive used can be easily removed during the placement of the permanent crown.
• Permanent crown: This can last up to 15 years, depending on the amount of wear and tear you expose your teeth to.
• On-lay or ¾ crown: This only covers part of the tooth.

3. Teeth Bonding

This involves the reshaping of your teeth using special bonding materials. A composite resin is usually used for the job. Preferably, it should match your teeth color. The dentist usually uses ultraviolet light to harden the composite and make it stick. Alternatively, etching can be done to roughen the tooth surface. 

The beauty of teeth bonding is if the resin wears out, it can still be done again. The bonding works for chipped, cracked, or discolored teeth. This process is painless and you don’t need anesthetics to have it done. Your dentist will only recommend the process if the injury to the tooth is minor or if it’s not severely decayed. 

4. Contouring

This process is also known as teeth shaping. The simple procedure eliminates part of your enamel to reshape your tooth. The dentist uses a laser to drill out your enamel until it gets to the desired length.

Contouring doesn’t only take care of your appearance but also helps with bruxism. Bruxism is a medical condition in which your teeth grind against each other, causing wear and tear. This orthodontic treatment is permanent. 

5. Wearing Braces

Crooked teeth are one of the common dental problems among teenagers, and the problem can easily be corrected using braces. This is among the oldest tricks in correcting dental arrangements. You can wear braces at any age, provided your gums are strong enough. 

Braces are available in different types, as outlined below:

• Metal braces: These kinds of braces are fixed with wire, brackets, and bands. It’s advisable if you have complex alignment issues.
• Ceramic braces: These are connected with arch wires. Unlike metal braces, they aren’t conspicuous.
• Invisible braces: Just as the name suggests, these kinds are hardly visible. They’re usually made of clear ceramic brackets and aligners.
• Lingual braces: These are attached to the backside of the teeth rather than the front side of the teeth.

6. Removing Wisdom Teeth

Wisdom teeth can sometimes cause misalignment. The last molar tooth in your lower and upper jaws can grow awkwardly and cause other teeth to get out of line. Your dentist can recommend the removal of wisdom teeth if they see it as the cause. However, the remaining teeth will still need to be aligned using other orthodontic procedures.

7. Straightening Surgery

This can be recommended by your orthodontist to realign your distorted jawbones. The distortion can be in the form of an underbite or an overbite. 

An underbite is where the lower jaw is too small or too large. In an overbite, the upper jaw is too large or too small. This surgery also helps you fix your skeletal deformities to make your teeth appear straight.

To Sum It Up

Your dentist can advise you on how to align crooked teeth. With the above-mentioned orthodontist services, you can’t fall short of choices. All it takes is a visit to the dental clinic to kickstart your journey to a perfect bright smile.

This was it for today. I hope you have enjoyed reading about orthodontic services Helpful. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

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