A Guide to Orthodontics and Orthodontic Treatment
What Is
Orthodontics?
We are all familiar
with the words dentistry and dentist. However, these are very generic terms and
encompass a variety of branches and divisions under them. It is a common
mistake to consider a dentist as someone who fixes braces and straightens your
teeth. The branch of dentistry that deals with this specific function is
orthodontics. It is a specialization under dentistry, which involves correcting
jaws and teeth that are improperly positioned. Orthodontics typically deals
with the diagnosis of dental irregularities and aids in the prevention of these
dental irregularities causing other facial deformities.
Who Is An
Orthodontist?
People tend to
think that there is no significant difference between an orthodontist and a
dentist. An orthodontist is a trained and qualified specialist who has
completed two years of postdoctoral course after dentistry and is an expert in
fixing malocclusion problems. Simply put, all orthodontists are dentists, but
all dentists are not orthodontists!
Who Needs
Orthodontic Treatment?
It is important to
make a scheduled annual visit to the dentist to ensure that there are no
problems in your dental health. Moreover, only dentists or orthodontists will
be able to tell whether a person needs orthodontic treatment based on clinical exams
and X-rays taken by them during your annual check-up. Typically, people with
the following conditions will be prescribed orthodontic treatment:
Spacing -
when there are
significant gaps between teeth due to some teeth missing or having teeth that
do not fill the mouth.
Crowding -
this is a case
where there is more number of teeth than the ridge can fit in.
Overbite -
when the upper
jaw is too much in front of the lower jaw.
Under bite - when the lower
teeth is positioned too much in front of the upper row.
Cross bite -
this happens
when the upper teeth do not come over the lower teeth while biting.
Open bite -
a space occurs
in the upper surface when biting with the back teeth.
Treatment Options
in Orthodontics
An orthodontist
will make use of several types of both removable and fixed appliances to
correct the above-mentioned irregularities. These appliances are used to apply
pressure on the jaws and teeth, thus causing orthodontic tooth movement. The
fixed instruments used for orthodontic treatments usually include braces, space
maintainers and special fixed appliances to control thumb sucking or even
tongue thrusting. The removable contraptions consist of aligners, palatal
expanders, removable retainers, removable space maintainers, lip and cheek
bumpers, jaw repositioners and headgears. All these appliances are aimed at
applying slow, continuous pressure on your teeth, so that it will ultimately
penetrate down to the root and ligaments and result in efficient and effective
tooth movement. After the completion of the course of treatment, it is
extremely important on the part of the patient to wear retainers for the period
of time that is prescribed by the orthodontist, so as to keep the teeth in its
new position.
Orthodontic
problems can be caused by several factors such as heredity, missing teeth,
mouth breathing, tongue thrusting, thumb sucking, habits, malnutrition etc.
Thus, it is quintessential to pay regular visits to the dentist or orthodontist
and ensure that treatment begins at the growing years and hence reduce the
severity of problems!
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Category: Dental
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