Perfect smiles are often associated with people with optimal overall health. The good news is that the feeling is genuine because your oral health has an essential role in your overall well-being. Misaligned teeth or malocclusion can leave you saddled with dental conditions, including tooth decay, gum disease, and challenging or painful chewing.
Unfortunately, very few people are born with perfectly straight teeth. Therefore if you have a bad bite or significant gaps between your teeth, consulting a dentist specializing in orthodontic care may be high on your mind. However, why consider seeing an orthodontist when general dentists also provide orthodontic treatments? Please understand more on this subject by reading this article and getting information on how orthodontists straighten crooked teeth.
What Is An Orthodontist?
Orthodontists are also dentists who receive training in diagnosing, preventing, and treating teeth and jaw irregularities. In addition, orthodontists are specialists in straightening teeth and specialize in managing these conditions by acquiring additional education for two to three years after completing four years of dental school.
Orthodontists can restore existing shapes and have the training to identify problems that may develop later. People of all ages, from children to adults, receive help from orthodontists to straighten teeth.
How Do Orthodontic Treatments Work?
Orthodontic treatments work by improving your bite to provide straighter teeth that are evenly spaced and align with your teeth in the opposing jaw. A healthy bite ensures you face no challenges when eating, chewing, and speaking. Earlier, seeing an orthodontist was familiar for children or teenagers needing braces. However, the orthodontists near me can correct dental problems for patients of any age.
When treating patients needing orthodontic treatment, orthodontists provide them with fixed or removable dental appliances such as braces, retainers, and bands to alter the position of their teeth in the mouth. Orthodontists treat various dental abnormalities, including crooked teeth, bite problems like overbites and underbites, crowded teeth, or teeth spaced apart besides jaw misalignment.
How Are Orthodontists Different From Dentists?
Dentists and orthodontists acquire education from dental school and orthodontic school. Orthodontists spend additional years in an orthodontic residency program because the specialty needs extra training, which most dental schools do not offer.
Orthodontic residency programs help orthodontists with intensive and focused training tailored for specialists. The programs focus on the disciplines of correctly and safely moving teeth and properly guiding the teeth, jaw, and face development. After an orthodontist completes training, they can become board-certified if they choose, which is a voluntary option in the United States.
Why May You Need to See an Orthodontist?
You may require help from orthodontics in NE, Calgary, AB if you have misalignment or malocclusion, which is the common reason why people visit orthodontists. Malocclusion and misalignment are hereditary and result from size differences in the upper and lower jaw or between the jaw and the teeth. Malocclusion leads to overcrowding, irregular bite patterns, and a malformed jaw. Treatments for malocclusion are provided by:
Braces Or Dental Appliances
Metal, ceramic, and plastic square brackets are attached to the teeth, and a set of wires or springs pressurize to move the teeth into alignment. If you have moderate to minor malocclusion, you can use clear braces called aligners instead of the conventional variety. You may also require headgear to move your teeth into alignment with pressure applied from outside your mouth.
Surgery
If you have a severe underbite or overbite, orthodontists offer corrective surgery to shorten or lengthen your jaw. In such cases, orthodontists use surgical screws, wires, or plates to support your jawbone. However, surgery is an option only after you have attained total growth and haven’t been successful with less invasive orthodontic treatments.
You benefit immensely when you correct malocclusion because it makes biting, chewing, and speaking comfortably. The correction helps you improve facial symmetry and overall appearance. In addition, you find relief from temporomandibular joint disorders and freedom from the challenges of cleaning your teeth because orthodontic treatments help prevent tooth decay and cavities.
What to Expect from Orthodontists?
If your dentist observes you have misaligned teeth during your routine visits, they suggest you see an orthodontist, especially if your back teeth don’t meet correctly. You will likely undergo an oral exam during your initial orthodontic visit to provide pictures of your face and smile besides dental x-rays and 3D images of your face and head. Impressions of your teeth to create molds are also taken by the specialist. The examinations assist the orthodontist in determining how to move with your therapy and which orthodontic intervention best suits your needs.
If you are a victim of orthodontic problems, do not continue enduring them but seek treatment for the condition from Zen Dental to get rid of the problem from your mouth.
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