”Have you had your teeth fixed today?” With more and more celebrities showing off their braces, “teeth straightening” has become a synonym for fashion nowadays. For those of you who have uneven teeth, are you also thinking of joining the “teeth straightening” army? About “cosmetic dentistry” of all kinds, you are full of doubts? “Orthodontics is a comprehensive correction of dental, jaw and facial deformities. Choose orthodontics, is in the choice of health and beauty.
I. The “why” before the whole tooth
1.Doctor, can we not extract teeth?
In the process of orthodontic treatment, the doctor is both the designer and the builder. Whether or not to extract teeth is decided by considering how many teeth can be accommodated in the alveolar bone after the reconstruction of the patient’s dental structure is completed.
”Doctor, can I not have my teeth extracted?” This is the most common question many first-time patients ask when seeking orthodontic treatment. In fact, the very notion of asking this question is misplaced. In order to match teeth and jawbone to achieve the best balance of health, function and aesthetics, it is often necessary to extract a variable number of teeth depending on individual circumstances for those who do not have enough space. Therefore, if the patient insists on not extracting the teeth after the doctor has clearly stated the need for extraction, it is equivalent to taking the “design power” from the doctor and treating the doctor as a mere builder, which is a misplaced role.
The doctor’s professional opinion should be followed when formulating a treatment plan. If you do whatever you are told to do in order to cater to the psychology of some patients who “don’t want to have their teeth extracted”, it seems to be a “respect” for the patients, but in fact it is a kind of In fact, it is a kind of irresponsible performance.
2.Why do different doctors offer different plans?
Finding an orthodontist is like choosing a decoration company. For the same house, different decoration companies will give different decoration plans. The same goes for dental treatment. Some people will be confused, the same person orthodontic treatment, why find different doctors, will get different treatment plans?
The orthodontic treatment plan is the result of the doctor’s professional and comprehensive assessment. It has to do with the doctor’s ability to judge and treat the patient’s dental condition on the one hand, and the doctor’s assessment of the health of the adjusted tooth structure on the other. In the process of comprehensive assessment, it is necessary to weigh the pros and cons and make trade-offs, and different doctors have different considerations, so the developed plan is not exactly the same.
3.Why do some people need surgery for “straight teeth”?
Orthodontics alone can correct teeth to a certain limit, orthodontics can not change the length of the bone. For some patients with bony deformities of the jaws, surgery can only be performed to change the length of the bones and thus adjust their functional position.
For the effect of orthodontics, in addition to the appearance, the bite relationship and chewing function of the teeth should be considered. The best occlusal relationship is when the upper and lower teeth bite each other upright, when the teeth bear the greatest force and chewing power. In patients with mild bony deformities, the doctor will use the substitution of the teeth for masking orthodontics to restore the normal occlusal relationship by making the lower teeth tilt inward. However, for some patients with severe bony malocclusion, if only masking orthodontics is performed, the teeth are often tilted at a large angle, even causing the roots to be exposed, which seriously affects the normal function of the teeth. Such patients usually need combined orthodontic-orthognathic treatment, that is, orthognathic surgery to correct the bony deformity, and then orthodontics to restore the normal occlusal relationship of the teeth.
4, “seven days” orthodontics is reliable?
The so-called “seven days” or even “one day” fast orthodontic teeth, many times is a stolen concept of orthodontics, using the method of treating the symptoms but not the root cause, to put it politely, some of them are actually real teeth into dentures, built on the irreversible damage to the teeth –for example, by grinding down uneven teeth and installing porcelain teeth to restore the surface straightness.
Beauty is the most commercially valuable symbol. But do not forget that orthodontics is essentially a branch of medicine, the primary goal of medicine is health, and the real beauty is based on health and function.
5.Can I still have my teeth straightened when I am older?
The best time to get your teeth straightened in most cases is around the age of 12. But this is just an optimal time. There is no strict age limit for orthodontics. As people’s aesthetics strengthen, more and more adults are coming into the orthodontic office. They are mainly young and middle-aged people who did not have the opportunity to get treatment in their teenage years, and then propose orthodontic treatment as adults with the attack of economic conditions, changes in social status or the need for professional work.
6.What types of orthodontic appliances are available now?
Most orthodontic treatment is done with fixed braces. Fixed orthodontic appliances include brackets and archwires. Brackets are fixed to the teeth with an adhesive until the end of treatment. The archwire connects the upper and lower teeth to the brackets, which apply force to the teeth through the brackets and guide them to move. Nowadays, the brackets commonly used in clinical practice can be divided into metal brackets and ceramic brackets according to the material; labial brackets and lingual brackets according to the location of the bonding.
Depending on the ligature, they are divided into self-ligating brackets and non-self-ligating brackets. Generally, metal and ceramic brackets can satisfy the majority of patients. However, patients whose appearance is important to their work, such as actors, urgently need a completely invisible aligner. There are two types of aligners that can do this: lingual aligners and invisible braces (such as Invisalign). Each of the different aligners has its own advantages and disadvantages. And patients in the choice of these aligners can be based on their own situation reasonable choice.
The “why” in cosmetic dentistry
Well, I believe that now you have cleared up a lot of doubts about “cosmetic dentistry”. So, when you wear “braces”, what other misconceptions need to pay attention to?
1. The shorter the follow-up period, the better?
The osteoblast metabolic cycle of alveolar bone takes at least 4 weeks, so usually the follow-up period should be more than 4 weeks. Generally speaking, doctors will set the interval between follow-up examinations at about 4 weeks in order to observe the speed and direction of the patient’s tooth movement and make timely adjustments to the unsuitable areas. The more professional the doctor is, the longer the follow-up interval will be, usually 6-8 weeks.
Therefore, the review cycle is not the shorter the better, 4-8 weeks are normal, which is determined by the osteoblast metabolic cycle of the alveolar bone, do not blame the doctor “lazy” it!
2, the more painful orthodontic teeth the more effective?
Whether there is soreness and softness and tooth movement speed is not necessarily linked. Sore and soft does not mean that the teeth move fast, not sore and soft does not mean that the teeth do not move.
Just put on the “braces”, or after each follow-up consultation to increase the force, the teeth will appear discomfort. To be precise, this discomfort should be a soreness and tenderness rather than the pain that is usually associated with it. The degree of soreness and tenderness is related to the level of expertise of the doctor. With an experienced doctor, his patients return to their normal soreness and tenderness within 3-4 days after the “braces” are put on. For most patients, soreness and tenderness is normal for about a week. The degree of soreness and tenderness also depends on the sensitivity of the individual patient, and everyone feels differently after wearing “braces”. Generally speaking, children and adolescents are in the active growth and reconstruction period of jaw bone and alveolar bone, so the reaction after wearing “braces” is not as strong as adults.
3.When the brackets fall out, wait until the next visit?
Once the brackets fall out, you should immediately contact the attending physician, timely treatment.
Some patients who have lost their braces usually wait until the next visit to reapply the brackets because they are unable to arrange their schedules. Orthodontists recommend that once brackets fall out, you should contact your primary care physician immediately for prompt treatment. The doctor applies a certain strength and direction of force to the entire set of teeth through orthodontic devices such as brackets and wires, when the force is more balanced for each tooth. After the brackets fall out, the originally appropriate force may become an obstructive and destructive force, affecting the entire orthodontic treatment process. If the problem occurs, people in the field can not rush back, can be in the local regular oral health care institutions for emergency treatment, return immediately after the follow-up.
Third, the whole tooth after the “why”
1, orthodontics is not completed? Why wear retainers
After the orthodontist’s careful treatment and the patient’s close cooperation, the teeth are finally aligned very neatly, the establishment of a good bite relationship, with a beautiful face, patients want to remove the aligners as soon as possible. But the removal of the fixed aligners does not mean the final end of the treatment, there is still a job that needs to be done with the patient’s close cooperation, and that is to wear retainers.
There are many fibers and ligaments in the tissues around the teeth, which are arranged in a certain direction. During orthodontic treatment these fibers and ligaments are changed accordingly. At the end of orthodontic treatment, although the teeth have moved to the ideal position, the changes in the fibers and ligaments have not yet ended and need time to remain stable.
Of course, some patients have long time bad habits before treatment, such as thumb sucking, tongue spitting, lip biting, pen biting, nail biting, etc. After orthodontic treatment, if the bad habits still exist, the orthodontic result will become unstable and the original misshapen jaw may appear. Therefore, the complete removal of bad habits is very important.
2.How long do I have to wear the retainer?
Generally about two years, but also varies from person to person, some patients need a shorter retention time, while for some very recurring cases, such as severe tooth twisting, tooth gaps, it requires a longer retention period, or even lifelong retention. In general, it takes at least a year for the tissues around the teeth to stabilize, and the first three months of orthodontic treatment are particularly prone to relapse. Currently, for the first year of aligner removal, the aligners are worn carefully during the day and night. Later, the retainer will be worn at night for 6 months. If you feel comfortable wearing the retainer, you can further gradually reduce the time you wear the retainer: one night every other day, one night a week, until you stop wearing it completely.