In the clinic, there are not only many patients on orthodontic misconceptions, some dental practitioners of other specialties sometimes have the same misconceptions, here to give a summary, analysis, in order to really eliminate people’s misconceptions about orthodontics, only everyone knows, is the great success of medicine.
Myth 1 older can not be orthodontic
Tooth movement is the process of bone remodeling will exist in the body, so orthodontics is suitable for both young and old. However, different individuals have different problems, and the time to start orthodontic treatment is not the same. Children as young as three or four years old and elderly people as old as 80 or 90 years old can be the target group for orthodontic treatment. You should seek answers from a professional orthodontist as to whether you are ready for orthodontics.
Myth 2: Teeth will loosen after orthodontic treatment
Teeth themselves cannot stay in place for life, but are in a balance of stability and movement. Orthodontics is the process of temporarily breaking this balance through external forces and moving the teeth. The bone remodeling caused by orthodontics brings about a physiological movement of the teeth, and it is normal to experience a certain degree of temporary loosening during the movement. When the teeth move to a new position, they naturally return to balance and stabilize again.
Myth 3 orthodontics will lose teeth when you get old
Many people think that old tooth loss is a normal physiological phenomenon, but in fact, healthy teeth should accompany people throughout their lives. At present, periodontitis has become the primary cause of tooth loss in adults in China, that is, the so-called old tooth loss is mainly due to periodontitis leading to loose teeth, and the key causative factor of periodontitis is the oral plaque microorganisms. Periodontitis has nothing to do with orthodontic treatment.
Myth 4 buck teeth or misalignment, seeking 7 days fast orthodontic method
The so-called crown fast orthodontics, called the emerging dental technology, the essence of the tooth grinding small after doing porcelain crowns, for the sake of aesthetics but damage to dental health. To change the alignment of healthy teeth, the correct solution is to wear braces, which generally takes about two years. The physiological movement of teeth is a slow process, and orthodontics must pay the price of time; there are no shortcuts.
Myth 5 Orthodontics is just for aesthetics
Many young people are orthodontic to improve the aesthetics of their teeth and even their appearance, but the effectiveness of orthodontics is not limited to this. Most middle-aged and older adults seek orthodontic treatment for health and function. Straighter teeth are easier to clean, benefit the health of teeth and periodontal tissues, and orthodontics improves chewing function by obtaining an ideal bite relationship. Perfect orthodontics is a harmonious unity of health, function, aesthetics and long-term stability.
Myth 6 Orthodontics must be extracted
This is one reason why many people are discouraged from orthodontics. Tooth extraction is a common but not the only means of providing clearance. In addition to extractions, which create space and effectively address crowding and protrusion, there are also many other clinical tools such as anterior-posterior or left-right arch expansions and lamellar cuts (moderate narrowing of teeth). It is important to seek professional orthodontist’s examination to decide which means is more suitable.
Myth 7: Tooth extraction will leave a gap after orthodontic treatment
Orthodontics is about moving teeth from their original position to a new position, and tooth extraction orthodontics is about using the space created by tooth extraction to align teeth or retrieve protruding teeth. Therefore, as long as the standard orthodontic treatment, in general, can make the final alignment of teeth tight, restore the normal tooth adjacent relationship, will not leave a gap.
Myth 8 You can’t start orthodontic treatment until your teeth have been replaced
Not only do patients think this way, but many non-orthodontic dentists also think this way. The specific problems of different individuals are different, taking into account the growth and development of teeth and jawbone, the time to start orthodontic treatment will be different for each person, both early orthodontic treatment during the period of milk teeth and teeth replacement, as well as comprehensive orthodontic treatment after tooth replacement and adulthood, which case you belong to, should be judged by professional orthodontists.
Myth 9 Orthodontics must be very painful
The fear of pain makes many people afraid of orthodontics, in fact, orthodontics is not terrible, orthodontic braces are not a tight band. The development of today’s orthodontic technology is increasingly inclined to light force orthodontics, many technologies can provide safe and comfortable orthodontics, so that patients do not feel pain or only minor discomfort. The soreness of the teeth and the weakness of the bite during treatment are also temporary, and the occasional pain from mucosal ulcers is generally tolerable.
Myth 10 orthodontics can only wear braces, affecting the aesthetics
Orthodontic methods are flexible, the current mainstream technology is glued to the teeth on the patient can not remove the fixed orthodontic appliances that are commonly known as braces, including metal steel braces and close to the tooth-colored aesthetic ceramic braces. In addition, there are lingual braces, which are placed on the inside of the teeth, and bracketless invisible braces, which can be freely removed by the patient and have no impact on aesthetics. Patients can make a choice based on their needs.
Myth 11 The greater the orthodontic force, the faster the teeth will move, and the less the orthodontic force, the less painful, the slower or no tooth movement
Tooth movement is a slow physiological movement of bone cells involved in alteration, unlike the physical mechanics of the macroscopic world, and is by no means faster with more force. In fact, a very small force can start the tooth movement, but too much force will stop the movement or bring many side effects. What goes around comes around, and orthodontics should not exceed physiological limits.
Myth 12: If you shorten the interval between visits during orthodontic treatment and visit more frequently, you can speed up the progress and then shorten the course of treatment.
If the teeth move slowly and physiologically, moving at most 1mm a month on average, if the teeth and periodontal tissues lose the time to recuperate because of anxious and frequent follow-ups, it may bring irreversible adverse consequences. Orthodontic treatment should not be pulled up and must respect the physiological laws.
Misconception 13 Severe periodontitis can not be orthodontic
Many orthodontists are daunted by this. Severe periodontitis often has obvious pathological tooth displacement or loosening, but orthodontics is also treating periodontal disease, and applying orthodontic forces within biological limits will not worsen periodontal disease, but will improve it. Untreated or controlled periodontitis cannot be orthodontically treated, but stable periodontitis can, and this is a treatment that can only be accomplished by the cooperation of physicians of different specialties, which is a test for physicians.
Myth 14 Wearing braces will erode the tooth surface
In the dental surface bonding aligners, currently is the use of oral special enamel adhesive, in the clean treatment of the tooth surface fixed for about two years, during treatment aligners may be repeatedly bonded due to external forces off, after the removal of treatment will not affect the tooth surface, this is more than 40 years of application in dentistry is very mature bonding technology, there is no need to worry. The so-called corrosion is actually mainly due to poor oral hygiene resulting in enamel demineralization around the brackets, poor oral hygiene is the culprit, orthodontics should not take the blame.
Myth 15 orthodontics can only solve dental problems
Orthodontics can change the position of the teeth, lips and teeth, and then can change the front and back position of the lips, bringing changes in the side appearance of soft tissue protrusion, in addition, changes in the relationship between the lips and teeth can also bring changes in the aesthetics of the smile. Therefore, orthodontics not only solves dental problems, but often brings beauty to a large extent, and even reaps unexpected effects similar to cosmetic surgery.
Myth 16 Orthodontics can slim or change the shape of the face
The orthodontist’s job is to move the teeth, especially the front teeth position change, the nearby alveolar bone also undergoes a certain degree of reconstruction, the front and back position of the lips and lip-tooth relationship will also change, so it will bring about changes in facial appearance below the nose, but not the width of the face or other facial parts of the change. Be realistic and take credit for the orthodontist’s work.
Myth 17 Orthodontics will affect the child’s height development
Some parents worry that many dietary restrictions during orthodontic treatment will affect their children’s development, but in fact, there is no absolute contraindication to diet during orthodontic treatment, the key is to pay attention to the way. The orthodontic treatment is a process of alveolar bone reconstruction, the results of the treatment will be related to the growth and development of the upper and lower jaws, but the orthodontic treatment itself will not affect the growth of children’s height. Orthodontics takes a long time and often goes through a rapid growth phase in children, so parents will inevitably have concerns.
Myth 18 Adult orthodontics is prone to rebound
Some parents worry that many dietary restrictions during the orthodontic period, which will then affect the child’s development, but in fact, orthodontics on the diet is not absolutely contraindicated, the key is to pay attention to the way. The orthodontic treatment is a process of alveolar bone reconstruction, the results of the treatment will be related to the growth and development of the upper and lower jaws, but the orthodontic treatment itself will not affect the growth of children’s height. Orthodontics takes a long time and often goes through a rapid growth phase for children, so parents will inevitably have concerns.
Myth 19 As long as the oral specialist can do orthodontics
Dentistry is divided into different specialties, only the postgraduate level to systematically study orthodontic specialty, to receive standardized professional training and continuous practice in training, so experts in other specialties of the oral cavity can not carry out professional orthodontics and must be done by orthodontic specialists, many developed countries to implement the specialist system and legislative protection, as the so-called specialization in the field.
Misconception 20
Many patients like to compare with others, treatment plan, pain feeling, tooth movement fast and slow, treatment and even cost.
Everyone is a different individual and orthodontics should be an individualized treatment for different specific situations. In addition, the individualized differences in treatment response, is also a reflection of the practical requirements of the discipline of dentistry, so orthodontics can only be for different individuals, horizontal comparison is inappropriate.