Facts You Should Know About Orthodontics From a Braces Dentist

As a braces dentist, we know that orthodontics has become an essential part of modern day dentistry. As more people become aware of the importance of having straight teeth and a properly aligned jaw, the need for orthodontists has skyrocketed. Once thought of as a cosmetic fix, today people understand the significance of having straight teeth, how the jaw influences language skills, and even the importance of a great winning smile. Dentists too have started to work much more closely with orthodontists, to give them a whole new array of tools to improve a patient’s dental health. There is, however, a healthy dose of myths that surround the science of orthodontics. 

Straightening teeth and the use of braces are not just for children. Much to the contrary, adults make up more than twenty percent of the patients an orthodontist sees.  We treat adults who want to get their jaw properly aligned, or their teeth straightened. Popular culture has built up the myth that braces are for children and that adults are stuck with the teeth they grew up with. Luckily, as more adults become educated, they are seeking the treatment they can get for their crooked teeth and we can help. 

Another popular myth is that braces tend to hurt. This myth does have some foundation in reality. For many years, getting braces was a tedious and often painful process. Fortunately, modern medicine has had an impact on orthodontics as well. Today braces are no longer as uncomfortable, with most people getting used to them very quickly. Braces today are far more manageable, and most patients report minimal, if any, discomfort. As a braces dentist, we work with our patients to ensure that they stay comfortable throughout their treatment.

Many adults are still worried that wearing braces could be embarrassing, especially in a professional environment. 

Clear braces, made from natural-colored ceramics have become increasingly more popular as people seeking to straighten their teeth do not want the embarrassment of metal braces. Additional advances allow for some braces to be installed behind the teeth, which places them completely out of sight. These changes have made it so that adults can wear their braces all the time without having to worry about the unsightly metal protruding from their teeth. Additionally, we can use clear aligners to straighten teeth without the use of brackets or wires at all. 

Another common idea is that braces take a long time to get a person’s teeth properly aligned. Many patients think that it will take years of wearing braces, with constant adjustments and frequent trips to the orthodontist’s office to get them tightened or adjusted. 

While it is true that braces do take time, there really is no set time frame. Each patient is different and so it could take a few months, or a few years to get the teeth straight. Adjustments and tightening are part of the process, which is designed to gradually move your teeth from the natural position they grew into to the place where they were supposed to go. We can let you know what the time frame would look like for your case during a consultation.

To learn more about orthodontics and how we can improve your smile, give us a call to schedule an appointment with a braces dentist.

Interesting Facts About Straightening Your Teeth From a Braces Dentist

As a braces dentist, we can straighten your teeth and improve your smile. This is important for your overall health and your appearance.  Crooked teeth do more than make your smile funny.  They are places for food and bacteria to become trapped and increase your risk of getting a cavity.  When your bite is misaligned, it can also create jaw pain and headaches – not a good combination.

Fortunately, there are several ways to improve your smile, and we are experts at finding the right one for our patients.  If you think about a mouth full of metal when you hear the word “braces” – think again.  Orthodontics has come a long way since the 1980’s, and people are straightening their teeth more than ever before because it is so much easier.

Here are some facts you may not know.

• Braces have gone clear.  As a braces dentist, we can discuss clear braces with you.  This is one way to straighten your teeth without the appearance of metal.  This option works well for some people but is not for everyone so we can let you know if it is the best route for you during a consultation. 
• Look behind the teeth.  Some people are wearing braces behind their teeth now.  This is a new type of procedure where brackets and wires are secured to the back of the teeth so that no one can tell teeth are being straightened.
• You can have fun with it.  A lot of kids love wearing braces because they make it fun.  At each appointment, the rubber bands are changed, and patients can pick out their colors and create patterns so that their braces become an expression of their taste and style.  You can even color coordinate for your favorite holidays. 
• They shrunk!  As a braces dentist, we like to show our patients how much smaller the brackets and wires are now.  If you have worn braces in the past, or considered it, you will be pleasantly surprised by how much smaller everything is now.  They are just as effective, but now more of your natural teeth will show through. 
• Aligners are popular.  A lot of people are choosing to straighten their teeth with clear aligners.  They look like a retainer that surrounds your teeth, and you can take it out when you eat.  This makes aligners a convenient option for people that don’t want to look like they are wearing braces. 
• They’re cooler now.  Sure, kids used to make fun of braces, but that day has passed.  Now it is extremely common for people to wear braces and a lot of kids actually look forward to it. Wearing braces has become a rite of passage, and the results afterwards are nothing short of amazing. 

If you are considering straightening your teeth, schedule an appointment to speak with a braces dentist.  We can discuss the various treatment options and come up with a plan that will work for you and your lifestyle.  Call today to learn more. 

Learn How to Take Care of Your Dental Veneers and Make Them Last for Years

If you have dental veneers, it is important to take care of them so that they can stay in good condition.  They are supposed to last for five to ten years. Whether or not they do, depends on whether or not they were installed correctly in the first place and how well you take care of them on a regular basis. 

There are some simple steps you can take in order to keep your veneers in good condition.  This starts by making sure that you are practicing good oral hygiene.  Make sure to brush your teeth using a soft toothbrush and do so throughout the day.  You also need to floss daily and use an antiseptic mouthwash in order to kill any lingering bacteria.  Get your teeth cleaned at the dentist office twice a year in order to kill any lingering bacteria and get cavities treated.  This is an important step because veneers are placed onto the surface of your natural teeth so if the tooth becomes infected it will impact your veneers. 

You should also watch what you put into your mouth.  Don’t bite your nails, chew on pencils, chew ice or hard candy since these can cause your veneers to either fall off or chip.  You can eat all of your favorite foods but avoid things that are known to be too hard for your teeth.  Use caution when deciding what you want to eat so that you don’t bite down on anything that could harm your dental veneers. 

When visiting our dental office ask us to look to see if there are any signs of you grinding your teeth.  If there are, then you need to wear a night guard when you sleep.  This will prevent your upper and lower teeth from touching which will stop the grinding and any clenching that you may be doing.  This is important because grinding can cause your dental veneers to become chipped or even fall off.  It can also give you a headache as well, so a mouth guard can help you to feel better in general. 

It is very easy to care for your veneers.  Just practice good oral hygiene and treat them like you would the rest of your teeth.  This will keep them in good condition.  As an added benefit, you don’t have to worry as much about your teeth becoming stained.  Veneers are stain resistant so if you are used to your teeth becoming yellow fairly easily; this will help.  They key to remember is that you need to whiten the rest of your teeth before your veneers are placed.  Since they don’t stain easily, they also don’t whiten like normal teeth.  By whitening the rest of your teeth first, the veneers will be created in the perfect shade of white and your entire smile will look amazing. 

To learn more about the process or how to keep them in good condition, give us a call. 

Learn About the Stages in Orthodontics You Will Go Through While Your Teeth are Being Straightened

While performing orthodontics treatments, we can straighten our patient's teeth and turn their smile into something healthy and beautiful.  Before getting started, we will examine your teeth to make sure that they are healthy.  It is important to remove any infection and treat any cavities so that your teeth and gums are in good shape prior to wearing braces.  It is far easier to treat the infection before starting the process than after.

Once your teeth are in good health, we will discuss your options for straightening them and the various things that you don’t like about your smile. By listening to your needs and concerns, we can make recommendations that are tailored to your specific needs and health.  Whether you straighten your teeth with braces, aligners or cosmetic dentistry, we can help you to improve your appearance and oral health at the same time. 

When using orthodontics to straighten teeth, there are several stages that you must go through before the braces can come off.  The first stage is to make sure that there is enough room for all of your adult teeth.  Many people have a pallet that is simply too small for all of their teeth and some need to be pulled or removed as a result. We offer an alternative solution where a metal expander is placed on the roof of your mouth and secured to your teeth. Every day for several weeks, you turn the device, and it slowly expands and pushes your teeth outwards.  As a result, more room is made for your teeth. Many children will wear an expander prior to getting braces as it can solve their overcrowding issues. 

Once there is room for your teeth, they can be moved into place using metal braces or clear aligners.  If metal braces are used, a bracket will be placed on each of your teeth, and a wire threaded between them.  The wires are held in place using rubber bands and over the course of the treatment; the wires will be adjusted in order to move teeth into position.  Typically, teeth are targeted so that they are not all moving at the same time.  This makes the process more comfortable, and a similar technique is used with aligners except that the aligners can be switched out at home. 

As your teeth are moving into place, your bite will also be adjusted.  It is important to have a bite that is perfectly aligned so that the upper teeth can fit securely over the lower teeth.  When we adjust your bite, we will make sure that your teeth are fitting front to back, side to side, and top to bottom.  By aligning your bite, your jaw won’t hurt as much; headaches can be reduced, and it becomes easier to eat.  This can be done by using rubber bands, headgear, and other orthodontics treatments. 

To learn more and to get a recommendation for how to straighten your teeth, give us call. 

Orthodontics Solutions Involve More than Just Wearing Braces

Braces are the most commonly known procedure in orthodontics. They are extremely effective at moving teeth into position, correcting a misaligned bite, and creating a straight and beautiful smile.  Braces can be worn by both adults and children, making them ideal for people in all stages of life.  There are, however, times where alternative treatments are needed. 

Many children have difficulty with overcrowding.  This occurs when baby teeth fall out too early and, as a result, the remaining teeth shift or move out of place.  When the adult teeth try to come in, the space that should have been reserved for them has been lost.  In this situation, braces are not an appropriate solution because the child is getting their adult teeth in, but they haven’t all come in yet.  We can help by making more room in their mouth so that the adult teeth have a place to go. 

Orthodontics involves moving your teeth, jaw, and pallet.  In this scenario, we may want to use a combination of spacers and an expander to move the existing teeth and to expand the pallet so that the adult teeth can come in properly.  Wearing an expander is a common solution because it is a metal device that is placed onto the roof of the mouth and by turning a key, will slowly start to stretch and expand the roof of the mouth.  This is done over several weeks until the pallet has been expanded enough to make room for incoming teeth.  It remains in place for some time in order for the mouth to conform to its new position.  When the adult teeth come in, they will have a spot to grow into that is in line with the other teeth instead of behind them. By performing this procedure early, many children don’t need to wear braces at all. 

Children and adults that do get braces may also need additional procedures to move their teeth and jaw into the right position.  Remember that braces can make teeth straight but on their own cannot expand the pallet or align a jaw.  In the case of an overbite, for example, headgear is often worn at night in order to move the top and lower teeth into alignment.  Simultaneously, rubber bands are often used to align the bite.  In this case, the orthodontist tells a patient which upper tooth to start the rubber band on and which lower tooth it should be ended on.  By wearing the bands, the jaw is held in a certain position and slowly moved into place.  Both of these additional steps are typically only needed for a portion of the treatment time.

There is much more involved with orthodontics and multiple ways to straighten teeth.  There is no one size fits all solution so in order to find out what will work best for you, schedule an examination so that we can make a recommendation and discuss various treatment options. 

Dental Veneers Can Restore Teeth That Are Damaged While Playing Fall Sports

Fall is here and with it comes sports and oral injuries, many of which can be corrected with dental veneers.  It is so common for athletes to have their teeth knocked out or broken that the American Dental Association has advocated athletes wearing mouth guards in order to prevent these injuries.  In fact, over 200,000 high school and college football injuries are prevented every year due to mouth guards.  This gives a glimpse into how many athletes end up in the dentist chair with a cracked tooth. 

Fortunately, we can repair our patient’s teeth to their full functionality using a variety of cosmetic dentistry techniques.  This is important because in the past when someone injured a tooth there was a high likelihood that the tooth would need to be pulled or that it would become infected.  Now, this is very rarely necessary thanks to modern dental techniques.

One of the most common ways for restoring a damaged tooth is to use dental veneers.  A veneer is a thin shell that is placed on top of the existing tooth and can be used to fix one that has been cracked or chipped.  As an athlete, it doesn’t take much to chip a tooth. A recreational softball game is a lot of fun in the spring and summer, but it easy to get distracted and have a flying ball accidentally collide with your face.  These are the types of accidents that are extremely common, no matter how careful you are.  If this happens to you, call us right away to schedule an appointment so that your life isn’t interrupted due to a damaged tooth. 

How the process works.

After an injury, we will examine your teeth and let you know what steps we recommend for repairing it. If dental veneers are the best option, we will take a mold of your mouth so that a permanent veneer can be created in a lab.  The veneer will match the size, shape, and color of your other teeth so that it blends in perfectly.  In the meantime, we will prepare the tooth by removing a portion of the enamel from the surface.  This is done so that when the veneer is placed, it will lay flat with the gums and not stick out in any way.  It can take a few weeks for the dental lab to create your veneer so during this time frame a temporary one will be worn.  The temporary is attached using glue that is meant to come off, so you have to be careful with what you eat, how hard you brush your teeth and your activity level.  As an athlete, you may need to take it easy for a couple of weeks but we can advise you further after discussing what sports you are involved in.  

Once the permanent veneer is ready, you will come back to our office so that we can remove the temporary at bond the permanent one to your existing tooth.  The result is a beautiful looking, natural tooth that is also durable.  This allows you to get back to the game without worrying about your teeth. 

A Cosmetic Dentist Explains the Difference Between Crowns and Dental Veneers

If your tooth needs to be restored, dental veneers are a common option for doing so.  There are multiple ways to restore a tooth, with dental crowns and veneers being extremely popular.  Both options can be used restoratively and to improve the appearance of a tooth by covering dark stains, holes, chips, and cracks.  There are many similarities in the process but also several key differences.

Here is what you need to know.

Primary Uses.  Dental crowns are typically used when a large portion of the tooth has been removed, or the tooth has become cracked to the point that it is no longer stable.  Veneers, on the other hand, are frequently used to cover dark stains, make teeth even in length, close gaps, and correct a tooth that has been chipped.

Appearance.  Crowns are made from one of three main types of materials: all-metal, porcelain-on-metal, and all-porcelain.  Metal crowns are the most stable while the all-porcelain crowns look the most natural and are better for front teeth.  Dental veneers are made either all-porcelain or all-ceramic so that they look completely natural.  A cosmetic dentist can make recommendations for how to have the most natural and beautiful looking teeth.

Structure.   Dental crowns fit completely around the tooth like a cap.  This is why they can provide additional strength.  Veneers are a thin shell that fits on the front of the tooth, so they are better for cosmetic purposes, but don’t protect like a crown does.

Preparing the tooth.   In both scenarios, the tooth needs to be prepared which involves removing a portion of it in order to make room for the crown or veneer.  With dental crowns, more of the tooth has to be removed since the crown surrounds it on all sides.  A veneer requires only a minimal amount of enamel to be removed.

Temporaries.  Patients need to wear a temporary crown or veneer in between the time that the tooth is prepared, and the permanent one is ready.  This is used to protect the tooth and help it to hold its shape.

Permanent ones are created in a lab.  The dental lab will use a mold or impression of your teeth to create a crown or veneer that is perfectly sized and shaped.  With a crown, this will be created in the material that you have selected ahead of time.  The color will also be matched to your surrounding teeth.

Bonding.  In both cases, the new device will be bonded with the tooth using glue and a light beam.  This will secure the crown or veneer in place so that a person can eat and speak without fear of it becoming loose.

Maintenance.  Once the tooth has healed, it can be maintained just like natural teeth.  Brushing and flossing are necessary along with teeth cleanings twice a year.  This will keep your teeth in good condition. 

If you are looking for a solution for restoring a tooth or improving the appearance of your smile, a cosmetic dentist can help.  

Learn more about crowns and dental veneers by calling Vista Dental Care and Specialty Center today.