Orthodontics, Braces - Cupertino Dentist

ORTHODONTICS

ORTHODONTICS - The correction of the bite and alignment of teeth.

Orthodontics involves braces, however, that's not all. For children they often need "space maintainers" to keep their baby teeth from crowding out the adult teeth should they loose them early. (See our section under pediatric dentistry for more info.) While we may refer you to an orthodontist for complete braces, we also do "splinting" of teeth when a tooth is knocked loose, or for periodontal reasons, when there is bone loose and we need to stabilize the bite. These days, ADULT orthodontics is becoming more popular. In fact, up to 40% of the patients many orthodontists see today are adults.

There are many new exciting techniques available today that make braces easier for adults to have them. Among these are the "invisible" braces that go inside your mouth on the "lingual" of the teeth. Also, there are appliances called "Crozats" which are more like wires that are removable, but put pressure on the bone as well as the teeth to direct the movement and can be used to affect skelatal chagnes as well as rotational and tilting movements.

Many dentists are doing children's orthodontics in PHASES. There is a growth spirt around ages 7-8 and again around ages 12-14 that the orthodontist can utilize the child's growth to assist with the movement. The teeth will move quickly when they are treated at the right time. So, how early should orthodontics begin? As soon as an orthoditic problem is first detected. These can include skeletal discrepanices (upper and/lower jaw relationship is off.) In addition, if a child sees an orthodontist before age 7, it allows you to PLAN ahead, or to reassure you that your child's teeth will be fine. Children who are habitual mouth breathers, thumb suckers, finger suckers, have difficulty with speech, facial imbalance, or severe clenching or grinding, may all be good candidates. A child's self image can be severely affected if not on a environment in which more people

Another common treatment is called "serial extractions" which looks at the adult teeth and the baby teeth and determines when the baby tooth should come out to make room for the adult teeth. This is also referred to as "interceptive orffer...If the adult tooth is in too long, it could encourage the adults to either to not come out, or to grow out sideways instead of straight. When we talk about doing serial extractions, we will take out certain baby teeth to make sure that there is room for the adult teeth to come in properly.

Also in this category is splints and nightguards, which help prevent grinding of the teeth and can prevent excessive wearing of the teeth. In addition, sports "mouthguards" are made to help prevent trauma to the teeth while participating in contact sports.

TMJ treatment is often done by orthodontists who have had additional training in teeth and jaw joint relationships.

If you do have braces, it is important to keep them clean. From time to time, we see patients getting cavaties around their braces. This is really a shame, since they are spending so much time and energy on having straighter teeth. The truth is, because of the brackets and wires, it is extrememly difficult to brush thoroughly around them. Therefore, it is common to use water picks, Rotodents toothbrushes, Sonicare toothbrushes, toothpicks, and unituft brushes to help brush. Sometimes using a pedo sized toothbrush will help get into the little grooves easier.

LOCAL ORTHODONTISTS ON THE WEB:
Dr. Laughlin in San Jose/Cupertino off Prospect Rd.

SITES ON THE WEB TO EXPLORE FOR MORE INFO:
Why do I need braces?- Brought to you by Proctor and Gamble
Mouthguards - A discussion of the various types of mouthguards available.