Braces for adults? In the past, it was almost taboo. Putting braces on the teeth of an 18+ year old was once considered unnecessary, unpleasant, and even strange. Today, however, lots of adults are taking the plunge to straighten their teeth and improve their overbites. So how can an adult with braces survive the experience? Well, it all starts with recognizing what you are getting yourself into.

The preliminary steps include x-rays, molds, and a treatment plan. The orthodontist will review your impressions, come up with a plan of action, and give you a full on consultation with regards to expectations.
Prior to getting your braces, the orthodontist will potentially take part in a number of pre-treatment procedures, including the insertion of spacers if your teeth are too close together, a professional teeth cleaning, and, the dreaded “tooth extraction” if it proves necessary to successfully mount the brackets.

When your mouth is ready for the braces, the orthodontist will apply “etchant” to your teeth and bond the braces of with high intensity plasma light. Don’t worry, though, this portion of the process is pain free. Once the braces are mounted to your teeth, an arch wire is placed through openings to begin the tightening process. You may also have tiny rubber bands attached to each brace, additionally. These bands hold the wire in place and make the braces feel a little bit better against your inner lip.

What will it feel like when the process is complete? Well, at first you’ll feel a little sore. Your teeth have already started to shift, believe it or not, and the braces will likely irritate the inside of your mouth. This is only temporary, though, and your mouth will soon adapt to the feeling of the new braces. Chewing may also be difficult the first few days – which may lead to your orthodontist limiting the types of foods that you can eat.

In the end, braces, even for adults, are an excellent choice. While the braces may be on your teeth for some time, the length of treatment is typically shorter when compared to the periods of juvenile orthodontics. When you’ve finally put in your time, and the braces are off, you will be very pleased with your new smile and corrected bite.

By: Paul Guenther

I am switching from old "classic" Blogger" to "new" Blogger. The look will change slightly, but hopefully the links will all transfer appropriately. All this is supposed to make it easier to add links, customize etc, but I am not sure. Change is often good. I hope to continually upgrade the blog. I even updated my photo!

This article was syndicated via RSS From: http://cyberdentist.blogspot.com/

In an interesting article from the Minneapolis Orthodontist’s Blog, certain habits taken up by babies, such as thumb sucking, can cause major orthodontic problems…

Thumb Sucking
Lots of children suck their thumbs because it feels good to them, said Minneapolis, Minnesota Orthodontist Dr. Trudy Bonvino, who serves as the orthodontist on staff at Cosmopolitan Orthodontics. They may suck their thumbs when they are sick, scared or tired.

The American Dental Association has stated that most children can suck their thumbs until they reach 3 or 4 years old without damaging their teeth. However, children who vigorously suck their thumbs and continue to do so beyond age 4 risk causing damage that will require orthodontic treatment to correct, said Orthodontist Dr. Jennifer Eisenhuth, a Minneapolis, Minnesota braces expert who owns Cosmopolitan Orthodontics.

If children don’t eventually stop sucking their thumbs on their own, an orthodontist can install appliances that take away the pleasing sensation children get when sucking their thumbs.

Pacifiers
Parents who allow their children to use a pacifier during the first few years of life need not worry about causing future dental problems, according to a Mayo Clinic article on the topic (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pacifiers/pr00067). It is the persistent use of a pacifier beyond about age 4 that can lead to long-term dental problems that include top front teeth that slant outward, lower front teeth that slant inward, misaligned jaws or narrowing of the roof of the mouth.
Eisenhuth recommends that parents give their children orthodontic pacifiers. These scientifically designed pacifiers support the shape of the jaws and palates in babies, according to www.gerber.com.

Baby Bottles
Because the desire to suck is innate, there are lots of children who continue to crave bottles long after their nutritional uses have ended, Eisenhuth said. But when parents put anything other than water in the bottle, they increase their child’s risk of developing tooth decay early in life.

“Sugars and carbohydrates in the mouth promote the growth of bacteria that can cause cavities,” she said. “Early decay is of particular concern because it can spread quickly and increase a child’s risk of enduring a lifetime of cavities and other dental problems.”

Early Orthodontic Treatment
Orthodontists recommend that children see an orthodontist by age 7, when a child’s first adult molars typically have erupted, Eisenhuth said. By age 7, orthodontists can evaluate children to determine whether they have an overbite, an open bite, teeth crowding issues or a gummy smile. They also can correct many alignment problems that may have been caused by thumb sucking or extended pacifier and bottle use.

“Through early orthodontic treatment, we can address a variety of alignment and bite problems and prevent the need for braces down the road in many cases,” she said. “If we can’t prevent the need for braces, we almost always can reduce the length of time children will need to be in braces in the future when we get them involved in early treatment.”

Remember when your dentist put that sour gel stuff in a giant foam tray put a straw suction tip in your outh and let you sit like that for 5 minutes? That flouride treatment was to help prevent tooth decay. Now there are some better options than that aweful gel. Fluoride Varnish is the most elegant version of office applied Fluoride.

Now there are a hundred different kinds of fluoride and many ways to apply fluoride. There is the fluoride in the drinking water, which you might drink every day which has been statistically proven to prevent tooth decay in large academic studies. That concentration is about one part per million of fluoride ion (ppm). The oral rinses you get in the grocery store are about 200 ppm. Toothpaste has about 1000 ppm. Once you get into those kinds of ranges you really don't want to swallow large amounts of fluoride. That's why we do not recommend regular toothpaste for very young children (under two) and we ask older children and adults to rinse and spit after brushing. The kinds of fluoride we apply in the office are much higher concentrations, usually of a version called APF or Acidualted Phosphate Fluoride (the sour stuff) or sodium fluoride. There has always been a concern for children that you don't want them to swallow too much fluoride during an in office delivery-those concentrations can be around 22,600 ppm! Foam systems were developed and we use that from time to time as you can get the fluoride on the teeth more easily without such a large total dosage.
Now there is an even better way-especially for children-Fluoride Varnish. It's sort of a thick liquid you paint on the teeth coating a concentrated dose of fluoride right up against the teeth, but in total dosage it is quite small. Better yet, long after the patient has left the office, it bathes the teeth in fluoride. It lasts for a few hours or until the patient brushes. It actually tastes pretty good, kind of like bananas I think. The first version thay had was called Duraphat. It was good, but was yellow colored and although very good, it always bothered patients to leave the dental office with goopy yellow looking teeth even if it was just for a few hours. Now they have improved the color. It's a sort of clear/white colored material. It is painted on and once it gets wet, it hardens up a little. Pretty cool, huh.

ADA on Fluoride Varnishes
More info and video:
Vanish brand varnish from 3M
CDC on fluoride products

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In the last article, we talked about lost dental sealants leading to the susceptibility of carries.  He is some more information on dental sealants, and, why they are extremely important in today’s world – again, from the Pediatric Dentistry Blog:

Why? –Well, basically there are a lot of studies that say placing sealants helps reduce the incidence of cavities. Does it mean you will never get cavities?–no, it still can happen, but sealants can reduce the kind of cavities that form in the pits and grooves of the back teeth, you know on the top of the tooth–you still can get them in between the teeth and on the smooth surfaces.

How long do they last?–Even with a well placed sealant I have seen cavities form in areas previously sealed. Sometimes the sealant wears off (chewing ice for instance), or sometimes just because someone is very prone to cavities. They say they last from 5 to 7 years if you take care of them–even adults can get sealants, but they seem to be most effective in the cavity prone years of youth. What is the material? Well, it’s basically the same material as used in white fillings without as much filler/reinforcing material, it’s a bis-GMA resin, With less filler the sealant can flow into the grooves better. Sometimes we use “flowable” composite which is kind of in between in it’s characteristics.

How are they placed? Does it hurt?–I like to say it’s like painting fingernails–you basically just paint it on the tooth–now that can be harder than you think as these teeth are in the back of the mouth. Most of the effort is keeping the area dry.

Do you put them on baby teeth?–you can, but generally no. The enamel in baby teeth is different microscopically, they don’t seem to stay as well, but sometimes if there is lots of grooves there, so there may be a benefit to placing them. Another thing to think about is that in preschoolers, placing a sealant is just about as difficult as a small filling because little kids, well it’s harder to place the sealants. It is often better to simply have regular checkups to catch things early. Also, like I said many cavities in baby teeth are in between the teeth which sealants do not prevent.

Do lost sealants equal a higher risk of dental carries?  From the Pediatric Dentistry Blog:

If a child has preventive sealants placed, but then the sealant is totally or partially lost, is that tooth more susceptible to dental caries? I get this question from time to time. I am pleased to say that the answer I have been giving is backed up by a review of several scientific studies. Teeth with fully or partially lost sealants were not at a higher risk of developing caries than were teeth that had never been sealed.

Hey, kids chew ice and other things that may cause a sealant to chip or wear off. Most sealants are supposed to last from 5 -7 years if you take care of them. Sometimes they do not last 5-7 months on some kids. Still it is reassuring that there is not a higher risk.

Of course, there are studies that show teeth sealed have a lower incidence of caries-that’s why we recommend them.

Yes, a mere six hours ago this story made headlines in Australia.  Dentists, as much as anyone else, are at liberty to take cost-cutting meaures.  But at who’s expense?  From the Sydney Morning Herald:

INCREASING numbers of unsuspecting Australians are having their mouths filled with cheap dental prosthetics from unregulated overseas laboratories, some of which are believed to contain toxic heavy metals.

Lead, nickel, cadmium and beryllium were being added to ceramic-covered prosthetics by manufacturers in many Asian countries, said the president of the Oral Health Professionals Association’s College of Dental Technicians, Robert Boshier.

Dentists could legally import cut-price prosthetics such as crowns, bridges and dentures because the Therapeutic Goods Administration did not regulate imported custom-made dental products. Yet the use of such heavy metals in Australian-made equivalents was banned due to their carcinogenic properties.

Mr Boshier said no longitudinal studies had been done on adverse effects from imported dental products suspected of containing dangerous metals and there was no mandatory reporting of cases.

”But we’ve certainly had some adverse patient outcomes,” he said. ”Use of inappropriate metals in prosthetic devices can lead to chemical reactions within the mouth which can damage the vital tooth. There can be severe pain, headaches, infections, even the loss of the tooth.”

Dentists struggling to maintain profits during the downturn are increasingly turning to cheap imports. A single crown costing a patient about $1300 can be manufactured in China for about $25, then sold to the dentist for between $100 and $250.

While importing custom-made dental devices is legal, the Herald has been told of dentists buying other products – from amalgam for fillings to specialised instruments – on foreign websites and bypassing mandatory TGA scrutiny.

The Herald is aware of one NSW dentist who holds seminars to teach other dentists how to boost profits by buying materials online from China.

According to meeting minutes obtained by the Herald, the NSW chapter of the Australian Dental Industry Association, which represents dental technicians, has voted to form a team to tackle the problem.

But the national president of the Australian Dental Association, Neil Hewson, has disputed the technicians’ claims that the practice is widespread.

Dr Hewson conceded the association had been aware of some dentists engaged in illegal importation in the past.

”We’ve put out statements, we’ve advised in newsletters saying you can’t legally import … They must obey the law.”

But the executive officer of the technicians’ association, Duncan Campbell, said the dentists’ industry publication, Australian Dental Journal, regularly carried advertisements from foreign dental supply companies.

”We’re concerned about patient safety. These products are not going through the TGA’s safety checks,” Mr Campbell said.

A spokesman for the TGA said it had worked closely with dentists and technicians for many years, and regularly updated the industry on its obligations to work within the administration’s regulations on imports.

”When the TGA becomes aware of instances of the possible illegal supply of therapeutic goods it actively pursues the matter.”

This animated dentist offers a fun, pain free experience:

There is no shortage of dysfunctional families in life – or in television. It’s just that the TV families tend to be cartoons – figuratively or literally – which means they can do things the rest of us generally can’t: you know, consort with talking dogs, cause meltdowns at nuclear power plants, plunder with Somali pirates.

By those standards, the Martins, the animated stars of Nickelodeon’s new “Glenn Martin, D.D.S.,’’ are fairly realistic; the most out-there character is 11-year-old Courtney, a budding CEO who already has a sycophantic personal assistant. Otherwise, this is a garden-variety nuclear family: Glenn, the dentist dad, well-meaning and slightly doofy; Jackie, his wife, cynical but supportive; Conor, his teenage son, awkward and hormonal; Canine, his dog, who acts like an actual dog.

They’re gentle – or, maybe, just edgy enough – which seems to be the operating vision for Nickelodeon’s “Nick at Nite’’ prime-time block. The network is aiming for fare that tweens and parents can watch together, and “Glenn Martin, D.D.S.,’’ which premieres tonight at 8, has that aura of cheerful togetherness about it, along with the sort of aggressive laugh track that still reigns on tween sitcoms like “iCarly’’ and “Hannah Montana.’’ It was created by Disney-chief-turned-producer Michael Eisner, who once came up with the idea of “Happy Days,’’ and while it’s updated to account for the texting and gaming that today’s tweens do, it feels deliberately old-fashioned.

That extends to its look, a stop-motion animation style created by Eric Fogel, the man behind MTV’s striking and much more cutting “Celebrity Deathmatch.’’ It’s a beautiful art form; the characters look like toys brought to life, and watching them makes you want to go out and buy modeling clay. And it’s well-suited to the premise: that Glenn, mourning a lack of connection with his kids, loads the family and his dentistry practice into an RV and hits the road. (The beauty of animation is that they can roam the nation freely, at no extra cost.)

In tonight’s premiere, Glenn decides the family needs a break from video games and cellphones, so he drives the RV to Amish country. What ensues isn’t particularly kind to the Amish – though how would they know? – and is moderately amusing. There’s a plot about Courtney corrupting Amish girls with a glowing celebrity magazine, a passable joke involving the Amish version of the “Sex and the City’’ women, and a funny bit involving a camera phone wielded as a weapon.

As Glenn, Kevin Nealon is likably clumsy, with a particular knack for delivering throwaway lines. “Hey, Google Maps. You guys don’t know what you’re missing,’’ he says as he fumbles with his cellphone, and it comes across well. It’s the grade of funny this show seems to have accepted – cute, giggle-worthy, and only a smidgen dangerous. To a family that has already shared the likes of Stewie on “Family Guy,’’ it must feel like some strange vestige of the rotary-phone past.

- Courtesy of Boston.com

 

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Can a child’s habits effect his or her facial growth process? Dr. Nikaeen and his team in Los Angeles claim that it can.  From the pages of the Los Angeles Orthodontics Blog:

There is a common perception among many people that crooked, crowded teeth and problems with facial development are hereditary.

However, that isn’t always the case, according to Dr. Atoosa Nikaeen, a Los Angeles, CA braces expert who treats young patients with unhealthy oral habits that can lead to future orthodontic and facial development problems.
Fortunately for parents and their children, various types of orthodontic treatment can be employed to help children break unhealthy oral habits or to correct their effects before they become too advanced, said Nikaeen, who owns a orthodontics practice in Los Angeles, CA.

Types of unhealthy oral habits that may need correction include:

•Mouth breathing
•Prolonged sucking on pacifiers, the thumb or fingers
•Overactive lip muscles
•Incorrect swallowing patterns, including tongue thrusting
•Nail biting

The jaw’s posture affects its growth, according to Myofunctional Research Co., a world leader in dental appliance technology. (http://www.myoresearch.com/cms/index.php?id=61,200,0,0,1,0). Children who breathe through their mouths can adversely affect how their jaws develop.

“Just the simple act of breathing through your mouth instead of your nose can play a huge role in your facial structure,” Nikaeen said.

“People who breathe through their mouths tend to develop long, narrow faces, so the earlier this problem can be corrected, the better.”

Mouth breathers also can develop TMJ disorder or soft tissue dysfunction if left untreated.
If caught before a child’s primary teeth have grown in, these problems are easier to correct, according to Myofunctional Research Co.

Sucking on the thumb, fingers or a pacifier is common in early childhood development. Babies tend to do this to soothe themselves,

Nikaeen said. But for children who don’t gradually grow out of this habit, adverse dental effects can result down the road.

For example, a normal upper arch forms when the tongue rests in the area between the upper teeth- the “roof” of the mouth- because the

tongue helps combat the pressure of the cheeks, which naturally push ainst the teeth and can push the upper arch of the jaws inward, according to the Myofunctional Research Web site. When a child does anything to force the tongue to drop from the roof of the mouth, such as thumb sucking or mouth breathing, the cheek muscles work over time to push the teeth in the upper jaw inward, creating crowding problems.

“The more intense and frequent the bad oral habits are, the greater the possibility of malocclusion,” top orthodontist in Los Angeles CA , said.

One way of combatting the ill effect of thumb and finger-sucking is through the use of “orthodontic pacifiers.”

This type of pacifier is specially designed to replicate the shape of a mother’s nipple when flattened in the baby’s mouth and to support the shape of the baby’s palate and jaws as they develop, Nikaeen said. This scientific design also encourages the most natural sucking action to help proper oral development. A study conducted in 1992 found that babies given orthodontic pacifiers were less likely to develop overbites or open bites, compared to babies that used traditional round pacifiers. Tongue thrusting can lead to misaligned teeth by exerting more force on the backs of the teeth than is applied to the fronts of the teeth by the facial muscles. Conversely, overactive lips can cause teeth to tip inward if the tongue doesn’t provide enough force to combat it.

There is a variety of devices besides orthodontic pacifiers that orthodontists can use to correct poor oral habits in young children. These appliances are used before, during and after orthodontic treatment to correct the problems that lead to crowded, crooked teeth and malformed faces, Nikaeen said. The appliances sometimes serve as deterrents to the bad habits by taking away the pleasant sensation the child gets from, say, sucking his/her thumb. The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that children receive an orthodontic evaluation by age 7. This is because detecting

some orthodontic problems early enables the orthodontist to take preventive action that could eliminate the need for braces later, or at least lessen the time a child must spend in braces, Nikaeen said. However, many poor oral habits can be detected much earlier and in cases where parents suspect poor oral habits, treatment can begin at a younger age.