Teeth straightening is the alignment of crooked teeth using discrete, fixed, and removable braces that are difficult for other people to see. Only orthodontic treatment can improve the needed therapy to enhance the appearance of one’s smile and to correct the way teeth meet when they bite.
An orthodontist is someone who specializes in treating irregularities in the teeth and jaws including crooked teeth, misplaced teeth, and twisted teeth, with the primary goal of straightening the teeth and properly aligning them. However, a dentist can also legally offer teeth straightening treatments for all ages after completing a diagnostic evaluation to determine if you’ll benefit from teeth straightening.
Some advantages of Teeth Straightening are:
- Teeth Straightening improves your oral health and makes you look younger and helps to curb bad habits like nail biting.
- Teeth straightening can severely alter a bad bite or misaligned jaw which causes much pain while eating. Sometimes we see inflamed gums, and it is hard to clean or brush mouth, due to which one can lose appetite because eating may cause pain and discomfort.
- Teeth straightening also relieves you of being embarrassed in social interactions.
- It can also make your face look tauter and firmer. It will give you a younger look.
- Relieves you from plaque and help reduce the risk of various gum disease.
The following are some reasons for Teeth Straightening:
- Crowded teeth: One of the most common reasons for teeth straightening. When there is insufficient room in your jaw for all your teeth to fit correctly side-by-side, the teeth erupt in a misaligned manner. It can be twisted, pushed back and forth or so on. In some cases of crowded teeth, extractions are necessary to create space to align the teeth.
- Gappy teeth: Diastema or gappy teeth is a space or gap between two teeth. Diastema is especially common for the upper row. By itself, the defect is not dangerous, but in some cases, it can lead to speech disorder, so the treatment should ideally start as soon as diastema occurs. Sometimes Gaps can occur for various reasons such as more massive than average jaws or having smaller than average teeth.
- Sticking put teeth (Overjet): This happens when a lower jaw is positioned too far back, making the upper teeth appear to stick or protrude out. Top or upper teeth can also lean forward. It may disfigure your looks or your appearance.
- Open bite: This occurs when the upper and lower teeth do not meet at the front especially when the mouth is kept closed. It causes difficulty in biting food, such as apples, or nuts or any other eatables is more of an issue. It is a severe problem and a very complex problem which may require jaw surgery.
- Crossbite: This occurs when the upper teeth close behind the lower teeth, causing the teeth to meet awkwardly. Crossbite creates an asymmetrical smile, thus making eating more challenging. It is also a severe problem and may require jaw surgery.
- Deep bite: This occurs when the upper teeth close too far over the lower teeth; damage to the gums can occur.
- When an individual only wants to improve his/her smile.
- When an individual experience some gum problems causing the teeth to become loose and moved from its position.
- When an individual need needs to create space for a dental implant.
With modern advancement, there are several methods for teeth straightening. Dental braces, one of the widely used methods, are several devices used in orthodontics that align and straighten teeth and help position them about a person’s bite, while also aiming to improve dental health. Braces also fix gaps and set more force making the teeth to move in a specific needed direction. The use of archwires, springs, and rubber bands are used to put more pressure.
Treatment times vary depending on the specific treatment and the orthodontic problem, but most people need to wear braces which is the most common. It may take one to two years. Severe cases can take longer.
Some methods available today for Teeth Straightening are:
- Invisalign: Invisaligners are useful, and they move teeth to the desired position. They are a series of clear, custom-made, thin, removable plastic aligners, nearly undetected or invisible. Usually worn for a minimum of 20–22 hours a day to be most effective.
- Traditional Braces: These are the metal-mouth brackets and wires that most people are familiar with and least cost. Now it is less painful, and the archwires come in different colors that attract kids: Thou, the most obvious but most preferred method for teeth straightening. It is mostly attached to the outside of the teeth.
- Ceramic Braces: Traditional ceramic braces are clear brackets that are attached to the outside of the teeth. The wires can be either invisible or metal. The archwire is just like traditional braces. It gradually moves teeth into the desired position.
- Lingual Braces: Lingual braces are most challenging to manage; the metal wire brackets are placed on the back of the teeth. Lingual braces oral hygiene is harder to maintain, thus increasing the chance of plaque retention and possible tooth decay.
- Cosmetic contouring: Also, known as tooth reshaping is a cosmetic dentistry procedure or technique which is an inexpensive option to help improve your appearance and your smile. They are called abrasion or sculpting. Most of the time this is used to eliminate or minimize imperfections on the surface of the teeth, It removes small amounts of tooth enamel (a covering of the tooth outward). It changes the entire shape, length, or surface of one or more teeth. Since only a small amount of tooth enamel can be removed they are used when minor changes are required.
- Veneers or Caps (Crowns): Caps crowns and veneers are used to help the aesthetic appearance of your smile. Both have different procedures but similar results. Veneers are porcelain materials, mostly used to correct teeth that are cracked, chipped, stained, chipped, unevenly shaped, or misaligned. Veneers are custom-made shell over the front of your teeth. The shells are usually unnoticeable because they are mostly made to match the color of your teeth.
- Caps (Crowns) also known as dental caps. They are also used to protect the chipped or cracked teeth. It gives support to the fragile teeth and avoids more damage. They are stronger and more reliable than veneers. Caps (Crowns) are for patients with bruxism, who clench or grind their teeth often.
Before getting your teeth straightened, a proper assessment from your dentist is essential. A full diagnostic evaluation will be done by your orthodontist to determine if you’ll benefit from teeth straightening. Your doctor will then recommend the best possible treatment option before moving ahead.
Teeth Straightening relieve you of being embarrassed in social interactions. A well-aligned set of teeth can make you not only look and feel good, but also make you extraordinarily confident and above all, it boosts your smile.
During the initial visit to our San Francisco office, Dr. Mohamed Ali will thoroughly examine your mouth and will present different options and also advise you on the best option, suited for you. The billing experts will check your insurance benefits and present a complete treatment plan with the financial arrangements. We accept all major dental and medical PPO insurance plans. We also have an in-office Plan For Health for those who don’t have insurance. Additionally, we have partnered with various financial institutions like Care Credit, The Lending Club, Healthcare Finance Solutions to make your treatment extremely affordable. We will be happy to answer all your questions. So just sit, relax, and get your teeth straightened. To schedule your free consultation, call us at 415.391.7751.
