Perfectly straight teeth is good luck of few and result for those people who have already gone through bite correction. In Minsk, every year the number of those wishing to put braces or aligners . The problem of crooked teeth has emerged sharply in recent decades due to the predominance of soft foods in the modern diet, which has led to a natural decrease in the jaw of people since the middle of the 20th century. In turn, the number of teeth laid down by nature simply does not have enough space. Most often this leads to crowding of the front lower teeth, but, unfortunately, more serious forms of malocclusion are often formed.
In this Article
What is a malocclusion?
- Malocclusion
- this is an abnormal closing of the dentition in a calm state.
There are several types of malocclusion:
- Overbite
- Underbite
- Overjet
- Open bite
- High canines
- Overcrowding
- Spacing
- Crossbite
The sad consequences of a malocclusion:
Malocclusion has several dangerous consequences.
- Speech defects.
- Increased stress on the stomach and intestines.
- Accelerated abrasion of enamel and gum problems.
- Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) problems.
Speech defects
Malocclusion can lead to disordered speech, including lisps and the inability to properly produce strident sounds (sounds made because of fast airflow against your teeth, such as F, V, Z and Ch
Increased load on the gastrointestinal tract
- Food is poorly chewed.
- When chewing, teeth are loaded unevenly.
- Poorly chopped food enters the stomach.
- Food takes longer to digest.
- Over time, this leads to gastritis, ulcers and other diseases of the stomach and intestines.
Tooth enamel erosion and gum problems
- Uneven loading on one side leads to accelerated abrasion of tooth enamel.
- Teeth with thinned enamel are more easily affected by caries.
- In the area of insufficient load, the process of bone tissue decrease (lowering of the gums) begins.
- Subsidence of the gums exposes the neck and roots of teeth that lack sufficient enamel.
- There is an increased sensitivity to cold, hot, sweet.
- Caries quickly affects the parts of the tooth that are not protected by enamel.
- Naturally, such problems provoke a possible tooth extraction in the future.
Changes in the temporomandibular joint
- The most important consequences of incorrect loading on the teeth are changes in the temporomandibular joint.
- First, you will start to notice clicks and crunches in your jaw.
- After that, there is moderate pain in the ears (in fact, it hurts the joint).
- With a sharp and large opening of the mouth as a result of inflammation of the joint, at some point you will not be able to close your mouth.
- Well, the most unpleasant thing is headaches due to pinched trigeminal nerve.
This is a pain that is difficult to localize and you will not even understand why your head hurts.
The reasons for the bad bite
We distinguish four main groups of causes leading to the development of a bad bite:
- Children's habits.
- Disorders during pregnancy.
- Heredity.
- Untimely treatment of primary teeth
The first group of reasons is bad habits:
- sucking fingers, pens, long-term use of the nipple;
- putting hands under the head.
The second group of reasons is a violation of the development of the fetus during pregnancy:
- taking strong antibiotics;
- some diseases of the mother in the first trimester of pregnancy.
The third group of causes is a genetic factor:
- some types of bite are very likely to be inherited
The fourth group of reasons is poor-quality treatment of milk teeth
- Ignored need treatment of milk teeth or their untimely deletion can lead to problems with crowding, high canines and cross-bite.
If you notice any changes in your child, then visit the orthodontist as soon as possible. And it is better to do this from the age of 6, every half a year. It is the orthodontist who corrects the bite in children. In the early stages, as a rule, serious correction is not required and the growing child's body easily tolerates it. For an adult, such procedures are an order of magnitude harder, both physically and mentally.
Malocclusion diagnosis
To prescribe an effective treatment, the patient will need to visit the orthodontist at least twice for a preliminary consultation. This is necessary for a complete diagnosis of malocclusion. At the first consultation, after examination, it is simply impossible to make a reliable diagnosis. An experienced doctor will carry out three types of diagnostics:
- dental casts;
- photo of the patient's face and teeth;
- X-ray examination.
The casts are needed for the production of a plaster model, on which the doctor will calculate the free space and lack of space, symmetry and asymmetry.
Photo of face and teeth. They will help determine the asymmetry of a smile and a face. Record the initial state and the result. Pay attention to non-obvious aesthetic nuances that need to be taken into account when correcting bite.
X-ray examination. X-rays can be used to diagnose the relative position of the roots, the inclination of the teeth and the presence of hidden teeth, the condition of the jaws.
Based on these three studies and an external examination, the doctor will draw up an accurate treatment plan. You choose the appropriate technique from several recommended by the orthodontist at the second consultation, based on your personal preferences and lifestyle.
Correction of bite. Treatment methods.
There are three ways to correct a bite:
- Orthodontic Treatment with Clear Aligners;
- Dental Braces Treatment;
- Maxillofacial surgery.
Clear Aligners Treatment
- Clear Aligners
- Orthodontic devices, like plastic mouth guards, but with a slight shift towards the dentition, to gradually correct the occlusion of the teeth with each new mouth guard, which the patient changes every month.
You will need to wear clean aligners daily and eventually change from three to several dozen, depending on your clinical case.
Aligners are a very convenient option for correcting small defects in the bite. Now there are several types of caps on the market. They are similar in appearance and principle of operation, but differ only in the quality of production.
We have described the entire treatment procedure with clean aligners in detail -Here-.
Features of treatment with clean aligners
The average duration of treatment with mouth guards is one and a half. At the cost of treatment, the amount ranges from 800 USD and more, depending on the complexity of the treatment.
Clear aligners have some benefits
- invisible;
- comfortable to wear;
- brushing your teeth every day is easy;
- you cannot eat in them (you can drink water);
- polycarbonate mouthguards break easily;
- require a lot of discipline.
If you do not wear a mouthguard for a while, the next aligner will simply not install and you will have to order a new set.
- Good clear aligner:
- holds tight;
- does not create pain;
- You feel comfortable in it.
At your third appointment, your doctor will set your first mouth guard. Now you need to visit an orthodontist to receive a new set of mouth guards, as well as for an examination.
On some teeth, transparent locks are additionally placed, which are removed without a trace after treatment.
Dental Braces Treatment
Nevertheless, in 80 percent of cases, they resort to correcting the occlusion with braces. mouthguards can only eliminate minor defects. The mechanism of action of braces has been studied very well for a long time and is being improved from year to year.
Features of treatment with braces
On average, the duration of treatment with braces is one and a half years. The cost of treatment is from 400 USD.
There are three main differences between braces and clean aligners:
- braces are cheaper than aligners;
- can fix almost any bite problem;
- they are visible on the teeth.
The main types of braces
There are three types of braces:
- Metallic
- Ceramic
- Lingual
Metal braces
According to many orthodontists, the best braces are metal:
- they are the cheapest;
- but also the most effective.
Ceramic braces
The second most popular type of braces is ceramic (sapphire):
- is not as noticeable as are made transparent or to match the color of the patient's teeth;
- are more expensive than metal ones;
- may break.
Lingual braces
Lingual braces are much less common due to the difficulties with care.
- Lingual braces
- these are braces in the form of metal plates that are attached to the inside of the teeth, which is why they are also called “invisible”.
- injure the tongue;
- diction is badly distorted at first;
- difficult oral hygiene;
- not every orthodontist will agree to work with them;
- most expensive.
Installing and wearing braces
As well as in the case of clear aligners – the installation of the bracket system occurs at the third appointment. The procedure takes one and a half to two hours and is absolutely painless. The feeling of tightness on the teeth will last 3 to 5 days.
While wearing braces, you will gradually observe small changes in the contours of your face, in which there is nothing to worry about. You need to understand that in the process of correcting the bite, your teeth fall into their rightful place, which for some reason they could not take in a natural way. Also, sometimes it will be impossible to chew normally and there will be temporary speech defects, but this will quickly go away.
It is now necessary to visit a doctor once a month. During the appointment, you will be corrected and braces will be tightened. At the end of the treatment, the braces are removed and the retention devices are placed, which we have already mentioned above.
If the patient follows all the recommendations and the doctor uses high-quality braces, then you will 100 percent achieve the desired result.
You can read a full description of the treatment process and about all types of braces -Here-
Bite correction with maxillofacial surgery
The third type of treatment is surgical correction of the bite together with the installation of a bracket system, where the orthodontist works in close cooperation with the maxillofacial surgeon. The number of such cases is small, but nevertheless they do occur. The very fact of surgical intervention is undesirable, because guarantees a long rehabilitation period. But sometimes it is simply impossible to provide a good result without a surgeon.
What should be done before bite correction?
Before correcting the bite, in any case, you must:
- Completely heal all teeth.
- Make a professional oral hygiene;
After bite correction
At the end of the bite correction, you will need to use fixed retainers and clear retainers for about six months.
- Fixed retainers
- is a non-removable metal thread on the inside of the teeth, which serves to anchor the result of orthodontic treatment while the bone tissue fills the resulting voids.
- Clear retainers
- Or “night retainers” differs from the usual ones in that there is no longer any offset in relation to the dentition. She will also need to be worn every night for six months.
