How Do You Know If You Need Orthodontic Treatment?

Orthodontic treatment is altering the way your teeth look and also work. It is done through putting mild pressure on your teeth to make them move in a desired direction. It is not only used to straighten the teeth if they are crooked and correcting the bite if upper set of teeth does not sit on the lower set of teeth, but also to help in your overall oral and general health.

Orthodontic treatment is becoming more and more prevalent now and many people opt to go for orthodontic treatment to get a better smile and correct problems of the teeth. It it requires commitment because you will have to keep aside time for the visits to the dentist and follow up his instructions to get the best results.

If you take things lightly after opting for the treatment, you take longer to finish the treatment and may not get complete satisfaction. That is why it is important to consider why you want to opt for the orthodontics, what are your expectation, whether you are prepared to give as much time as required and how do you see yourself at the end of the same.

It is not only pre-teens and teenagers who want to avail of orthodontic treatment, it is also adults who realize the need for a better smile and are ready to give commitments of time and money.

Reasons for choosing orthodontic treatment

There are personal and aesthetic goals for choosing orthodontic treatment by people. Most patients want their teeth to be straightened. But there are many people who want oral comfort, correct misalignment and want to look smarter and more beautiful.

How do you know you need braces? You may choose the orthodontic treatment if you have any of the following.

Crooked teeth

A good chunk of people who want to get orthodontic treatment done want to straighten their teeth so that their smile can become straighter and pleasing to the eye. A good proportion of the population get teeth which are not in perfect alignment with the jaw. You need to get your teeth straightened when you have teeth that overlap each other which makes it difficult to clean and therefore they build plaque which is unsightly. Braces are a perfect solution to make your teeth move a little, and create space for the overlapping tooth to become straight and get aligned with the jawline.

Overbite, underbite, or crossbite

You need to see the orthodontists when your upper and lower set of teeth do not align with each other so that you can bite into food properly. Sometimes the upper teeth fall way outside the lower set and sometimes your lower set of teeth fall outside of the upper while biting. This condition results in problems with not only chewing but also with speech, because teeth are an important part of speech apparatus. This can be corrected with braces, where teeth are coaxed to move a little inside the jaw or are pushed a little outside of the jaw to create perfect bite. This is done with the help of braces.

Crowded teeth

When you have less gum space to accommodate all the teeth on your jawline, the teeth try to jostle each other, while trying to get space. This results in crowded teeth on your jaw, where the teeth are not properly positioned. Sometimes, thee is more space on the jaw than the teeth occupy, resulting in space between teeth. In such a situation orthodontic treatment will help you adjust the jaw size and spacing of the teeth.

Injury to teeth

If you are a sports person, you may get injuries to your teeth, where you may have an injured or a broken tooth. Or if you find a tooth becoming misaligned due to an impact during an accident, you need to get orthodontic treatment which can repair the damage done to your tooth and help in healing of the injured tooth so that you can save your tooth.

Bruxism

When you are in the habit of grinding your teeth during sleep. Your teeth gets scraped and there can be other oral problems. In this case, braces help reshape your teeth and you are advised about how to take care of your bruxism to prevent further damage to your teeth.

Speech problems

Speech is a complex process involving many parts of the body and mind. Speech can be affected by emotional and psychological factors, but physical factor is also an important part of speech. If you have difficulty in expressing yourself in speech, your orthodontist will find out why and what of your speaking difficulty and will suggest ways through orthodontic treatment when the fault is found in the way your teeth are aligned.

Snoring

There are many reasons for snoring and your physician will be able to find out the one that is causing it for you. If you are among those who make other people’s sleep a nightmare with your snoring, then your orthodontist can help you. There many reasons for snoring, among them teeth alignments is one.

Apart from these there are many problems which are related to mouth. The problems may not look life threatening but they are important enough to make your life difficult. It is always advisable to talk about it with your dentist who can guide you the best course of action.

For crowded teeth and other problems for cutting teeth on the right time your dentist may choose for early intervention. Teens are the usual age for braces, but even adults can get their teeth straightened if they so feel. Age is no bar for orthodontic treatment.

To consider orthodontic treatment you need to first speak to your dentist who will set up meetings with orthodontic surgeon for you.

MP Orthodontics is an orthodontic practice based in Cheltenham, Melbourne. Working from the belief that orthodontic treatment is much more than working with teeth and creating smiles, treating orthodontists – Dr Martin Poon and Dr Geoff Hall – approach patients as people first. Their approach is to work together and plan and implement treatment that meets each individual’s needs. Drawing on 30 plus years experience of helping children gain confidence through tailored treatment, MP Orthodontics, is a truly unique orthodontic practice.