- Length of Treatment – How Long Will It Take?
- Can I Make My Treatment Go Faster?
- Soft Tissue Laser:
- TAD’s: Temporary Anchor Devices
- Will There Be Pain or Discomfort When My Braces are Adjusted?
- A Word About Eating Habits
- Fees and Method of Payment
- What is Surgical Orthodontics?
- Will Other Types of Treatment Be Necessary?
1. Length of Treatment – How Long Will It Take?
Some individuals are embarrassed to smile because of a self-conscious feeling about malaligned teeth. At the same time, an individual may feel embarrassed to wear braces for a period of time to correct the problem. However, considering the benefits of wearing braces may last 20 to 60 years and beyond, two years of treatment is usually well worth the effort. Many adults are opting for orthodontic treatment in order to improve their appearance, quality of life and to help pursue their life and career goals.
The advantages and benefits outweigh any self-consciousness that may come with wearing braces. In fact, many people find that friends and co-workers really admire them for choosing to improve their appearance and self-image. After all, they are doing something about their future, and most people admire that.
Treatment time will vary with the degree of difficulty of treatment and severity of the problem. Some types of treatment take as little as six months, and others can take up to three years. Most problems, however, can be corrected within the 18-30 month range. Seldom does treatment last more than 36 months, although occasionally it can.
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2. Can I Make My Treatment Go Faster?
Treatment cannot be rushed, but in many instances, consistent patient cooperation can shorten treatment time by as much as 20%. You will simply need to make sure you clean well on a daily basis, are careful with the foods you eat so as not to loosen the appliances and wear rubber bands or headgear as requested to help the teeth move.
Also, a regular appointment schedule is extremely important. We understand that work, travel and emergencies will interfere with your treatment from time to time; however, missing or rescheduling appointments may cause treatment to take longer.
Additional procedures to both speed and improve the quality of treatment may be recommended. First, we may use temporary anchorage devices (TAD’s) which screw into the bone to better support tooth movement. Second, we may use a soft tissue laser to remove or reshape gum tissue which is interfering with treatment progress.
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3. Soft Tissue Laser
Tags of redundant gum tissue or poor access to incompletely erupted teeth can significantly delay or interfere with orthodontic treatment. We now offer diode laser gum tissue revision with the Biolase dental laser. This minor surgery can be done with the use of topical anesthesia and minimal healing discomfort. When needed, this procedure offers comfort, cost, convenience as well as time-saving advantages for the patient.
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4. TAD’s: Temporary Anchor Devices
We have been using anchors screwed into the bone, known as Temporary Anchor Devices, or TAD’s, for over two years. TAD’s give us an anchor to support difficult tooth movement. Use of these anchors allows some movements heretofore not practical or possible with conventional orthodontics and greatly enhances the treatment we can provide. There are several types of TAD’s: ones requiring a bone plate are inserted by an oral surgeon. The more common TAD, a bone screw, can be inserted in our office. Local anesthesia in a small area eases placement.
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5. Will There Be Pain or Discomfort When My Braces are Adjusted?
There may be some soreness for two to three days after adjustments are made. However, there should not be enough discomfort that a person cannot eat, sleep or work or carry on other normal activities. On days when the teeth are sore, a person may have to alter his/her diet and eat softer foods and avoid foods that require heavy chewing. Taking three to four doses of your headache analgesia of choice (Tylenol, Advil, Aleve, Aspirin) will ease any discomfort.
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6. A Word About Eating Habits
Whichever types of braces are used, it is necessary to avoid certain types of hard and sticky foods, such as hard and sticky candies, ice, pizza crust, etc. to prevent breakage of appliances. Also with clear brackets, an excess of coffee, tea, tobacco or red wine may tend to cause slight staining or discoloration of the braces.
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7. Fees and Method of Payment
Depending on the severity of the problem and the complexity of treatment, fees will range from several hundred dollars for simple problems to over six thousand dollars for problems requiring more involved or extensive treatment. Arrangements can be made to make payments over a period of time.
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8. What is Surgical Orthodontics?
Orthodontic treatment is sometimes combined with surgery in order to gain an optimum result by aligning the teeth and jaw structures and gaining an ideal facial balance.
If a problem is strictly dental in nature, it can be corrected by orthodontic treatment alone. However, many times a problem is skeletal in nature. That is, the growth pattern of the jaw structures at an early age caused the teeth to be malaligned or caused a bite problem to develop. If a problem of this nature is mild or moderate, it can also be corrected by orthodontic treatment alone. However, if the problem is moderate to severe, surgical correction may be necessary in order to bring the jaw structures into better balance.
When deviation of the growth pattern of the upper and lower jaw structures is present while an individual is growing, the problem can be reversed by making changes while growth is occurring. Once a person has stopped his/her growth and the jaw pattern is set, it can still be corrected. However, instead of using growth changes to correct the problem, surgical correction is necessary to reposition the jaw structures.
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9. Will Other Types of Treatment Be Necessary?
Continuing regular care by your dentist is essential during orthodontic care. Depending on the problem, an individual may also require a referral for any of the following:
- Periodontal treatment – for implant placement, tooth exposure or for correction of defects of the gum tissue and bone surrounding and supporting the teeth and to restore these teeth to optimum health before the teeth can be moved.
- Oral Surgery – if difficult extractions, exposure of impacted, or placement of implants or certain bone anchors are indicated.
- Restorative treatment (crown, implants, bridge) – to restore missing teeth or teeth that must be rebuilt.
- TMJ treatment – treatment to correct malfunction of jaw movement and to relieve pain and discomfort (headaches, earaches, facial pain, neck aches, etc.), which result from malfunction of jaw movement.
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