Common Orthodontic Treatments
Common Treatments at Brooklyn Orthodontics
Dr. AlJanabi is trained to provide a wide variety of orthodontic treatments to his patients at Brooklyn Orthodontics. While there are common treatments in orthodontics, no two patients are alike and a unique treatment plan must be developed to meet your individual needs.
Common treatments used in orthodontics can include appliances, tooth removal or surgery to fix the alignment of the teeth and jaws.
Conditions that Respond to Common Treatments
Here are some examples of conditions that common treatments in orthodontics can correct:
Spacing problems: Gaps that occur between the teeth when teeth are missing or teeth don’t fill up the mouth.
Crowding: If your jaw bone isn’t big enough to accommodate all your teeth, they will become crowded.
Missing lateral incisors: Sometimes a patient’s lateral incisors aren’t present. The problem is usually congenital and can be corrected with braces.
Underbite: An underbite can give you a “bulldog” appearance because the lower teeth push too far forward and the upper teeth are too far back.
Crossbite: A crossbite occurs when the teeth do not bite together normally. The front teeth are not slightly in front of the lower teeth.
Open bite: With an open bite, when you are unable to make your front teeth touch each other while biting. In other words, you will have space between the biting surfaces of your teeth when you close them together.
Overbite or “buck teeth”: An overbite is when the upper front teeth stick out over the lower teeth.
Midline Discrepancy: The center of your upper teeth won’t match up with the center of your lower teeth.
What are Some Common Treatments?
Dr. AlJanabi and the highly trained Brooklyn Orthodontics staff will determine what common treatments are right for your orthodontic goals. Both fixed and removable appliances can be used, depending on the severity of your condition and which approach will be most effective.
Fixed appliances
Dental braces are the most common fixed orthodontic appliance. Using steady, gentle pressure, braces gradually move your teeth into their proper positions in your mouth. Brackets are placed on your teeth and an archwire connects them. The archwire is placed through the brackets and connected to bands on your back molars. As tension is put on the teeth, your teeth are gradually moved to their new, ideal positions. Braces are usually adjusted each month to achieve results. Most patients wear braces for 24-to-28 months. Braces can be either traditional metal or clear, made from either sapphire or tooth-colored ceramic.
Fixed space maintainers are common treatments used to maintain space in your mouth if a primary – or baby – tooth is lost prematurely. It will keep the space open until the permanent tooth erupts. A metal band is attached to an adjacent tooth and a wire extended across the open space to a tooth on the other side of the space.
Removable appliances
Aligners are alternatives to traditional braces. These common treatments use a series of removable aligners to imperceptibly modify your smile. You’ll wear each set for about two weeks and remove them to eat, drink, brush and floss. When you replace the aligner with a new one, your teeth will move a little until
they reach the desired positions.
Removable space maintainers are similar to fixed space maintainers. Made from an acrylic base that fits over your jaw, these common treatments extend plastic or metal wires between teeth to keep an empty space open.
Also called splints, jaw repositioning appliances can be worn on the upper or lower jaw. They train the jaw to close in a more favorable way. These common treatments may be used for TMJ joint disorders.
Plastic palatal expanders are common treatments used to widen the arch of the upper jaw. The plate sits over the roof of your mouth and pressure is applied which forces the bones in your palate to lengthen.
After braces are removed, removable retainers prevent teeth from shifting to previous, undesired positions. Retainers are common treatments for anyone who has worn braces.
Non-Appliance Common Treatments
Sometimes, Dr. Aljanabi and the Brooklyn Orthodontics team can correct a problem without using an orthodontic appliance.
Extraction or the serial removal of baby teeth can sometimes ease severe crowding in the mouth.
Non-braces treatment can result in noticeable improvements in tooth alignment. The width of the adjacent baby teeth is reduced so the permanent teeth align on their own.
If you have questions about the common treatments used in orthodontic care, please call our helpful Brooklyn Orthodontics staff at (718) 333-5898. Our experienced team stands ready to answer your questions about orthodontic treatment.
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