ADOLESCENT ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT

Providing Healthy, Straight Smiles

For many teens, braces are a rite of passage. Generally, by the age of 11-13, the baby teeth have all been lost and the permanent ones have erupted. This is the perfect time to use orthodontic treatment to start correcting the problems that cause a bad bite, improper tooth spacing or poor alignment.

For many teens, braces are a rite of passage. Generally, by the age of 11-13, the baby teeth have all been lost and the permanent ones have erupted. This is the perfect time to start correcting the problems that cause a bad bite, improper tooth spacing or poor alignment.

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Erupting adult teeth are one more example of the changes adolescents go through at this time — along with growth in stature, more independence and increasing self-awareness. Orthodontic problems don’t improve with age — they simply become harder to treat. It’s easier to treat many orthodontic problems during adolescence because the body is still growing rapidly at this time. Whether standard braces are used or clear aligners, improved appearance and function can be created in a short period of time. In later years, when the bones of the face and jaw are fully developed, many conditions become more difficult to treat.

Benefits Of Straight Teeth

If you’re considering orthodontic treatment, you probably already know that straighter teeth can boost your confidence and give you the smile you’ve always wanted. However, you may not know that straighter teeth don’t just provide cosmetic benefits, they provide health benefits too.

Straight teeth are easier to keep clean.

Crooked and overlapping teeth have many places for food to get stuck and cavities to form. Straight teeth, beyond being a cosmetic goal, get and stay clean more easily and effectively. 

Tooth decay more often occurs in patients with crooked teeth. Tooth decay can then cause diseased gums, and that can lead to bone loss in the jaw, and then tooth loss. If your gums are not healthy, then your teeth are not healthy, and vice versa.

When teeth are crooked or crowded, the functionality of the jaw is compromised leading to abnormal wear-and-tear on the teeth and causing discomfort or pain, and even exacerbating the rate of tooth decay. Chewing, biting and speaking abilities are optimized when you have straight teeth.

There is medical evidence that supports the fact that poor oral health may contribute to a variety of physical maladies beyond the mouth. This includes diabetes, stroke, heart disease and complications for pregnant women. Bacteria from the mouth can enter the bloodstream, the lungs, and the gut, thus affecting the entire immune system.

How Orthodontics Work

You know that your teeth are going to be adjusted, but have you ever wondered how orthodontic treatment works? Here is a look at how orthodontic treatment works and what happens in your mouth as your new smile takes shape.

Adolescent orthodontic treatment

Applying the Pressure

The movement of your teeth is performed by the braces or Invisalign clear aligners. Braces have brackets and ligatures that hold archwires in place. Archwires are shaped to move teeth from side to side or up and down. Invisalign clear aligners apply force as a whole to the teeth. Each tray designed by your orthodontist will be slightly modified from the last and will have the objective of moving different teeth and applying pressure in different areas as you progress through your trays.

As the teeth begin to move, two parts of your mouth are most affected: the periodontal membrane around the root of the tooth and the alveolar bone that the teeth sit in. Your tooth movement depends on how the periodontal membrane and bone around your tooth react to the pressure applied by your orthodontic devices. Using a gentle and constant force will cause one side of the tooth to compress against the periodontal membrane creating tension on the opposite side. When this happens, bone-growing cells are produced on the side where the tension is pulling the periodontal membrane away from the bone with deposition and on the other side bone is broken down by bone-destroying cells with resorption.

The nature of the pressure applied to that periodontal membrane becomes important. Light pressure is better since it regulates the rate of resorption and deposition. Too much pressure slows the process down. Because pressure must be light, orthodontic treatment usually takes 12-24 months.

Group of teenage girls with perfect teeth laughing and smiling

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