Century Orthodontics: Care

Showing posts with label Care. Show all posts

Friday, March 13, 2015

What is an Expander?

Expanders are used for certain conditions when the upper jaw or palate is narrow. Expandtion can be done before adulthood, the palate is actually two seprate bones connected down the middle by a non-bony suture.

Fixed Rapid Palatal Expander

Advantages of this technique include more room to align the teeth, a broader more esthetic smile, a more stable final result and sometimes even easier to breathing through your nose!
Relatively heavy forces applied quickly (to minimize orthodontic tooth movement) will cause the two palatal bones to separate. After a period of time new bone fills in and preserves the increased width of upper jaw.

A typical expansion procedure involoves activation of the appliance once a day for about 3-4 weeks. This is followed by 3-4 months of stabilization before the appliance is removed.

For most patients it is the size and bulkiness of the expander that make it the most uncomfortable. Soreness of teeth can be expected and, as the appliance expands the mid facial bones, some discomfort under the eyes and around the nose may occur. A large space can be expected to open between the front, center teeth. This is because one tooth goes with the right side the other goes with the left side, each is a seprate bone. This movement stretches the gum tissue between the incisors; and over a period of a few months they will be pulled back together. Fixed (glued in) appliances are almost always necessary to acheive an ideal alignment.

When expanding:

If you experience a GREAT deal of pain activating the appliance, you are unable to turn the screw, or if the appliance becomes loose we ask our patients to call our office and make an appointment IMMEDIATLEY!

If you are unable to make the observation appointment during the expansion phase DO NOT continue to expand past your appointment date.

The most important part: Might not be fun, but it is FAST!

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Am I Too Old?

Am I too old for braces?

Our adult Patients ask this all the time.
You are never too old to have a beautiful smile. Teeth will move at any age.
(This is why we suggest all patients wear a removable retainer at night for the rest of their lives)

Patients think that coming to the orthodontist is something that is for teens only, but this just isn't the case. We treat patients from all ages 3-85+. Our oldest patients was 85 and drove a red mustang so you are only as old as you feel.

We think that everyone should have the opportunity to have a pretty smile. Patients may have had straight teeth all their lives may have movements or crowding in their adult years. So if you are an adult don't feel bad you are not alone.

The rest of our bodies are always changing what makes are teeth different? NOTHING!

The leaps in technology allow our adult patients options that were not available 20 years ago. Orthodontist can now offer you straight teeth without anyone knowing you are straightening your teeth. There are now products on the market that allow doctors to straighten teeth using nearly invisible brackets and or clear plastic aligners. These tools attract our adult patients because they won't have to show off a silver smile while the work is being done.

Clear braces and Invisalign give confidence to patients that could not have orthodontic treatment when they were young.

A smile is the best thing you can put on in the morning so wouldn't you like to show it off??
Make a call to the Orthodontist today if you are thinking about making your smile straight.