Why Orthodontics?

If your teeth are misaligned, it can adversely affect your bite. A misaligned bite can cause lower self-confidence and increases the difficulty of speaking, chewing, and biting. With orthodontic procedures, however, we can fix the alignment of your teeth, which will make your smile much more beautiful and increase your self-confidence once again.

Orthodontic Appliances

Orthodontic appliances are usually designed to either physically move your teeth or parts of your mouth, placing them into a desired position, or to retrain your mouth to prevent further misalignment or damage to your mouth or teeth.

Types of orthodontic appliances include:

• Aligners – a removable alternative to braces for adults. Removed for brushing, flossing, and eating, and replaced regularly as they move teeth into the desired position. Almost always invisible, involving none of the wires or metal that go into braces.
• Braces – a fixed appliance, and the most common orthodontic appliance to fix misaligned teeth. Adjusted monthly as the teeth move into the desired position.
• Headgear – used to slow or stop the growth of the upper jaw, while pulling back the front teeth.
• Jaw Splints – devices worn on the upper or lower jaw to help the jaw close properly.
• Lip and Cheek Bumpers – devices that relieve the pressure from your lips and cheeks on your teeth by physically keeping the lips and cheeks away from your teeth.
• Palatal expanders – a plastic plate over the roof of your mouth, which can help widen the arch of your upper jaw.
• Retainers – used to prevent your teeth from shifting back into an undesirable position, or, alternatively, to prevent thumb-sucking in children.
• Space Maintainers – used to keep the space between two teeth open, usually in the case of a missing tooth. Can be either fixed or removable, depending on the patient’s needs