If you have a teenager with minor or severe cases of dental misalignment, then they may need to undergo treatment to enjoy good oral health. In today’s blog, your Fort Worth, TX, orthodontist will discuss how we correct smiles with a cosmetic approach, from tooth-colored brackets to clear Invisalign® aligners.
The Value of Correcting Misalignment
Even teeth could be a way to help improve self-confidence by boosting the beauty of the smile. However, correcting your misalignment provides much more than just improved esthetics. An even smile is also easier to brush and floss, so you have a lower risk of tooth decay and gum disease. Treatment to correct uneven teeth also provides a more balanced bite and prevents major strain on your jaw joints, so issues like TMJ disorder and bruxism (chronic teeth grinding) are less likely to occur.
Correcting Malocclusion with Braces
For more serious cases of misalignment, our team may recommend braces. However, we know that few teens are excited by this prospect. Fortunately, we can take a cosmetic approach. Instead of using metal brackets for the front facing teeth, our team could create them from ceramic. These will be created based on detailed digital images we take of your smile with iTero®. This means they will be crafted and shaded to blend with the teeth. We then attach these to the front-facing side of each tooth, connecting an arch wire to them. We adjust tension in the wire to begin shifting the teeth while the brackets make the orthodontics much less visible. An advanced technology known as Propel® Accelerated Orthodontics could also be used to help cut down on the overall time your teen needs to wear braces!
The Invisalign® System
With Invisalign®, we have a cosmetic approach that doesn’t need wires or brackets at all. Instead, we use digital images and measurements to create a series of clear aligners for our teen patients from a BPA-free plastic material. The aligners will be custom-fitted for a comfortable fit, and will shift the teeth to correct misalignment. Your teen wears a set for two weeks, 20 to 22 hours a day, and then upgrades to the next set in the series. This continues for a year to 18 months. In addition to becoming nearly invisible, the aligners will also be removable, which means your child doesn’t need to change his or her diet, or that brushing and flossing during treatment is much easier too.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT TEEN ORTHODONTICS?
We would like to help your teen enjoy a straighter smile with our cosmetic treatment options. To learn more about how we help improve smiles for young adults, then please call Lake Country Orthodontics in Fort Worth, TX at (817) 236-7846. Our office proudly serves patients who live in Azle, Saginaw, and all surrounding communities.
