When you treat your uneven teeth, you reduce the risk of cavities, periodontal issues, and even complications like TMJ disorder, bruxism, and more. But when should you talk to your Fort Worth, TX, orthodontist about treatment? How do we address misalignment and straighten smiles at different stages of life?
Care in Childhood
For children as young as age seven, we can start with a phased approach to treatment. Using the first phase of orthodontics, such as retainers and teeth spacers, we help limit the severity of misalignment and guide the growth of the smile. This helps prevent major misalignment until we can complete treatment during the second phase, which occurs during the teen years. The orthodontics we use will fit comfortably and help your child even straighter smiles.
Solutions for Teen
During the teen years, we will use orthodontics to finally complete treatment and straighten smiles. For example, more severe misalignment could be treated with metal braces. But to make them less visible for our teen patients, we can use ceramic brackets instead of metal ones, as these are tooth-colored and can be shaded to blend with the smile. We could also correct misalignment with Invisalign®, which doesn’t use metal brackets or wires at all, and instead shifts the teeth with clear and custom plastic aligners. At this stage, we could correct misalignment in 18 months to 2 years.
Adult Orthodontics
Of course, we can help adults too! As with our teen patients, this could involve the use of metal braces. Tooth-colored brackets are available for them as well. In addition, we could straighten smiles with Invisalign® too. With the Propel® Accelerated Orthodontic system, we can use a small device to stimulate the growth of bone tissue around the new positions of the teeth, which helps cut treatment time down, often in half! Remember, a straighter smile is one less vulnerable to tooth decay, gum disease, TMJ disorder, and bruxism, and one that you will feel proud to show off to the world!
If you have any questions about these treatment options, or if you want a consultation to see which is right for you, then contact our team today to learn more. We want to help you smile with confidence again, and enjoy better oral health as well.
Ready to Finally Correct Your Uneven Smile?
We can help straighten your smile with a personalized and comfortable approach, whether you need braces or clear aligners. If you have any questions about correcting minor and severe cases of misalignment, or if you would like to schedule an appointment soon, 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.
