Treating your malocclusion can not only improve the overall beauty of your smile, but protect the health and function as well. To address more severe cases, we could use braces. We could even offer a cosmetic alternative with our tooth-colored ceramic brackets. In today’s blog, your Fort Worth, TX, orthodontist talks about when smiles need braces.
The Impact of Poor Alignment
Dental misalignment isn’t just a cosmetic concern. Uneven teeth provide places for food and drink particles to become trapped, beyond the reach of your toothbrush and floss in some cases. This increases the risk of cavities and even serious issues like gum disease. The changes to your bite balance could strain the jaw joints and make the risk of complications like TMD and bruxism (teeth grinding) much more likely. In addition, you could simply feel very self-conscious about your appearance, which impacts your overall quality of life. Which is why when kids, teens, and adults develop malocclusion, we’re ready to help!
Securing Your Orthodontics
To begin, we will take very detailed digital images of your smile with iTero® and I-CAT, so we can assess the cause and severity of your misalignment, and plan treatment with precision and accuracy. We then affix brackets to the front facing sides of each tooth. We connect these brackets with a thin arch wire, a portion of which is connected to the brackets with a band. There could also be additional bands that connect the upper and lower set of braces. During regular visits to our office, we will adjust the tension in the wire to begin shifting the teeth into optimal positions. This will begin to treat misalignment, and an even smile is possible in about two years. Although with Propel® Accelerated Orthodontics, we could reduce this time for qualifying patients.
Ceramic Brackets
The brackets are usually made from metal, but we could offer a more esthetically pleasing alternative with ceramic. These will be crafted based on the images we take with iTero® scanning, and will be shaded to blend with the tooth seamlessly. In fact, dentists use the same material to create crown and replacement teeth that look natural too. This helps reduce the visibility of the orthodontics, and we often use them for the upper set, which are seen more often when you speak and smile.
DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT COSMETIC BRACES?
Our team is eager to help you enjoy good oral health by addressing uneven smiles. If you have any questions about boosting the health and alignment of your smile, 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 Rome, Haslet, Azle, Saginaw, and all surrounding communities.
