School will be back in session soon for your child or your teen, and there is no better time than now to consider the benefits of orthodontic treatment at Lake Country Orthodontics. Your Lake Worth dentist, Dr. Ciro Cabal, has the expertise to create healthy smiles for your child or teenager, while also considering the special circumstances of patients in their age group.
How Our Lake Worth Orthodontist TreatsTMJ Disorder
What is TMJ disorder?
TMJ is short for temporomandibular joint. This is the jaw hinge joint that allows you to eat, speak and open your mouth. Your TMJ holds your teeth in the correct position relative to your facial structure, tooth alignment, and occlusion. Therefore, when your teeth are misaligned, your jaw hinge joint works extra hard to hold your teeth in the correct position. The result is an exhausted jaw muscle that creates many more problems for your oral health. This condition is known as TMJ disorder, TMD, or TMJ dysfunction.
What are some TMJ disorder symptoms?
TMJ disorder covers a breadth of health issues since your jaw hinge joint is connected to different systems in your body. As a result, signs of TMJ disorder can range from oral health problems to whole body aches. Dental health symptoms include, teeth grinding, increases in tooth decay, sensitive teeth, and worn down teeth. Overall health symptoms include neck and shoulder pain, headaches, morning earaches, difficulty opening your mouth, and dizziness.
How can orthodontics treat TMJ disorder issues?
Since your bite alignment and occlusion can play a factor in TMJ issues, orthodontic treatment is often your best option for preventing TMJ disorder. Dr. Cabal will diagnose your condition to determine which symptoms of TMJ disorder are caused by your smile shape. Using the innovative technology of the Galileos Cone Beam CT Scan, Dr. Cabal can have detailed insight into your TMJ diagnosis while emitting less radiation than traditional CT Scans. From here, our Lake Worth orthodontist can create an effective treatment plan for addressing your occlusion and alleviating symptoms of TMJ disorder. (more…)
Using Orthodontics to Treat Malocclusion
If you were born with straight teeth and a perfectly-aligned bite, consider yourself lucky. Slight misalignment between the upper and lower jaw is common in almost all children and many adults. Bite misalignment, called malocclusion, is the most common reason children are referred to an orthodontist. With that in mind, our Lake Worth orthodontist Dr. Ciro Cabal would like to share some information about malocclusion and what can be done to correct it.
Malocclusion: Out of Line
There are three classes, or types, of malocclusion.
- Class one—The most common malocclusion occurs when the bite is otherwise normal, but the teeth in the upper jaw barely overlap the teeth in the bottom jaw.
- Class two—This type of malocclusion is commonly called an overbite. Like the name suggests, it occurs when the upper teeth significantly overlap the bottom teeth.
- Class three—In the opposite of a class two, the underbite occurs when the bottom jaw sticks out farther than the upper jaw. In this type of malocclusion, the bottom teeth overlap the upper teeth.
Orthodontic Treatment
Orthodontic treatment can usually correct a misaligned bite.
- Braces—Braces are system of metal wires attached to brackets placed on the individual teeth. Braces slowly move teeth over time until the desired result is reached.
- Dental appliance—Younger patients can often benefit from an appliance that uses the natural growth of the child to move the jaw into a better position.
- Spacers—Spacers keep teeth from moving or drifting into open space created by lost teeth.
- Retainer—A retainer is a fixed or removable apparatus that keeps the teeth in place after orthodontic treatment. (more…)
Lake Worth Orthodontist Dr. Ciro Cabal
Our Lake Worth orthodontist Dr. Ciro Cabal has wanted to be an orthodontist his entire life. His goal is to work with each patient individually to create a beautiful and lasting smile. Dr. Cabal wants to educate his patients because he believes informed patients can make the best decisions about their oral care and total health. This blog will provide information about dentistry, orthodontics, nutrition and healthy living, but first we want you to get to know Dr. Cabal and his practice.
Meet Dr. Cabal
Dr. Cabal knew he wanted to be an orthodontist as soon as he had his own braces placed at the age of 15. He attended Jesuit High School and dental school at Javeriana University in Colombia, South America. Dr. Cabal went to college at one of the most prestigious universities in the United States, the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned his master’s degree in oral biology and his orthodontics certification. He continues to pursue learning opportunities to ensure he is on top of the latest developments in technique and technology by attending continuing education courses and lectures. Dr. Cabal speaks fluent English and Spanish, so he can communicate effectively with a diverse clientele. He enjoys treating each patient’s case like a work of art and will work with him or her personally to craft a better smile. (more…)
Lake Worth Orthodontists Offers Braces with Teenagers in Mind
Being a teenager is hard. Although this time in your life is the perfect time to adjust your smile to fit your rapidly changing facial structure, this is also the worse time to feel self-conscious. At our orthodontics office in Lake Worth, we understand that every patient has a different set of needs and desires for their smile. If bulky metal braces do not fit into your dream for a straight smile, Dr. Ciro Cabal offers options for discrete orthodontic treatment.
Invisalign Clear Braces for Teenagers
For image conscious adults and teens who want straighter smiles without the bulky braces, our Lake Worth orthodontist offers Invisalign. This orthodontic treatment straightens teeth using clear plastic aligners instead of metal brackets. Teens can enjoy healthier teeth in less time than traditional braces in some cases. In addition, Invisalign is removable for eating and brushing your teeth, so that you do not have to leave lunch early to meticulously clean your braces before class.
Parents can benefit from the convenience of Invisalign for the teenager since this orthodontic treatment requires less office visits. Dr. Cabal can give you clear aligners up to four weeks into your treatment plan to take home and change yourself instead of coming back to the orthodontics office for adjustments. This means less school make-up days for your teen and less time off of work for you.
Tooth-Colored Braces
Keeping in mind that every patient is unique, we offer other options for inconspicuous orthodontics for teens. Our Lake Worth orthodontist also provides tooth colored ceramic braces. Dyed to match the color of your smile, these braces are much more discrete than darker metal brackets. (more…)
Athletes with Braces Need Protective Mouthguards
Undergoing orthodontic treatment does not require that you put sports on hold. On the contrary, many athletes continue with workouts and games while wearing braces. A brisk blow to the mouth could leave you with severe cuts inside your mouth, but you can easily protect yourself from injury by wearing an athletic mouthguard specially designed to fit over braces.
The American Dental Association recommends that all athletes wear mouthguards and states that this is especially important for people who wear orthodontic braces. In addition to causing injury to the patient’s mouth, a blow to the face can damage brackets and wires. Furthermore, the ADA reminds orthodontic patients no to wear a retainer or any other removable appliance, other than a mouthguard, when playing contact sports. (more…)
