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Dentistry Advice for Americans in the UK
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Orthodontic Treatment: How To Get Straighter Teeth - An Orthodontist’s Guide For Adults
More and more adults are seeking orthodontic treatment to improve their smile, as your smile is one of the first things people notice. According to the American Association of Orthodontists, one in four patients having orthodontic treatment today is an adult. Advances in orthodontics have also made treatment more comfortable and less noticeable than ever for individuals of all ages. Many of today’s treatment options are designed to minimise the appearance of the appliance to fit better into your lifestyle.
Adult braces have never been more popular. We’ve seen a 50% rise in adult patients in the last ten years, so if you decide to take the leap, you would be right on trend. The reason more adults are choosing to straighten their teeth and improve their smile, is the positive impact it has on their lives. It boosts their confidence, they feel better about their appearance, as well as improving their overall oral health. People want to look and feel better, but orthodontic work can also improve your dental health in the long-term. If your teeth are straight, they are easier to clean. It helps with brushing and keeps gums healthy. Poor gum health is the main cause of tooth loss.
Even if you had braces in the past, you may need them again. You can have straight teeth at any age as there is no age restriction to have orthodontic treatment. If you have your own teeth, you can have braces, and even crowns and bridges can be worked with.
Ceramic - less visible than metal braces, with transparent brackets, clear braces, like the ICE system, are popular with adult patients. You will still have a metal wire but overall, they are far more discreet.
Damon Braces – a fast, popular, tooth coloured brace treatment, with so called ‘self- ligating’ brackets, which reduce friction using a free sliding wiring system. The forces used are more effective, making this brace faster and more comfortable. The teeth are eased into position and this makes the Damon Braces more effective than standard metal braces.
Lingual Braces - the most discreet braces of them all, they are fitted behind your teeth and therefore, not visible. They are extremely effective but the most expensive tooth straightening method available, as each bracket is bespoke, made to fit each individual tooth, unlike other fixed braces. Lingual braces take longer to adapt to and can affect speech and eating for a few weeks. It can take up to three weeks to get used to them. A popular treatment option for our adult patients, is our ‘combination’ treatment, which combines a lingual appliance with a tooth coloured brace. We use the lingual appliance on the upper teeth, which no one can see, and a tooth coloured brace on the lower arch, which is normally less visible.
If you’re considering getting braces, here’s what you should know:
Braces have evolved over the years. Less visible and more comfortable treatment options are a big part of this rising popularity.
Invisalign - the most popular removable aligner system, Invisalign uses a series of clear, plastic trays, worn in a set sequence. These braces are the most comfortable, but you would need to be disciplined. You can easily remove them for eating and brushing your teeth, but you must be consistent in wearing them, so that means putting them straight back in afterwards. If you go out for dinner, it’s easy to forget about them until the next day and then they will not be as effective. Treatment will take longer and you won’t get straight teeth.
There are other removable braces on the market but they are not as reputable as the Invisalign system. Invisalign have treated over a million patients and have this experience and knowledge behind them.
If you want straight teeth fast, what do you recommend?
AcceleDent - a small, vibrating device, which reduces the length of orthodontic treatment. It speeds up the rate at which the teeth move, in response to pressure from the brace. You slip it over your teeth and brace for 15 minutes a day.
Orthopulse - it works in a similar way to AcceleDent, except it emits a light of low level energy, which speeds up orthodontic treatment. The light is absorbed by cells in the bone and therefore responds faster to whatever kind of brace you are wearing. Our patients who opt for these accelerated devices with their treatment tend to have a more urgent deadline. Like a recent client who was getting married. It was quite a complicated case, with bad crowding and a difficult bite relationship, with upper teeth overhanging the bottom jaw. We did it in nine-months, which was incredible. Normally you would expect a case like this to take at least a year.
You should seek to be treated by a specialist orthodontist who has experienced years of training, rather than a general dentist. Their advanced training, skill and experience are important for diagnosis and treatment planning, identifying complex cases and dealing with unexpected developments which can occur during treatment.
Dr. Alvanos, Hampstead Orthodontic Practice We work closely with my patients’ general dentists and correspond with them before orthodontic treatment is started.
If you would like to schedule an initial orthodontic consultation with Dr. Alvanos, please call the practice on 0207 284 2827, or contact them by email, on enquiries@hampsteadortho.co.uk.
