Written by Dr. Sushma Sharma who is a Medical Practitioner and has Masters in Dental surgery (Orthodontics and Dento-facial Orthopedics)
10 Myths About Orthodontic Treatment in Society
1.Orthodontic treatment is for cosmetic reasons only
Gaining a sparkling, beautiful smile may be mere reason for most of the people who care about their appearance. Putting your teeth in line, is not only what we do in orthodontics. What’s the benefit, if you have beautiful smile but unhealthy teeth and jaw anomalies.
Scope of orthodontics is much wider. One of which is to give a good bite. Your upper and lower teeth should be in harmonious relationship with each other. A good bite is mandatory to have functional efficiency . Thus, makes easier for you to bite, chew and speak.
2. Orthodontic treatment is too expensive
Biology is the science of exception. No set rule book exists for every case. Treatment plan needs to be carefully customized according to the needs and expectations of each patient and fees directly reflects the complexity of individual case. A simple case may only take few months to treat, but difficult one may take a couple of years for completion, adding extra cost to the overall treatment cost.
3. I want to have braces in upper/ lower jaw, I don’t have the problem in other Arch
Many patients come with a self diagnosed treatment plan for braces. They wish to have braces on single arch as they are concerned only with the site of anomaly. They don’t feel the need of putting braces on both the arches.
But this remains impossible sometimes. Teeth in the upper and lower jaw needs to be in functional interdigitation and should have perfect vertical and horizontal overlap (overbite and overjet respectively) to work synergistically along with the jaws and muscles, to do function of mastication and speech efficiently.
Single arch treatment in patients with spacing can lead to the incomplete closure of the spaces even after the commencement of the orthodontic treatment. The main reason behind this is Bolton discrepancy, which is the ratio of tooth material of upper and lower teeth. The patient is having spacing in the upper arch and excess of tooth material in the lower arch, after certain point of time the space would not be closing further or if it is closed forcefully, relapse is bound to happen in near future.
While single arch treatment can be effective, however, there are lot of factors (etiology of anomaly, bite, relative tooth size in upper and lower teeth, relationship between the lower and upper teeth, expected stability of result etc.) involved to get into the decision of single arch treatment.
4. I Want to get my treatment done in vacations only!
This is one of the most common requests made by parents. Treatment with braces is not a matter of few days, it may take few months to few years to complete the treatment. An average time period for the orthodontic treatment completion is around 18-24 months and you need to visit your orthodontist on an average of 21 days every month. Being new, initially braces may cause mild discomfort to you, so to get accustomed to braces you may get your braces in vacations to ease initial discomfort and adjustment period with new object in your mouth. But latter on, be regular with follow up visits.
5. Braces have to hurt to work, it is Unbearable
Braces are active foreign object, glued to teeth by your Orthodontist. Braces are the mean through which force is applied to teeth, forcing them back into their proper position. So, mild discomfort in initial 3-4 days or after every adjustments is quite obvious but it shall go in few days. You can take Over the counter analgesics like Paracetamol and ibuprofen if discomfort is beyond what you can bear. Try to only eat soft foods during the first few days.
6. I have to sacrifice my food habits
Foods that are forbidden to have when you have braces are generally not adviced by a dentist even when you don’t have braces. Once should try to avoid highly acidic, sticky and sugary food . Frankly, one need not to change much regarding diet. However, selected diet may not only lessen your discomfort with braces, it decreases chance of breakages and thus side effects post braces. Diet change and a change in how food is eaten are critical in preventing breakage.
7.Braces have to be tight to work
“Tighter the better” is just a myth. A certain amount of force is required to move teeth in ideal position, but too much force can stop the tooth movement all together. Moreover, over the time, as the teeth are pushed into position, the braces lose the required tautness required to efficiently hold back the teeth and they therefore need to be tightened again.
8. Braces wires need constant changing
Very often a Orthodontic patient may go for the second opinion to another Orthodontist presuming that his/ her treatment would linger on due to infrequent changes of wires. But, your Orthodontist is the best person to judge when to change wires.
9. The date for getting my braces removed is guaranteed
There is no hard hit deadline for removal of your braces. Your Orthodontist provides you with a rough estimated treatment duration only and a number of factors can prolong it. Even after removal of braces you need to wear retainers too to maintain the results attained.
10. Braces are Only for Teens
Gone are the days when braces were meant for aesthetic enhancement treatment for kids. As I mentioned earlier the goal of orthodontic treatment is not only aesthetics but to provide functional efficiency too. So, whether you are a teenager, an adult or a senior citizen, orthodontic treatment can work for you. However adults with compromised dental health due to fillings, missing teeth, misshapen or worn teeth, or other dental disease, very often require restorative or prosthetic treatment in adjunct to orthodontics.
Also Read: Treatment with Braces and Care
Therefore, no matter whether you’re 16 or 60, it’s the same physiological process that moves teeth through bone. Tooth movement is always quick in a child as compared to an adult, with a bone denser than a kid but age does not keep teeth from moving.
Most of the time elderly people shy away from visual display of the metal braces. So, invisible, ceramic brackets, lingual braces may be an answer to there concerns.
Also read:
1. https://www.quora.com/Can-teeth-extraction-for-braces-be-done-after-putting-the-braces-on-How-much-should-be-the-time-difference-between-braces-and-teeth-extraction/answer/Sushma-Dhiman-2?share=2de748c9&srid=hkdue
2.https://www.quora.com/What-determines-the-cost-of-dental-braces/answer/Sushma-Dhiman-2?share=aa374088&srid=hkdue
3.https://www.quora.com/Long-story-short-I-cant-chew-right-now-with-braces-so-is-it-okay-that-Im-swallowing-oatmeal-and-rices-and-other-mushy-stuff-whole/answer/Sushma-Dhiman-2?share=b958482e&srid=hkdue
4.http://www.omilights.com/oral-hygiene-maintenance-with-braces/
5.http://www.omilights.com/what-should-we-eat-and-avoid-with-braces/
Please connect with Dr. Sushma Sharma on Linkedin for any queries:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-sushma-dhiman-4a64b0101/
