Why You Still Might Need Braces Even if Your Teeth Look Straight

July 25, 2019 Austin Orthodontics

For people who are unhappy with their smile, getting braces makes sense. However, if you like the way your teeth look, you may not think you need braces. While this could be the case, there may also be issues that aren’t as noticeable when you look in the mirror.

Unseen Crowding

Even if you have a good-looking smile, there could be problems you can’t see. When you get orthodontic treatment with braces or clear aligners, it fixes far more than cosmetic issues.

One common issue is crowding, which is caused by a shortage of space between your teeth. When your teeth are crowded, it often affects the appearance of your smile, but some people can have crowding in the back of their mouth, leaving their smile still looking straight. The problem with crowding is food can easily get stuck in between your teeth, making it difficult to thoroughly clean them. This will inevitably lead to tooth decay and possibly worse oral health problems.

Crowding can also cause one or two teeth to be positioned higher than the surrounding teeth. This will cause a disproportionate amount of force to be put on those teeth, which erodes the tooth over time unevenly or causes cracking, both of which you want to avoid.

Underlying Issues

Not all orthodontic issues occur above the gum lines. X-rays often discover problems that need to be fixed but are currently not affecting a smile’s appearance. For example, some patients have adult teeth that have never erupted, either because there wasn’t enough space or the baby teeth never fell out. These trapped teeth can even end up sideways under the gums in an attempt to move into their proper positions.

Braces are often needed to fix these types of underlying issues, either as part of the initial treatment, or after the fact to return the smile to its straight, healthy state.

This is one of the many reasons we don’t recommend mail-order orthodontic treatment. These providers rely on impressions and selfies submitted by their customers, which means any issues hiding under the gums are not addressed.

Misaligned Bite

While your smile may look straight to others, many people have to force their smile to look normal due to an overbite or underbite. Both of these conditions can complicate your oral health by leading to uneven pressure in your mouth, speech or eating problems, or jaw pain. By getting braces or clear aligners, you can get your bite to a normal position and always bite down comfortably while never having to adjust your jaw to make your smile look straight.

To schedule a free consultation and see how braces can improve your oral health, contact Austin Orthodontics today!

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Why Are My Teeth Crooked?

June 20, 2019 Austin Orthodontics

As you think about starting orthodontic treatment to straighten your smile and improve your oral health, you might find yourself wondering, “Why are my teeth crooked in the first place?” The answer is different for everyone, which is part of the reason why everyone gets a personalized treatment plan to help with their specific issues. Still, there are some common reasons people’s teeth end up crooked.

Genetics

Just like nobody has perfectly clear skin or a totally symmetrical face, nobody has perfect teeth. Some people have pretty straight teeth naturally, but even they may have underlying issues orthodontic treatment can fix. Some people inherit genes that cause their teeth to grow in crooked. The actual ways genetics affect each person’s teeth varies. Some people have jaws that are too small for their teeth, resulting in crowding, or impacted teeth in severe cases. Other issues with the jaw can cause the person’s bite to be off, causing an overbite, crossbite, or underbite. Permanent teeth may simply grow in at awkward angles due to genetic hardwiring as well.

Bad Timing of Baby Teeth Loss

Many people don’t realize their baby teeth actually play a huge role in how the permanent teeth come in. Baby teeth guide the path of eruption, and if they fall out early or late, it can cause the permanent teeth to come in crooked. For example, if baby teeth don’t fall out when they are supposed to, the permanent teeth may erupt in front of or behind the baby teeth instead of in their proper positions.

Losing baby teeth too early can also affect where the permanent teeth come in. If your child sucks their thumb past toddlerhood, they may loosen the baby teeth early. This habit, along with extended pacifier use, also alters the shape of the jaw as the child is still growing and developing, which can lead to crooked teeth.

Other Bad Habits

Beyond thumb-sucking as a toddler, older children and even adults, can engage in bad habits that cause problems for their teeth grow. For instance, anxious habits like tongue-thrusting or teeth-grinding can alter the orientation of your teeth, causing crookedness and other oral health problems.

Injuries

Another potential source of crooked teeth is getting an injury. For one, getting a facial injury as a child can knock out a baby tooth early, which can lead to permanent teeth coming in improperly. If a permanent tooth is knocked out, it’s important to get a replacement tooth put in as soon as possible since the surrounding teeth will begin to move to fill in the gap.

To straighten crooked teeth, most people undergo orthodontic treatment with either braces or the Invisalign, which both help move the teeth and jaws to an ideal position. Early orthodontics starting at age seven can also help correct the issues that cause crooked teeth before the permanent teeth erupt.

Contact Austin Orthodontics and schedule a free consultation to see which treatment option could be right for you!

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How to Take Care of Your Retainer

June 13, 2019 Austin Orthodontics

Once your braces are removed and you get to see the amazing results of months, or possibly years, of hard work, you want to make sure you maintain your healthy new smile. That’s why it’s important to wear your retainer for the time your orthodontist prescribes. Of course, this also means taking good care of your retainer.

Keeping Removable Retainers Safe

There are several different types of retainers you might get from your orthodontist, and the length of time you need to wear your retainer depends on your specific needs. Sometimes, you may be required to wear your retainer for most of the day soon after you get your braces out. If your retainer is removable, you’ll want to be careful to take it out for meals to avoid damage. Be sure to store your retainer in a distinct case while you eat instead of on a napkin, especially if you are at a restaurant. This will ensure servers don’t accidentally toss it in the trash with your napkin.

If you only have to wear your retainer for part of the day, which is often done at night for convenience, your retainer will be stored much of the time. You’ll want to pick a safe spot away from kids or pets but that’s still easy for you to access so your retainer doesn’t get damaged and you still remember to wear it.

Keeping Your Retainer Clean

After meals, brush your teeth thoroughly with a soft-bristled toothbrush and do the same with your retainer separately. This will prevent food from getting trapped underneath your retainer and causing tooth decay.

When your retainer spends a large portion of the day in its case, you run the risk of bacteria growing on it, which can lead to plaque buildup. Needless to say, this can become very problematic for your teeth. One strategy to prevent plaque buildup is to store your retainer in a case that has small holes near the top for air circulation. It also helps to keep it on a shelf or counter rather than inside a closet or cabinet where there is no airflow.

Another problem that can come up with retainers is calcium buildup, which can interfere with the bite. You can keep your retainer soaked in a denture solution or in water with baking soda to prevent this buildup. Just be sure to avoid harsh chemicals, such as bleach or mouthwash, when you soak your retainer.

Any time you might need to bring your retainer along with you, such as for road trips or if you simply need to get more hours in during the day, be careful about subjecting your retainer to heat. It can be easy to forget about your retainer if you have it in a bag in your car. Summers can get pretty hot in Austin, and the heat can warp your retainer.

If you have any other questions about how to store your retainer, feel free to contact Austin Orthodontics.

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What Is Orthodontics?

April 17, 2019 Austin Orthodontics

At Austin Orthodontics, we are proud of what we do and how we enhance our patients’ lives. But if you’ve never gone through orthodontic treatment, you may be wondering what exactly orthodontics is.

What Is Orthodontics?

Because of the similar technology and setup used, it’s understandable when someone visits an orthodontist office for the first time that they think they’re walking into a dentist’s office. However, orthodontics is a specialized practice that focuses on fixing irregularities in teeth alignment and jaw shape through the use of braces, Invisalign, expanders, retainers, and surgery.

Another common misconception is that orthodontics only improves the look of your smile when it actually is beneficial to your health as well to have straighter teeth and properly aligned jaws. In fact, orthodontists often fix issues that aren’t even noticeable without looking at x-rays or digital images.

Orthodontic Education

All orthodontists graduate from dental school, which is typically a four-year program completed after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in a related field. To become an orthodontist, however, requires even more training. A doctor who wants to become an orthodontist will need to be accepted into a residency training program where they will learn in-depth details about tooth movement, correcting irregularities in face shape, biomechanics, and other necessary knowledge to practice orthodontics. These programs are highly competitive, and once training is completed, all orthodontists must pass a rigorous board exam to become licensed.

Types of Orthodontic Treatment

The most well-known type of orthodontic treatment is having teeth aligned with braces. Traditional metal braces use a combination of brackets, superelastic metal wires, and elastic bands. At Austin Orthodontics we use a slightly different type of braces, known as self-ligating braces, which eliminate the need for the bands around the brackets. As your wires are changed throughout the course of your treatment, your teeth will slowly move into place, resulting in a straight smile. Braces may also include elastic bands that run between your upper and lower jaw to correct an overbite or underbite.

The most discreet option for tooth alignment is the Invisalign clear aligner system. This treatment straightens your teeth using progressive sets of clear, plastic trays that snap over your teeth and can be removed when eating, drinking, and brushing your teeth.

A lesser known type of orthodontic treatment involves early intervention to correct jaw shape, size, and tooth spacing issues. Children should be seen by an orthodontist at age 7 to see if there are any problems that can be more easily corrected before their adult teeth are all in and their jaws are fully developed. For different types of corrections, particularly in teens and adults, surgery may be needed to achieve the best results. Another issue that can often be treated by an orthodontist is temporomandibular disorder, or TMD. This condition is related to the joints between your upper and lower jaws, and can cause pain in your face and neck and headaches.

As you can see, orthodontics is different than dentistry and consists of more than just giving people pretty smiles. Contact Dr. Briggs and the team at Austin Orthodontics today to learn more about what they can do for you.

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