Dental Braces

Tooth or jaw displacements can orthodonticly be corrected. Tooth displacements can be detected at children of 6-7 years for the first time. This is the moment when the first remaining teeth break through. Parents are often alarmed when instead of the nice regular primary dentition seemingly too big teeth break through that appear to have no place and seem to stand irregularly. Now the time has come to consult an orthodontist, specialist for braces. Mostly there is not only a crowding of the row of teeth but also the relation from the upper jaw to the lower jaw is shifted and thus the patient has a wrong occlusion which also has to be corrected. Like this there are not only aesthetic problems but also functional ones. But most of the displacements can be well corrected with various braces, of course when regularly used.

Braces generally are located inside the oral cavity, but there are seldom parts of braces that are applied to the brace located in the mouth and are situated outside the oral cavity, the so called Headgear – type. If the force action attained by the intraoral brace does not suffice, the extraoral devices are additionally applied, mostly in the night. E.g. Delair-Mask, Headgear, Kinnkape etc. These appliances accelerate, complete and optimise the orthodontic treatment.

Braces are divided into two groups – the removable and the fixed braces

According to our spirit of time there is the growing wish for beautiful, straight teeth and thus for orthodontic treatments. Naturally the aim of orthodontics resides not only within the aesthetic area but there also functional and biomechanical claims that need to be answered. During the first examination at the specialist’s, all concerns of the patient are noted and are respected in treatment.

An exact diagnosis and a treatment plan is made with the aid of dental impressions and special x-ray. During the second session the patient is informed about the treatment specially-tailored for him. The braces that are needed for achieving the aim are introduced, the wearing time and the monitoring appointments are discussed, and the patient is informed about the costs incurred. For orthodontic treatment of children, it is important to optimally influence the formation of the ivories and the jaw, for benefiting the development of a coordinated and aesthetic masticatory apparatus. Furthermore bad gulp and bite habits need to be eliminated. This is primarily attained with removable braces in this age group.

These braces are very comfortable for children. Mostly they are only applied in the night or sometimes a few hours during the day. They consist of coloured acrylate that is reinforced with metal plates and wires. A new technology is the so called “Trainer – braces”: They are made out of silicone of diverse hardness grades. Trainer have a high wearing comfort because they neither have palate plates nor components of metal. The aim of these braces is a good formation of the dental arches as well as the elimination of bad habits. Braces of this kind work with very easy and comfortable forces. Mostly children at the age of 6-13 years are treated and the wearing time comes to several years, dependant on the displacement.

In case of already broken through and remaining teeth, the so called fixed braces are already in the run. The treatment consists of the therapy of the upper and lower jaw with the aid of Multi-Band-braces. These ones consist of brackets that are glued on the teeth and that are linked with metal arches. In this treatment it often comes to the combination of these braces and the extraction of teeth because the lack of space cannot be handled in any other way. The used material for these brackets can be metal, synthetic, porcelain or even special kinds of crystal.
Also adults are treated with this methods. Adult patients often wish that the braces should be hardly or not visible during daytime. For this purpose the following solutions can be considered: In case of slight displacements a removable brace is applicable. Moreover brackets made out of aesthetic material can be applied, like porcelain or crystal. Furthermore there is the possibility of invisible braces.

This is the term for a sequence of lucent synthetic splints which have to be weared full-day. They are hardly visible and are produced by a precise CAD system in America. The name of this kind of treatment is INVISALIGN.
More information about this kind of braces you find under the menu item “invisible braces – Invisalign”.

The orthodontic treatment is not finished after the active phase, but there follows a so called retention phase which generally lasts 18-36 months. A retention can be achieved by various methods which depend on the severity of the case. Teeth were relatively fast moved to a new place during the orthodontic treatment, so they still stand unstable and have to grow on. Retention controls at first take place monthly, but the interval can quickly be enlarged to 3-6 months.

Inform yourself about your individual orthodontic treatment at your specialists!