BRACE TREATMENT DIFFICULT FOR ADULTS?

Is Brace Treatment Difficult for Adults?

We can describe orthodontics, which is a much more common treatment method than the methods in the past, as “smile engineering”. It is not too late for individuals whose teeth were not corrected in their childhood.

A well-groomed and beautiful face, a glamorous smile is more important than a flashy business card in business life or social life. Correcting the defects of the teeth and jaws, bringing the front teeth more forward or lengthening, and the alignment of the side teeth to support the cheeks often give more natural results than aesthetic operations. Therefore, those who care about facial aesthetics should not neglect to see an orthodontist before wearing down the doors of plastic surgeons for botox applications and silicone lips. The fact that the lower teeth become visible when speaking with age reveals the intricacies that people previously ignored. Also, bone resorption, which increases with age, causes more serious consequences, especially in those with perplexed teeth. For all these reasons, many adults need orthodontic treatment even if they do not have aesthetic concerns.

Is there a difference between orthodontic treatment of children and adults?

In principle, the tooth movement is the same in both children and adults. However, some adverse factors may complicate adult orthodontic treatment. For example, adults sometimes lose the health of the bone surrounding the gums and teeth. The healing capacity of the supporting tissues of the tooth decreases with age. For this reason, it is necessary to apply very light forces in the orthodontic treatment of adults. However, the most important difficulty in orthodontic treatment of adults is that unlike children in school life, social environment and business life make it psychologically difficult to bear braces.

Are there special bracket systems that orthodontists use in adults?

The wire passing through the brackets attached to the teeth creates a large friction force when using conventional brackets. In order to move the tooth by overcoming the friction, it is necessary to apply excessive force. However, latest bracket systems do not allow this, that is, minimizing friction. These brackets “locked” or “capped” brackets. In addition, orthodontists use very thin and very flexible wires so that they perform orthodontic treatment without damaging the tissues, even in mouths with gum and bone damage.

BRACE TREATMENT DIFFICULT FOR ADULTS? Picture
Orthodontic treatment

Do orthodontists only use self-ligating braces for adults?

They can use self-ligating brackets in any situation where they use conventional brackets, but they have very important advantages. They can shorten the treatment period by 3-6 months, in many cases they can make room for crowded teeth without the need for tooth extraction (the frequency of control is 8 weeks instead of 4-6 weeks).The time that patients spend in the dental chair is much shorter, and they cause much less discomfort during the period of getting used to the braces and after check-up appointments. All these advantages make them very attractive for children and adolescents.

Are there also transparent brackets?

Just like traditional braces, locking braces are available in tooth-colored ceramic. However, transparent braces are always more fragile and people need to replace them with new ones when they break them during dental treatment. Since this will pause the treatment, it extends the total treatment time. Transparent brackets do not attract attention when people look from a distance, and although they have these disadvantages and are more expensive, especially, adults prefer them.

Are there any invisible brackets?

Brackets that are not visible when people look from the outside are “Lingual” brackets that orthodontists affix them to the inner surfaces of the teeth. These brackets are also available with locked ones. However, orthodontists can not apply lingual treatment in some dental disorders and some dental structures.

Lingual orthodontic treatment is a more difficult treatment for both the dentist in Turkey and the patient. Lingual braces protrude from the inside of the mouth, causing discomfort to the tongue and sometimes distort speech. Due to mechanical disadvantages, treatment usually takes longer than systems that are attached to the outer surface. Since the inner surfaces of the teeth are more irregular, their adhesion requires a special laboratory phase and the treatment cost is at least twice that of other systems. However, the idea of dental treatment with invisible braces is so appealing that adults, especially, are increasingly choosing lingual treatment.