A person whose dentist has referred them to an orthodontist has problems with their bite. They may have an underbite or an overbite, or their teeth may be crowded or crooked. Though aligning the teeth does lead to a beautiful smile, that is not all it does. A good bite helps the patient both eat and speak and helps them take better care of their oral hygiene. Our orthodontist at Advanced Orthodontics is pleased to serve patients in the Mesa area. Here are some services offered:
Invisalign
Invisalign is for patients who do not want braces, even if braces have become high-tech. It is a system that uses a series of plastic, transparent trays to bring the teeth into alignment. Though the patient may need to wear Invisalign for the same amount time that they would wear braces, Invisalign has an advantage over braces in that the patient can take the tray out at will. This allows the patient much more freedom and less hassle than a patient who wears traditional braces. People with traditional braces have to watch what they eat and avoid crunchy, sticky or sugary foods. An Invisalign patient can eat whatever they want after they take the tray out. A patient with braces must take great care of their oral hygiene, and the orthodontist Mesa gives some patients a special brush called a proxabrush to make sure they clean those spaces between the brackets and the wires. A patient who wears Invisalign just needs to take the tray out and brush and floss the way they have always done. Even when the patient is wearing the tray it is difficult to see, unlike regular braces that are not tooth-colored.
Braces
Still, many patients, especially children, are fitted with braces. Some people actually like the look of them, and other patients might not be as conscientious as they could be about putting the Invisalign tray back in after they’ve eaten or brushed their teeth. The good news about braces is that newer types are much more comfortable and less abrasive than they were, and the force they put on the teeth to straighten them is less brutal. They also don’t require the patient to come into the orthodontist’s office as often. New braces are self-ligating and no longer need the colored rubber bands, though some patients ask for them anyway. Again, they like the look!
Acceledent
This is one of the newer technologies that help to straighten patients’ teeth. Approved by the FDA in 2012, Acceledent is used on patients who are already wearing braces or using Invisalign, and it helps make the process of teeth-alignment go a bit faster. Acceledent uses gentle pulsations to help the teeth move into alignment and is used by the patient. The patient bites down a tray attached to a handheld device, turns it on and leaves it in for about 20 minutes a day. In some cases, Acceledent allows teeth to come into alignment 50 percent faster and helps to ease the discomfort of orthodontic treatment.
