Are you thinking of getting braces quickly? If yes, then you are surely getting ahead towards better oral health, and of course, a more beautiful smile. Opting for braces seems to be a big deal, but once you get familiar with it, it becomes more straightforward than you might think.
The procedure of getting braces has become increasingly common nowadays. People are often more concerned about their appearance, which reflects through their smiles.
Hence, increasing the number of adults using braces in the USA and Canada to a soaring million.
If you're willing to get your braces on, check out some types of braces you can opt for, as well as the cost, maintenance, and functioning of braces:
Different Types of Braces
Orthodontics offers multiple types of braces according to functions and preferences. Each type of braces has its unique advantages and disadvantages. Check out the various options you can explore while thinking of putting braces on:
Conventional Braces
Braces that were utilized a few decades ago consisted of a metal band around every tooth. But the conventional braces used nowadays, consist of a single bracket cemented to the tooth held by wires.
To anchor the wires, a few bands are used in the back portion. As other options prevail in the market, you could always switch the metal ones with plastic (transparent) or tooth-colored ceramic ones.
People who have had braces since childhood or teenage often dislike the idea and never want to be a metal-mouth ever again. Even if you opt for the ceramic braces, your device will surely be noticeable.
But for the shortest treatment period, one should opt for the conventional braces.
Aligners
Aligners are not braces but clear trays, which are switched out in a couple of weeks to accommodate your teeth' movement. These trays are supposed to be worn for about 22hours per day and are removed just during meals or cleaning.
These clear trays don't affect your flossing or brushing of teeth and are comparatively less noticeable though not invisible.
You would have to take care that you always keep them on with proper discipline and switch those trays on scheduled timings—faltering, which would lead to an elongated treatment period than the conventional ones.
Ceramic Braces
These can be considered the best type of invisible braces, just like the traditional braces using brackets and wires to align your tooth.
Ceramic braces are comparatively more explicit; hence, they are much less noticeable than the traditional ones. Certain types come with tooth-colored wires, which make them even less noticeable.
Short-term ceramic braces take very little time as much as a mere six months or so to achieve results. They tend to work so fast as they just have to alleviate the cosmetic issues with the front teeth.
Short-term ceramic braces require lesser office visits when compared to traditional braces. Though these braces have a few eye-luring advantages, they have certain disadvantages as well.
These braces don't bother much intending the user's gums and cheeks, unlike the traditional ones.
Self-Ligating Braces
In this type of braces, the wire passes through the small metal clip on the bracket and discards the use of bands which accommodate the movement of teeth.
Lingual Braces
These are quite similar to the conventional ones except that the brackets are cemented to the backside of your tooth.
The lingual braces are usually custom-made, which makes them costlier than the other options. They are virtually entirely invisible and treat as quickly as the conventional braces.
Regardless of the type of appliance you choose for your treatment, your Orthodontist would want you to wear a retainer, before the teeth whitening, once the procedure is over. It is your wish whether you wear it all along or just part of the day.
What to Do to Make Your Braces Work Faster?
There are specific treatments which could speed up the therapy like -
AcceleDent
It uses a tray inserted inside the mouth over your braces or aligners for about 20 minutes per day. This tray sends micropulse to the teeth by vibrating.
Propel
In this type of treatment, the Orthodontist will insert a thin probe through your gums in just a few places around a tooth. The mouth is made numb with a local or topical anesthetic.
This procedure tends to take advantage of the fact that braces or aligners move your teeth through the bone, a living tissue. Irritation is caused, which triggers your body's healing instinct, which in turn allows the teeth to move more quickly.
This treatment can be opted by people who use both conventional braces and aligners. The procedure can be undertaken more than once but within a gap period of six to eight weeks. Propel treatment tends to cut the treatment period by half.
How Much Does the Treatment Involving Braces Cost?
The cost of orthodontia depends on a few factors like the type of treatment you opt for, your teeth' initial condition, and other health conditions. Dental insurance often tends to cover a part of your dental treatment, but you should always check the coverage limits.
How to Manage Your Teeth?
Depending on the type of appliance chosen for the treatment and the initial condition of your teeth, it will take about 18-22 months.
However, the length of treatment involving aligners depends on your discipline and regularity while using the device.
People also use more than one device during their course of treatment. For example, some people prefer using aligners for an initial couple of months before switching over to the conventional ones.
Before your Orthodontist begins with your treatment, he/she would take the complete medical history of you. Because the teeth moving procedure is done through bones, which are living tissues.
Hence, they must know whether you have low bone density or take drugs for some condition.
Such issues predominantly concern women because women tend to seek orthodontic care compared to men and also suffer from concerns like low bone density.
Now that you have explored various braces, their functioning, and maintenance routine, you can now choose one of your choices and get ahead to own the most beautiful smile and much-needed confidence.
Isreal olabanji a dental assistant and public health professionals and has years of experience in assisting the dentist with all sorts of dental issues.
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