Orthodontist - Who Is He And What Heals? Appointment

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43

Orthodontist

An orthodontist is a doctor who diagnoses, treats and prevents dental-jaw anomalies, corrects bite.

The orthodontist examines the causes of anomalies in the development of teeth and jaw, evaluates their severity in a particular patient and provides adequate therapy for the existing problem.

In addition, the orthodontist develops preventive measures aimed at preventing the recurrence of pathology and its further progression.

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Content:

• What does an orthodontist treat?
• Treatment by an orthodontist
• Treatment of children by a pediatric orthodontist
• Features of bite correction in adults
• Appointment to an orthodontist

What does an orthodontist treat?

Often in the conversation of people without medical education, you can hear that the orthodontist deals with the treatment of "crooked teeth". In fact, it is this definition that conveys the essence of the doctor's work, however, in addition, he is engaged in the elimination of factors that provoke the formation of an incorrect bite.

The pathologies that the orthodontist encounters most often:

• Violation of the functioning of the speech apparatus and the respiratory system.
• Abnormal development of the shape of the face.
• Chewing dysfunction.
• Formation of distal, open, deep, cross or mesial bite.
• Violation of the location of some teeth in the oral cavity in the dentition.
• Violation of the location of the entire dentition, or both dentition in the oral cavity - their expansion, narrowing, lengthening, shortening.

Depending on the time period when the pathology manifested itself, one can distinguish:

• Congenital disorders: distortion of the shape of milk and permanent teeth, edentulousness, complete or partial, cleft lips (upper and lower).
• Disorders that appeared some time after the birth of the child.
• Hereditary disorders: adentia, malocclusion, increased number of teeth, diastema.

The competence of the orthodontist includes the following actions:

• Preparing the patient for orthognathic intervention, for operations aimed at correcting facial aesthetics. The operation itself is performed by maxillofacial surgeons.
• Performs replacement of lost teeth, either milk or permanent.
• Corrects the direction of growth of teeth, their size, jaw shape, facial aesthetics and deformed facial features within the dentition.
• Prepares for orthopedic therapy.
• Prepares the dentition for the installation of a denture (removable or non-removable).
• Prepares a site in the dentition for future implant placement.

The appearance of a person, his success in society, in his personal life, in a professional plane largely depends on the condition of his teeth. A beautiful smile is impossible without healthy teeth. Often people who have problems with the bite, with the formation of the dentition, experience multiple psychological difficulties, against the background of which complexes develop.

Therefore, if a person suffers from one or another violation in the formation or development of the jaw, he needs to visit an orthodontist at least for a consultation. Moreover, there are no obstacles in the form of age or other restrictions for this.

It is important to find a specialist with experience and relevant qualifications. In addition, the clinic in which the orthodontist accepts must be equipped with modern equipment that allows the practice of all orthodontic techniques that this branch of medicine possesses.

Treatment by an orthodontist

Typically, orthodontic therapy is a multi-step process. The first stage is the time of intensive exposure, here the doctor applies all those treatment methods that are necessary to eliminate the problem of a particular patient. The second stage is the time of retention impact. Its main task is to consolidate the already achieved result of therapy.

The skill of a specialist consists not only in drawing up a competent treatment regimen for the existing dentoalveolar anomaly, but also in the most gentle effect on the enamel. In order to minimize the possible risk of injury, doctors use modern orthodontic appliances in their work.

There are many of them, depending on what therapeutic effect they are capable of providing, they are distinguished:

• Combined devices, mechanical, functional guiding, functionally acting. The classification criterion is the method of therapeutic action.
• Devices are extraoral, two-jaw, single-jaw and combined. In this case, the area of impact becomes the classification criterion.
• Fixed, removable or combined devices. The classification criterion is the method of fixing the equipment.
• Devices are plate, frame, elastic, arc, kappa, block. The classification criterion is the appearance of the structure.

In order to achieve a positive result from the therapy, it is necessary to regularly wear the selected design. In this regard, problems most often arise in children, therefore, strict control by parents over the observance of all recommendations given by the orthodontist is necessary.

Of course, there is an aesthetic question, especially when it comes to wearing braces. They are used to correct anomalies in both adults and adolescence. In order to keep the design as less noticeable as possible, you can choose sapphire braces. They are almost invisible on the teeth. It is these devices that are suitable for people whose professional activities are related to publicity.

Treatment of children by a pediatric orthodontist

The most common misconception of parents of preschool and primary school children is that baby teeth do not need any therapy. In fact, ignoring problems with the first teeth will cause permanent teeth to be unhealthy as well. Specialists in the field of pediatric orthodontics note that the treatment of the same milk tooth can lead to its premature loss. Therefore, doctors, in the presence of such a risk, recommend the use of special orthodontic crowns.

Caries in children develops for a number of reasons, the leading of which are addiction to foods high in sugar and poor oral hygiene. The problem is aggravated by the fact that there is often no cure for existing caries. This is due to the children's fears of the dentist and to the fact that parents follow the lead of their babies, considering problems with baby teeth not serious. As a result, the growth of the carious cavity, the destruction of the dental wall and the removal of the diseased tooth. Its absence is perceived by many adults as something undeserving of concern. In fact, this is far from the correct approach.

Forced untimely loss of molars or incisors, even milk teeth, leads to the formation of a malocclusion. As a result, the permanent dentition will be formed with an offset. This is especially true for those teeth that grow near the lost milk tooth.

Another problem of early tooth loss in childhood is the formation of incorrect speech. There is a violation of the pronunciation of sounds, from which the child begins to develop complexes.

An equally important negative consequence of the loss of a milk tooth is a violation of the formation of the dentition as a whole. Since there is a shift in the dentition, new permanent teeth will simply have nowhere to grow, and they will begin to erupt incorrectly - with a change in direction or with layering.

Therefore, if there is an early loss of a tooth, then the problem of preserving space for the subsequent eruption of a permanent molar or incisor comes to the fore. In the arsenal of the orthodontist there are various devices, for example, non-removable crowns, which are fixed on the remaining intact milk teeth and act as a spacer. Another option is to install a plate with an artificial tooth in place of the lost one. Such records can be removed.

It is important to monitor the formation of a child's bite while there are baby teeth in his mouth. If any violations are observed, then timely and competent orthodontic treatment is necessary. The sooner you start it, the more effective it will be. To normalize the occlusion, a removable plate apparatus is often used, which eliminates the problem.

However, even an early therapeutic intervention is not always able to completely correct the existing problem. Therefore, such treatment is often viewed not as the main one, but as an auxiliary one, which is a preparatory stage for the subsequent work of the doctor and patient. In the future, it will come down to the fact that a person will be installed with a fixed bracket system. In the case of preliminary preparation, wearing braces will be more comfortable and less painful, and, importantly, not so long-term. Therefore, any competent specialist will offer just such a therapeutic scheme.

Correction of bite in children

If a child develops an incorrect bite and does not receive proper therapy, then he may have the following problems:

• Partial loss of ability to chew food. Of course, because of the wrong bite, the child will not stop chewing, however, he will experience certain difficulties. As a result, the digestion process is disrupted, which leads to various diseases of the corresponding organs.
• Teeth begin to decay faster, which is a chronic focus of infection. This condition negatively affects the immune system as a whole.
• Tartar forms on the surface of the teeth, which causes the formation of periodontal pockets and inflammation of the gums. As a result, the child will begin to suffer from periodontitis. (Read also: Grades of periodontitis. Causes and symptoms)

The children's orthodontist's task is exclusively to correct the abnormal development of the jaw and teeth, which disrupts the normal process of chewing and speech. Orthopedic dentistry pursues primarily the goal of eliminating deformities that have been obtained as a result of injury or illness.

Orthodontists identify the following reasons leading to the malocclusion in children:

• Heredity factor;
• Refusal from the natural process of feeding;
• Violations of the timing of eruption and loss of teeth;
• Diseases affecting the oral cavity;
• Lack of harsh food in the child's diet;
• Night rest of the child in one position;
• Bad habits, such as thumb sucking or biting lips and cheeks.

It is known that heredity accounts for up to 30% of all cases of malocclusion.

The best option for every child is regular follow-up by an orthodontist, starting from the age of two. Thus, the incipient malocclusion will be temporary and can be easily corrected. In addition, the impact on the teeth will not be as critical as in advanced cases of the disease.

Starting at the age of 6, a child develops a changeable bite, if its correction is required, then one cannot do without special devices. In this case, functional devices, removable plate devices and trainers with multifunctionality will be used.

Features of bite correction in adults

The ideal option is to correct the malocclusion, starting at a younger preschool age. However, when time is lost, for one reason or another, the issue must be addressed in adulthood.

Orthodontists do not exclude the possibility of correcting the occlusion at any age, but the adult patient will have to face certain difficulties that could have been avoided with timely therapy. The principles of treatment for children and adults are based on the same basis, but some differences are still present.

Sometimes a patient has to remove one or more teeth. Only those teeth are removed, which are an obstacle to the implementation of full-fledged prosthetics. It is worthwhile to tune in to the fact that it is not always possible to completely correct the bite. Incorrect mesial occlusion lends itself worst of all to correction, while distal and dentoalveolar occlusion is much better treated. In addition, in parallel, therapy is required for other problems that have formed against the background of an incorrect bite:

• carious formations, most often multiple;
• abrasion of the crowns in a pathological form;
• excessive tooth mobility;
• adentia, retention;
• diseases of the oral mucosa, periodontal disease, etc.;
• neuromuscular problems.

An accompanying problem requires mandatory elimination, its treatment should be carried out before the stage of dental prosthetics. Careful preparation for the prosthetics process and a complete preliminary examination are the key to the success of the therapy.

If the patient is not yet 25 years old, then it is possible to perform treatment by moving the lateral teeth of the upper jaw until they are aligned with the lateral teeth in the lower jaw. After that, the orthodontist will direct efforts to correct the position of the front teeth. In this case, it may also be necessary to remove some teeth in order to align others at the expense of the vacated space. The entire treatment process is always discussed with the patient, and all manipulations are carried out only after his consent.

The process of bite correction can be accelerated if the patient agrees to surgical intervention. Most often, compactosteotomy is used, which is reduced to an incision of bone tissue and movement of teeth. This operation is performed half a month before the start of orthodontic therapy. It allows you to achieve early results in both adolescence and adulthood.

You can adjust the position of the dentition using removable inserts. For this, they have special springs, arcs and levers. Sometimes patients are fitted with non-removable rings, which are attached with special cement. Subsequently, they can be moved using internal and extraoral traction.

The prognosis for bite correction in adults depends on many additional factors. For example, from the severity of concomitant diseases, from the individual characteristics of the dentition, patients, from the severity of the bite. The prognosis is worse for the gnathic bite than for the open dentoalveolar. If during the therapy it was not possible to eliminate the factor provocateur of the wrong bite, then a relapse of the pathology is quite possible. In this case, strict adherence to all the recommendations of the orthodontist and regular monitoring by this specialist can help.