Orthodontics is a specialty of straightening misaligned teeth which have been placed at wrong positions or directions due to some reasons. Teeth perform various important functions for us. One is definitely giving our smile a perfect definition in terms of looks, but more importantly giving our mouth the ability to chew the food and prepare it well for its next step in the journey of digestion. Well, the discussion doesn’t end just here, teeth are responsible in giving our lower face a perfect balance, and stimulating the entire system of our jaws, and muscles and nerves around them into balanced actions.
Imagine if few teeth are out of their allowed placement zone, it creates a disturbance in all the above functions in that zone. If kept unaddressed for a long time the imbalance in functions may progress to other areas, because basically the mouth functions as one machine and each part is being used for any single function at the same time.
Orthodontic treatment is a process of correcting such misalignments and moving the teeth to their correct positions and directions using force and pressure values acceptable to the teeth and surrounding tissues. Orthodontic treatment can also be employed to correct the jaw and muscular deficiencies in function. This treatment is a complex mixture of varied procedures like diagnosing the problem to its depth, planning the treatment based on the age, compliance ability, emotional impact of the problem, and capacity to devote time for a lengthy treatment and finally combining all findings and putting them into a treatment appliance in the simplest way possible. It is therefore critical for a patient to find a learned and experienced orthodontist to correct any type of misalignment in teeth.
Another considerable aspect is habit development during the growing years. Habit such as placing a thumb or a part of hand in the mouth, or pencils, nail biting or even constantly throwing out the tongue form the mouth and between the lips, can create a constant pressure on the teeth and move the teeth into unwanted positions and directions. This not only affects the balance, function and looks of the teeth and the face at the age but this also leaves its effect of the continually growing face of a child. Growing children are recommended to visit an orthodontist at the age of 7 to 8 years, even if the parent see no obvious misalignments in the teeth. This appointment gives an opportunity to treat any deviations from normal, if present, using relatively simpler appliances. This appointment also give an opportunity to predict future growth and development of the child and plan any kind of preventive treatment if needed at the right time.
Children and young adults make the largest fragment of patients undergoing orthodontic treatment but this treatment is not limited to them. Adults and elderly have also been benefited by orthodontic treatment. An important criteria to consider is the health of gums and bone covering the teeth, healthier the tissues more chances that the orthodontic treatment will succeed.
Orthodontic treatment using DIY or do it yourself procedures or direct to customer procedures wherein the major part of orthodontic treatment which is diagnosing the problem to its depth, is skipped, are not recommended and should not be chosen as a treatment possibility.
Dr Mugdha Mankar
Orthodontist and Dentofacial Orthopedician