Until recently, it was believed that bite correction is possible only at a young age, and the process of treating a defect itself implied the use of iron brackets, which are called capacious braces. This term is associated with discomfort, uneven smile, speech problems, and other inconveniences. Fortunately, today, modern medicine confidently destroys established stereotypes that the correct bite can be cured only in children and only with the use of braces. Dentists prove the opposite – you can correct the bite and find a magic smile with even teeth at any age, without resorting to radical methods.
Bite treatment without braces – myth or reality?
As a rule, metal braces are referred to as rather expensive pleasure. But even this significant fact cannot be compared with another shortcoming – before installing braces, moral preparation is also needed. Judge for yourself, not everyone who daily needs to communicate in the circle of the same adults, ready for several months, and maybe even years, to wear “glands” on their teeth. That is why orthodontics aimed at modern technologies, developing more aesthetic techniques that will help correct the bite without the need for braces.
Non-stroke treatment, unlike their installation, eliminates the mechanical movement of teeth and eliminates the very cause of the defect. The reasons for the wrong bite include:
- heredity;
- excessive pressure of the jaw muscles, due to which the lower jaw is pushed forward;
- facial injuries or chronic diseases that have resulted in respiratory failure;
- unhealthy children’s habits (sucking a cam, fingers, or toys) or long sucking nipples;
- improper breastfeeding or bottle feeding;
- a discrepancy between the size of the teeth and jaw (large teeth in relation to the size of the jaw);
- milk teeth were removed too early;
- Insufficient hormone production by the thyroid gland.
How to correct bite in adults?
There are several methods for correcting bite in an adult patient:
- hardware;
- comprehensive (includes wearing removable designs and myotherapy);
- Surgical;
As you can already guess, the hardware method is the most popular. It is all about the specifics of treatment, which means that the patient will regularly wear special removable structures: caps, aligners, and orthodontic trainers. Consider how each of these structures is different and what advantages it has by consulting with an orthodontist in Washington DC.
Capes
Wearing a removable cap is one of the most common orthodontic ways to help correct bite. By design, mouth guards are similar to those used to whiten the dentition.
The advantages of wearing cap include:
- they align a whole range of teeth;
- regular wearing does not lead to injury to the soft tissues and oral mucosa;
- caps are almost invisible;
- it is easy to get used to them and very comfortable to wear;
- they can be removed at any time.
The main disadvantage of the cap as a method of bite correction in adults is that they are appointed only in situations where the deformation is slight, for example, there is a wide gap between the teeth or torsion of the teeth. In other cases, caps are ineffective.
Aligners
In the opinion of both patients and dentists, these removable structures are more technological and efficient than caps. To correct the bite in an adult with the use of the aligners was made possible by the “bright minds” of the world famous company Align Technology. From the moment they appeared on the market until today, they have gained immense popularity due to the fact that in 98% percent of cases they allow to completely correct the occlusion and have no contraindications to use.
The advantages of aligners are as follows:
- They are more aesthetic than traditional braces, as they are made of transparent biopolymer material.
- They are selected individually for each patient.
- Due to the thin walls, the design fits snugly to the teeth, affecting the crown part. Because of this, improved control over the movement of teeth.
- The device can be removed, so it is easy to take care of him.
- Safe for soft tissue and mucous membranes.
- Minimal discomfort and absolute painlessness.
- Do not have contraindications.
- Wearing an aligner will reduce your visits to the orthodontist.
As for the shortcomings, it can be attributed to such that the duration of the production of the aligners according to the individual impression of the patient’s dentition. In addition, they are not appointed by orthodontists to correct serious bite anomalies.
Trainers
Many, having seen orthodontic trainers, confuse them with caps, and this is not by chance – they are somewhat similar in construction, but they differ significantly in their action. It is impossible to correct the bite in an adult with the help of trainers, since they are assigned as anchoring effect, for example, after wearing a cap or aligners. In this, in principle, lies their main drawback – they cannot be used as an independent system, only as an auxiliary one.
A surgical method of bite correction in an adult
Although this method is radical, as it involves intervention in the structure of the jaw, it is still the most effective. He is appointed as a bite correction, not for everyone – only if there are serious congenital anomalies or after suffering injuries (for example, after an accident) that cannot be fixed with the help of removable structures. These include abnormalities in the development of the skull and imbalances of the upper and lower jaws. In some cases, the operation is appointed when diagnosing anomalies of the joints, as a result of which a defect has formed. As a rule, surgery is a necessary procedure, since a deviation in the structure directly threatens the patient’s health.
Restoration as a way to correct bite
Of course, it is possible to mask the wrong bite in an adult, but this does not solve the problem. The use of veneers and crowns only gives the visual effect of even teeth, which can hide only minor functional problems.
What are veneers? They are thin plates made of ceramic material. In order to attach this plate to the front of the tooth, special adhesive cement is used. There are several advantages to using veneers:
- after 1-2 visits you have a snow-white and even smile;
- adhesive cement is colorless, odorless and tasteless, completely harmless;
- do not require special care – the usual oral hygiene with regular brushing;
- veneers are chosen according to the color of the teeth, so they do not stand out from the dentition when smiling;
- Perfectly solve the problem of the restoration of tooth enamel (chipped, cracked or darkened).
The disadvantages of veneers orthodontists include:
- the possibility of destruction or impaction;
- anesthesia is required during installation;
- after the installation of veneers cannot attend procedures for professional teeth whitening;
- Unable to completely correct the bite in the presence of a strong anomaly.
Well, as you can see, modern dentistry offers so many ways to correct bite in an adult. Therefore, do not be ashamed of this problem, because it has an effective solution. Be healthy and smile to others “in all 32”!
