Teeth straightening and orthodontics: answers to the most common questions

Category: Braces · 24 January 2019

What is orthodontics? Why have orthodontic treatment? Will I be in pain during treatment? This article answers the questions patients most often ask us about orthodontics and teeth straightening.

What is orthodontics – and what does an orthodontist do?

Orthodontics is concerned with identifying and treating misaligned teeth and jaws and the functional problems that result from them.

Dentists working in orthodontics often specialise in a sub-field of dental, oral or jaw medicine. Trained orthodontists – much like GPs – can diagnose and treat all the areas in which they have been trained.

Surgery is a different matter. An orthodontist doesn’t operate themselves, but works with an oral and maxillofacial surgeon or a specialist so that the patient receives the best possible care.

Orthodontic treatment: why have it at all?

On the one hand, orthodontic treatment has a preventive function for dental health: if bacteria and plaque build up in the gaps between teeth caused by misalignment, there is an increased risk of tooth decay and inflammation.

In extreme cases, this in turn can lead to tooth loss.

Misaligned teeth should also be treated in adults. The health reasons:

They can lead to functional disorders of the chewing apparatus.
They can cause problems with the jaw joint.
If the chewing apparatus is impaired, the digestive tract may suffer, because food isn’t broken down properly.

The treatment goals of orthodontics are:

Prevention of medical disorders
Aesthetic reasons
Prevention of later problems / assessment of how children’s teeth are developing

Orthodontic treatment: aesthetic reasons

For most people, however, aesthetics are the incentive to undergo treatment. Who wouldn’t want to go through life with a beautiful smile? What’s more, beautiful, straight and healthy teeth are a symbol of a healthy body.

When is the best time to correct teeth? What is early treatment?

Some misalignments are best resolved in childhood.

These include:

An open bite
An underbite (progenia)
A crossbite

We treat most children between the ages of 10 and 15.

For adults, there is no age limit. We live in an age in which we can find a solution for almost every dental problem – at every stage of life.

Is treatment with fixed braces (brackets) absolutely necessary?

No. Today there are removable and almost invisible alternatives to fixed braces.

Orthodontists fit brackets as soon as the permanent teeth have come through. Fixed braces consist of bands attached to the back teeth and the wire brackets that we bond directly onto the teeth. The two components are connected by archwires, which push the teeth into the correct position. Precisely measured forces act on the teeth by means of tension and compression springs.

With brackets, we can change the position of the tooth root, for example if the teeth are rotated, tilted or too crowded, if we need to close a gap, etc.

In addition, with fixed braces an orthodontist can:

Align the lower jaw
Position teeth correctly
Close gaps caused by tooth loss.

Treatment with invisible aligners: the advantages?

Gentler, invisible and popular in our practice: aligners. These are transparent plastic aligners that the patient wears constantly but can take out to clean their teeth and to eat.

The aligners make it possible to correct mild to moderate misalignments – in adults too.

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