If you recognize any of these signs or concerns in your child or yourself, it might be time to schedule a consultation with an orthodontist.
Early or late loss of baby teeth
• Difficulty chewing or biting
•Mouth breathing
•Sucking the thumb or fingers, or other oral habits
•Crowded, misplaced or blocked-out teeth
•Jaws that shift, make sounds, protrude or are recessed
•Speech difficulty
•Biting the cheek or biting into the roof of the mouth
•Protruding teeth
•Teeth that meet in an abnormal way or don’t meet at all
•Facial imbalance or asymmetry (features out of proportion to the rest of the face)
•Grinding or clenching of teeth
•Inability to comfortably close lips
Types of Orthodontic Procedures
Most people know that orthodontists can fit and modify a patient’s braces, but there are many other services that these individuals provide to correct issues with teeth and jaws. In addition, there are multiple types of braces. Here are some dental appliances and services that only an orthodontist can provide:
-Traditional braces: Metal brackets placed on each tooth that are linked by wire and elastic to move the teeth into the correct position.
-Ceramic braces: Functionally the same as traditional braces, but the brackets are made with transparent ceramic.
-Damon braces: These braces use a self-adjusting slide mechanism rather than elastic to connect the wires between the brackets.
-Palatal expanders: Though removable aligners such as Invisalign can help with overcrowding, patients with severe alignment issues may need a palatal expander to gradually move the teeth apart. Tooth extraction is another option, but palatal expanders are the preferred choice today. Once the jaws are realigned using this method, a person can then wear braces or pursue other treatment methods to correct remaining issues with teeth and jaw alignment.
-Forsus appliances: These are springs attached to the braces against the patients’ cheeks to help position the jaw into proper position and thus correct issues such as severe overbites and underbites.