ORTHODONTICS

Treatment duration

According with every patient needs, as well as children, adult treatment can extend on periods between 6 months and 2 years.

Is it mandatory to wear contention?

Contention is an extremely important part of the orthodontic treatment, because it helps us maintain the achieved result, in time. Relapse degree is higher among adults, than in children, therefore no treatment exists to end without contention. Contention can take different shapes, yet in adults a fixed contention (retainer) is preferred, positioned behind teeth, so it would not bother with absolutely nothing (not seen, not felt, no causing pain).

Orthodontic treatment for children up to 7 years old – “interceptive treatment”

Interceptive treatment involves correction of milk dentition disorders, of whose potential treatment carried out later would be more complex or that can become in time, skeletal anomalies. By identifying these disorders in young age, the growth pattern as well as the occlusion (bite) can be corrected.

What are we intending to find in children less than 7 years old?

1. Vicious habits

Vicious habits represent those gestures/actions your child can learn even from the first childhood, gestures that are normal up to a certain age, but become predisposing factors towards the emergence of development anomalies.

For example, among the first gestures a newborn learns is deglutition (function which ensures the food bolus passing from the oral cavity to the stomach, swallowing). “Juvenile deglutition is characterized by tongue interposing between the two arcades, during swallowing and it is specific, natural for the period when children are only fed liquid meals (milk). Once this period has ended, around the age of 6 months, this deglutition type should be gradually replaced with adult type deglutition, in which the tongue is no longer interposed between teeth. If this transition does not occur, in the child’s first years of life, juvenile deglutition becomes a “vicious habit” and we can expect developmental disorders.

Another vicious habit, frequently encountered in children is “pollicis sucking” (thumb). Up to the age of 3-4 years, this habit will not cause anomalies, it is even considered normal (found even in intrauterine life). But after the age of 4, maintaining this habit will definitely lead to imbalances, muscular as well as of occlusion (bite). When it prolongs over this age, it can be a psychological disorder manifestation, of psychological trauma, which the orthodontist must identify. Orthodontic treatment can be accompanied in these cases by psychotherapy, rewarding a positive answer and patient motivation. Thumb sucking is a vicious habit found especially in bottle-fed children.

Other vicious habits frequently encountered in children: oral respiration (child predominantly breathing through mouth), inferior lip interposing between teeth, nail chewing, or other objects (pens, crayons, etc.). It is recommended to present to the doctor with your child, as soon as you notice acquiring one of the habits mentioned above.

1. Premature loss of milk teeth

When a milk tooth is lost ahead of time (whether from complicated decays or after a trauma), there is a risk for neighboring teeth to migrate and close (partial or complete) the space necessary for definitive teeth eruption. Thus, we can end up confronting situations that will require years of treatment to be solved, sometimes even extractions being necessary.

To avoid neighboring teeth migration, positioning of “space maintainers” is recommended.

There are several types of space maintainers; our clinic prefers the physiognomic ones, anchored on glass fiber. These are extremely resistant in time and, at the same time, physiognomic.

1. Reverse occlusion

Situation in which a patient’s bite is accomplished “reversed”, meaning the bottom teeth are over the top ones, a serious situation as it can lead to an asymmetrical mandible development and dento-maxillary joint disorders. Therefore, it requires early treatment. Treatment is without pain, relatively simple, through a screw device and lasts approximately 6 months

Orthodontic mini-implant

Due to several clinical studies and research efforts accomplished by researchers from countries as Japan, Korea, Denmark, Germany, USA, Brazil and Turkey, the 21^st century orthodontics is enjoying the benefits of orthodontic mini-implants.

The mini-implants have extremely small sizes and it introduced, for a limited period of time, within bone. Its purpose is to ensure the necessary anchorage in moving certain teeth. Using it, results are obtained much faster and teeth movements can be accomplished, that were considered until today extremely hard or even impossible (reintroducing a migrated molar back inside bone).

Orthodontic mini-implant (or micro-implant or TAD – Temporary Anchorage Device) is minimally invasive, its insertion can be achieved using only a minor topic anesthesia (anesthetic spray or gel) and is removed at the end of the treatment. Mini-implants considerably shortens orthodontic treatment time, it is safe and totally tolerated by the body.

Orthodontic mini-implant does not hurt, is not seen and does not cause any kind of discomfort, and its insertions lasts approximately 10 minutes.

By using orthodontic mini-implants in Implantodent clinics we have the possibility of extending the disorder are we can treat orthodontic, used along with the most modern orthodontic technique (Straight-Wire) represents the key towards our treatment success.

Orthodontics – basis for other dental treatments

Often, when we want to perform dental implant treatments we can notice the neighboring teeth or opposed to the missing tooth space, to be migrated, occupying from implant or its crown required space. Implant insertion in these conditions would create high compromise: between the migrated tooth and implant crown will retention food, developing bacteria affecting after a while the implant or crown on implant will become unaesthetic and nonfunctional, generating high forces on it. The most efficient method in this case is to redress migrated teeth, on horizontal or vertical by case and to subsequently insert the implant. In this way, the implant will properly function for decades and crown anchored to it will be esthetic and perfectly functional.

Dental braces – much more than a “fashion”!

Teeth crowded, spaced, crooked…Prominent or retracted maxillaries…A modified facial outline…All of these dramatically influence esthetics and not only. Mastication, deglutition and phonation in such situations are more or less altered. From here a series of dietary problems emerge and several from the teenager or even adult complexes. Shyness, isolation, avoiding speaking and smiling are few of the first signs that have influence over the young patient psychic.

We are therefore mentioning problems, of both esthetic and health nature. A mouth in which teeth are crooked and crowded will always be full of decay (teeth cannot receive proper hygiene), with red and inflamed gums (periodontal disease) and bad breath. Pronunciation and food chewing will be radically influenced, causing gastric problems and not only.

By wearing braces several of the patient’s dental problems can be corrected, of both esthetic-functional and psychological order.

As parents aware of all the transformation going on with our child it is relatively easy to discover at home whether our child needs braces: around the age of 4-6 years, milk teeth must have spaces between them, sign of the maxillary preparing for the definitive teeth emergence that are much wider than milk teeth. The space absence at that age leaves us with a question mark and will mandatory send us to an orthodontics and dento-facial orthopedics specialist.

Harmoniously aligned teeth are the secret of a beautiful smile but not always does this occur naturally.

There are a series of dental characteristics genetically inherited: relation between the two maxillaries as well as teeth, respectively maxillary size and proportion.

Unfortunately, certain factors that can be avoided, generically called “of environment”, such as using pacifier for a long time or interposing finger or tongue between teeth can also influence our teeth aspect.

A beautiful smile does not always mean beautiful teeth but teeth must be functional. Functional teeth can also be beautiful but it is not mandatory for beautiful teeth to also be functional!

The functional aspect involves a proper bite, mastication and diction, so no teeth blunting (abrasions) appear, mastication muscle pain or fatigue or temporomandibular joint problems.

Properly aligned teeth will be easily cleaned, thus avoiding dental decay and gingival disorders (periodontal), disorders leading in teeth loss. Here’s how a treatment, correct and established in time, can prevent a series of problems, suffering, lost time and even large amounts of money.

Implantodent clinics cover the full range of orthodontic treatment, both in children and adults.

We are using contemporary concepts and the most advanced technology to offer our patients mobile as well as fixed braces: metallic, non-metallic, invisible and lingual.