I love that my family dentist is tech-savvy. It's so easy to book a dentist on his smartphone app if I have a tooth problem or if anyone in my family needs emergency problems (I can choose either my normal dentist or another dentist in his practise depending on availability). He also has some great cameras so that we can see exactly what is going on during treatment. I prefer not to see this, but my kids love to be able to see the dentist using his specialised tools to clean and repair their teeth. This blog has some tips on finding a tech-savvy dentist to help give your family the best possible dental care.
You may feel as if your teeth are not growing correctly as a youngster, or if you're more mature, that you're not happy with the way that you look. You may have been told that braces are an option for you but want to learn a little more about how they work. What is the science behind the widespread use of braces in the dental industry?
How Do Braces Work?
Essentially, there are two different types of braces, or to use their more technical description, the orthodontic appliance — and these are the band for your back teeth and the bracket for the front teeth. They both work on the principle of attaching a device to the existing teeth and then using a specific force, applied through flexible wires.
What Is the Process?
First, the wires are threaded through the small brackets that are attached to teeth with a type of cement. The wires are wound into a particular position so that tension is introduced. When they are applied to the brackets in this format they will begin to apply a moving force to each of the teeth as the wires themselves begin to straighten. They have a natural tendency to do this as time goes by, and as they are securely attached to the teeth, the teeth will move very slightly as the wires do.
How Can Your Teeth Move?
You may think that your teeth are securely attached to the bone and wonder how they can move at all. Essentially, the ligament that links the bone and teeth has a certain amount of elasticity. In short, your teeth do in fact move normally. It may be almost imperceptible, but it happens all the time.
Remember that your teeth are set into living tissue which is constantly changing as people age. Then, as the wire starts to pull the tooth, additional ligament and bone starts to form while the ligament and bone in the area where the tooth used to sit is reabsorbed.
Using X-Rays
In order for the dentist to work out how to proceed, a series of orthodontic X-rays will be taken. This will allow the dentist to understand the current issues and come up with a plan to move the teeth in a certain direction over a certain distance. It's very fine planning, but the end result will be an array of teeth that are now more stable and more functional, as well as being more aesthetically pleasing.
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