Braces Made Affordable in Warren, Southgate & Clinton Township, MI
Do you think that you might need braces? If you look around you right now, you would probably spot someone who is wearing braces before too long. At any given time in the United States, around 4 million people have braces, and one million of those people are adults. Braces are the standard for orthodontic care. If you think you might benefit from braces, let All About Orthodontics® give you essential information on braces and how to care for your teeth while you're wearing them.
How do braces work?
We use braces to fix lots of issues with your teeth. One of the most common reasons people wear braces is to fix their bite problems. If you have a traditional bite, your top teeth fit neatly over your bottom teeth, and all of your teeth should touch each other when you bite down. Your upper and lower teeth should match perfectly towards the back of your mouth. However, there are a lot of people who have lower teeth that come in front of their upper teeth. They may also have upper and lower teeth that don't match when they bite down.
Braces can also be used to fix overcrowded teeth and even overlapping. Teeth that aren't appropriately spaced can also be fixed with braces. Some teeth are turned the wrong way and that can also be straightened out with braces.
Types of Braces
We use different kinds of braces, depending on what type of problem you might have in your mouth. All braces work in the same way. Brackets, which are made of metal or ceramic, are glued to the front of your teeth. We string wires through each bracket to connect them. We tighten the wires from time to time, according to your treatment plan. Over time, we can correct bite problems or spacing issues with braces. These traditional braces could be used for children as well as for adults.
We can sometimes bond your braces behind your teeth instead of in front of your teeth. We don't typically use these braces for children or teenagers, but we use them for adults in some cases. Lingual braces can be used when you only need a few teeth fixed on the top row or the bottom row. There are a couple of other options for braces. Sometimes, braces are done using clips on the brackets rather than wires. We do this when we have patients with a latex allergy, for example.
Paletal Expanders
The palatal expander “expands” (or widens) your upper jaw by putting gentle pressure on your upper molars each time an adjustment is made. The animation below will instruct you about when and how to adjust your expander. When you achieve the desired expansion, you will wear the appliance for several months to solidify the expansion and to prevent regression.
Face Masks
A protraction facemask is a headgear that helps to create an extraoral force on the patient's jaw, pulling it forward. At the same time, the headgear takes support from the patient's chin and forehead to allow the force to act. This treatment is used for class III malocclusion, or the patient's lower jaw (mandible) is forward, and the upper jaw (maxilla) is deficient.
Debonding
Dentists perform debonding once the orthodontic appliances, such as braces, are no longer necessary for the patient or need to be taken off for an emergency. The procedure is fairly simple but requires technical expertise from the orthodontists handling the case.
Clear Aligners
As an adult, a lot of people don't want to wear braces because they don't like the way they look. This idea of wearing a lot of metal in your mouth is the reason why many adults are content to live with their teeth as is. The good news is that you don't have to. Instead of braces, you can choose to get clear aligners to fix your teeth. If you aren't sure what clear aligners are, or how they can help straighten and respace your teeth, let All About Orthodontics® give you information about clear aligners.
Protecting Your Braces
Once you get braces, the most important thing is to make sure that you practice good oral hygiene. You'll need to brush and floss each time you eat something. You have to be sure that you get all of the food particles off your braces because if you don't have good oral hygiene, you'll end up with discolored teeth or cavities when your braces come off. You also need to avoid sticky foods or hard, crunchy foods, because they could break your wires or brackets. You will need to come in and see us every other month to get your braces tightened and for us to check your progress.
Do you think you might need braces? If you think braces might be just what you need, why not give All About Orthodontics® a call at us at 586-999-8818 for Warren location or at 734-999-4774 for Southgate location.
