Orthodontics is a specialty of dentistry which deals with the correction of teeth position or of disproportionate teeth or jaw relationships. The term orthodontics comes from ancient Greek and it is made up of ortho=right and odons=tooth.
Your smile is the highlight of your face. Look in the mirror. Do you like your smile or do you think it can be improved? Think of how you react when you meet someone with a pleasant smile. Does that make him or her more attractive?
Orthodontic treatment will give you a fabulous smile that will last a lifetime. It will also give a nicer appearance to your whole face through the correction of the relationship between the two jaws and through the adjustment of their shape. If you want to correct your teeth, you must follow an orthodontic treatment. This kind of treatment presupposes applying slight pressure on growing or grown teeth through the mounting of braces.
The most appropriate age to go to the orthodontist is 8-9 years. At this age, the maxillary bones grow faster and they are more elastic and that is why it is easier to correct jaw and teeth positions now. However, you can benefit from an orthodontic treatment at any other age. Just keep in mind that the treatment lasts longer in adults due to the fact that the maxillary bones are no longer as elastic as they used to be during childhood.
There are two types of braces: fixed and mobile.
Braces are mostly used for children, beginning with the age of 8. The disadvantage of braces lies in that the success of the treatment depends on the child’s will to wear them. Fixed braces are used beginning with the age of 12.
It is very important to correct teeth position not only because of aesthetic, but also because of functional reasons. Crammed teeth cannot be cleaned correctly and they will develop cavities and periodontal problems in time. Incorrect relationships between the two maxillary arches cause troubles, manifested as muscular tiredness and pain during chewing. However, all of these problems can be prevented through orthodontic treatment.
