Dental Braces

Dental braces are one of the most commonly requested treatments among the teens and the adults.

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        Reasons to straighten teeth

  1. Improve appearance

  2. Make clearer speech

  3. Allow good function during eating

  4. Enable easy cleaning of teeth and gums.

We called poor alignment of teeth 'malocclusion'

Crowded teeth are prone to decay and pose difficulty to the dentist to restore.

It can lead to periodontal disease and abnormal premature of teeth wear

Types available

Conventional Metal brackets- This have stood the test of time and is the most economical way to align teeth. They have also been made smaller so it is less visible and more comfortable.

To this end, there are two varieties:

1 Silver brackets are tied with nodules that come with choice of colors

2 Passive ligation brackets that which allows more 'play' of the wires within the bracket slots and may be indicated for some cases.

3 Ceramic brackets as an alternative to silver brackets being more esthetic but they are costlier and more difficult to debond(remove)

4 Aligners-also known as clear braces, they are a series of plastic trays that are used to guide the teeth movements.

*Note: They are generally more expensive as the trays are fabricated for each stage, requires patient's compliance to wear for consistent movements of teeth.

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The Hawley retainer is a common way to retain the teeth after braces are removed. This is to allow the 'settling' of teeth into the new positions. Not wearing a retainer may result in some relapse of the alignment. Patients should remove and clean retainers after meals and wear for a specified period as prescribed by the dentist.

Other types of retainers available depends on indications.