Treatment Options
You will find a full range of services at Sylvania & Lambertville Orthodontics, including bite correcting devices and braces. We utilize the highest caliber technology and equipment, which reduces the need for extractions, headgear, and surgery. Our treatment options for both young people and adults are comfortable and effective. You can take a look at some of the most common orthodontic problems and the customary results.
Many parents assume that they should wait until their child’s permanent teeth are all in place before orthodontic treatment should be considered. The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that children seven years of age have an orthodontic evaluation. This doesn’t necessarily mean treatment should start at this point, but catching orthodontic problems early allows us to prevent many of the most severe orthodontic problems to save you time and money.
The most common age to start treatment on young people is between ten and twelve years of age. However, in cases where growth guidance is indicated, it may be important to start treatment much younger. When this is indicated, a PhaseI treatment will be implemented. When the permanent teeth have erupted, a Phase II treatment is usually necessary.
Adults comprise 30% of all our orthodontic success stories. Although many of them start treatment to correct bite issues, they are pleased with the cosmetic changes that result. Some adult patients and young people may also be excellent candidates for nearly invisible, clear braces, Invisalign, or iBraces.
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Crowding of the teeth
Patient started treatment at age eleven and wore braces for twenty-six months. He loves his new smile.
Openbite: Front teeth don't touch
Patient sucked her thumb as a young child. She started treatment at age thirteen. She had braces and a special appliance — called a crib — to retrain the tongue, for twenty-eight months. Now she can bite the lettuce out of a sandwich.
Deep overbite: Lower front teeth bite into palate
This adult patient (age twenty-five) required braces and jaw surgery to correct his severe overbite, with treatment taking two years. His problem could have been corrected without surgery if he had been treated before he was a teenager.
Missing lateral incisors
This patient's lateral incisors were congenitally missing. She had braces for twenty months to move the teeth into the correct position, then the missing teeth were replaced with bonded "Maryland" bridges.
Underbite: Lower front teeth in front of upper teeth.
Patient's underbite was causing her jaw joint discomfort and excessive wear patterns on her teeth. After thirty months of treatment starting at age thirty-two, she now finds smiling and chewing much easier.
Spacing of teeth
Patient was bothered by the spaces between his teeth. Braces closed the spaces and gave him an ideal bite in twenty-four months. Special glued-in retainers help keep the spaces closed.
Overbite: Protruding front teeth
At age ten, patient had a big overbite with the top teeth protruding beyond the bottom. She had two phases of treatment. The first helped her jaws to grow more harmoniously; the second aligned her teeth and bite. At age thirteen, she was proudly displaying her new smile.
Non-braces treatment
Sometimes braces are not needed to get noticeable improvements in tooth alignment. This patient was first seen at age seven for crowding of the lower permanent teeth. A procedure was performed to reduce the width of the adjacent baby teeth and the permanent incisors aligned on their own in nine months.
Phase I
Patient's parents were concerned about both aesthetics and the health of the erupting permanent teeth when they brought him to the orthodontist at age eight. The lower front teeth were crowded and they touched the palate, and the upper front teeth were extremely displaced from their normal positions. After twenty months of Phase I treatment with an expander and partial braces, patient's appearance and dental function was vastly improved.
