BRACES IN ACTION
Here are some examples of problems that orthodontics can correct.
Click the text below any of the examples to see the finished result!
Braces in Action
Crowding of the teeth.
Patient started treatment at age eleven and wore braces for twenty-six months. He loves his new smile.
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Braces in Action
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.
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Braces in Action
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.
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Braces in Action
Underbite. Lower front teeth in front of uppers.
Patient’s underbite was causing her to have 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.
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Braces in Action
Non-braces treatment.
Sometimes braces are not needed to get noticeable improvements in tooth alignment. This patient was first seen at age 7 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 9 months.
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Braces in Action
Deep overbite. Lower front teeth bite into palate.
This adult patient (age twenty-five) required braces and jaw surgery to correct his severe overbite, treatment taking two years. His problem could have been corrected without surgery if he had been treated before he was a teenager.
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Braces in Action
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.
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Braces in Action
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 8. The lower front teeth were crowded and they touched the palate, and the upper front teeth were extremely displaced from their normal positions. After 20 months of Phase I treatment with an expander and partial braces, patient’s appearance and dental function was vastly improved.
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