Early intervention orthodontics
A lot of my patients say
“My child had better teeth when she was a kid. Now, all her teeth are crooked. I wonder what changed !!! “
Well! Let me tell you what did!
The size of the face of a child and that of an adult are obviously different.
The face and jaw keep growing until the growth spurt shoots, where it grows exponentially, until eventually, the growth spurt is over.
Yes, this is applicable to the other long bones of the body as well!
The growth spurt in girls ranges roughly around 10 to 14 years of age during puberty,
While the one in boys shoots up at approximately 10 years and goes on till the age of 16 years.
The ideal age for orthodontic consultation for any child is approximately 8 years.
The reason we suggest showing the children at that young age is,
If at all there is any bone modification required, it is possible before the growth spurt is over.
Or the growth spurt can be utilized to change the jaw size.
1. Sometimes, the kids do present us with the discrepancy in either one or both of their jaws.
Sometimes, the upper jaw (maxilla) is prognathic (growing excessively) or the lower jaw (mandible) is growing excessively.
Or
Sometimes either one or both of the jaws are deficient ( growing insufficiently)
These are the cases where the diagnosis has to happen at the correct time, so that the growth of the affected jaw can be modified (can be increased if deficient and can be restricted if in excess)
This way, we can minimise the problem of crowding of the teeth and the spacing amongst the teeth.
And the smile becomes aesthetically pleasant!
2. The additional factor to be considered here is removal (extraction) of milk teeth before their exfoliation time.
Primary Teeth, which are also reffered as “Milk Teeth” or “Deciduous Teeth”, are smaller in size.
These milk teeth start exfoliating at the age of 6 years which goes on till the age of 12 years.
This is a natural phenomena.
Exfoliation of milk teeth is followed by eruption of their permanent successor teeth at the same place.
Although the growing jaw is big enough to accommodate the bigger size of permanent teeth,
Extraction (removal) of milk teeth before its natural exfoliating time, collapses the space required for its permanent successor to erupt.
The moment you remove a milk tooth before its exfoliation time, the permanent tooth right behind it (1st permanant molar which generally erupts at the age of 6 years) starts moving forward, closing the space required for the permanent successor (permanent premolars that erupt at the age of 10 to 12 years) to erupt in the same place.
Now the permanent successor that is still within the bone tries to erupt in the space smaller than its own size which leads to crowding in the area, even worse sometimes these successor permanent teeth do not get to erupt at all, and stay impacted within the jaws.
3. One more scenario to be considered here is tooth size and jaw size discrepancy.
Where teeth size is more than the space available in the jaw, there is “crowding”
While
Where the teeth size is small and jaw size is big, there is “spacing”.
4. Sometimes the kids develop some habits. These habits include,
A. tongue thrust: where the tongue constantly pushes the upper and lower teeth outwards
B. Thumb/finger sucking: where the constant finger sucking causes anterior open bite and jaw malpositioning
C. Habit of milk bottle sucking: The constant sucking pressure leads to anterior open bite.
D. Lip biting : constantly biting onto to the lower lip pulls the upper teeth forwards.
Etc.
To treat all this we have a Orthodontic Speacialist / Orthodontist in our team.
We have to give the kids special appliances to wear to break these habits that are doing more of a harm than good. Relieving the constant muscular pressure acting onto teeth and the bone holding the teeth. They also help us modify the lower jaw and expand the upper jaw. Sometimes extra oral appliances are also given to modify the jaws.
Invisalign works wonders, where only your doctors and you know that you are undergoing the treatment.
The several set of upper as well as lower transparent trays are given to you. That are to be worn for certain period of time and to be changed to the next one in line.
With invisible aligners (invisalign) the end results are already predicted by software, amount of time period and number of set of transparent aligners are already planned as per that. Which has an upper hand in terms of treatment prediction.
Braces are also helpful in such conditions.
Braces come in variety of
A. metal
B. Ceramic
C. composite
D. Ceramic braces with metals slots
E. lingual braces
The brackets designs follow various techniques and are activated by metal wires or coated wires or flexible wires as per the need.
To summarise,
The analysis and diagnosis of the discrepancy at the correct time help us minimise the defect and the damage both.
Beautiful smile comprises of jaws in proportion, healthy teeth in decent alignment without severe overcrowding or spacing amongst them with the function of speech and mastication intact!
After all, a healthy smile is a beautiful smile!
The great Indian weddings are famous for being grand.
As grand as it could possibly get, it is equally special for the brides.
Pre-wedding Dentistry
Every bride wants to look her best on her wedding day.
Prewedding smile Make-overs, also known as Bridal Smile Make-overs, include through assessment of your smiles so that we could deliver as per your expectations.
After all, marriage is a one time and a special occasion for all
of us.
While we focus on our dress, jewellery, hairstyle, makeup and footwear, let us not underestimate our smiles.
A lot of brides and their bridesmaids do want to flash their
pearly whites and smile their brightest on their wedding day.
As the preparation for the wedding starts months before, so does the smile Make-overs.
Prewedding dentistry
Or bridal smile make overs includes variety of procedures that are predominantly bifurcated into dental procedures and periodontal (gums) procedures
1. Complete scaling and polishing: would be one of the most commonly performed procedures which removes external stains and source of infection (calculus and plaque) deposits onto your teeth.
2. Teeth whitening/ teeth bleaching: this procedures enhances the shade of your teeth and makes your teeth whiter and brighter. Now, in the photos, your smile looks relatively brighter than before. At times, teeth go a bit sensitive but it can be easily controlled.
3. Dental crowns : when your teeth are discoloured, are badly broken or have huge fillings, dental crowns are considered where the custom fit cap is fitted onto your teeth. The shade, size and shape matching becomes easy with our excellent lab support. At Oyster Dental, we believe in quality and needless to say that the materials, equipments and hence the lab support we have are also of topnotch quality.
4. Dental bridges: These are considered mainly when the teeth are missing and Implants are not possible. A missing tooth or a bunch of missing teeth are replaced by a dental bridge. In this adjacent teeth are prepared, and a dummy cap comes attach to those caps that are to be fitted on prepared teeth.
5. Dental implants: wherever there is a missing tooth, dental implant is considered the 1st line of treatment to replace it. A threaded screw like structure that comes to us in sterile medium and is directly inserted inside the bone. Once healed, the cap / bridge is given on top of it.
6. Cosmetic fillings: wherever there’s cavities speacially in your smile zone. We have to get rid of it in order to stop it from spreading further. Now we consider tooth coloured filling materials that are world number one with our special style Italiano instruments to deliver the most natural looking fillings in a single visit. The procedure is chair side and fast.
7. Dental laminates and veneers: whenever there is minor crowding in your teeth and invisalign or braces are not possible, minor shade changes are desired and if we are short of tooth structure caused by previous trauma etc. ,we enhance the smile by adding this thin shell of ceramic into your teeth. In dental laminates and veneers these minor changes are taken care of. We can add beautiful characterisation and add a bit more personality in addition to your expectations approved by the patient.
8. Invisalign : a lot of times when the teeth are so crooked that makes it beyond the scope of dental veneers or dental laminates. These are the cases where gross movement of the teeth is anticipated in order to be aligned. And that’s how invisalign comes into the picture as our saviour. These are custom fabricated sets of trays that you are supposed to wear. And change one after another at regular intervals recommended to you to move your teeth in a desirable position.
Gum procedures: A common misconception within the general population is that “smiles are all about your teeth”.
I say NO!
Smile is a perfect balance amongst your whites your pinks and the blacks.
Whites stand for your teeth
Pinks stand for your gums cheeks and lips
While black stands for your buccal corridor. In simple words space between your teeth and cheeks when you smile.
A balanced smile is the most aesthetic smile.
Once after the analysis of your smile is done and once we understand the problem areas, we narrow down the line of treatment.
While the teeth are healthy and aligned and still the pinks are off balanced, we now decide to correct your gum tissues.
1. Depigmentation: This is the procedure we consider where the gums are brownish black in colour, especially in the smile zone. Most of the times the pigmentation is primarily due to genetics or due to smoking.
2. Gingivectomy : when the gums are covering a little too much of the tooth, is the time we consider cutting it and making it look even.
3. Gingivotomy: This procedure is equivalent to gingivectomy where only partial shaping of gums is performed. To achieve smooth texture and make it look uniform and aesthetic.
4. Currettage: when you have gum pockets that are filled with infection the gums are cleaned from within. Then they are stitched back again after the procedure if necessary.
5. Flap surgery: this is performed when your gums need a desperate cleaning and repositioning. The gums are opened ,cleaned and sutured back to the more appropriate preplanned position to make it look aesthetic.
As now your smile is wedding ready, you are good to go and flash your brightest on your special occasion.
We always plan to finish the procedure a few days before the rituals start as our dear brides would get required amount of rest and look happy and fresh on the occasion.
This is how Oyster Dental wishes a happy wedding and congratulations to our patients!