Orthodontics
A beautiful, straight smile is a great goal, but many people are not born with this type of aesthetic. Orthodontic treatment is a common way to achieve a straight smile, and it can also help with alignment issues that hurt your bite and damage your jaw. Florida Smiles Dental works to provide all treatment options under one roof, and that includes quality orthodontics in Ft. Lauderdale. We treat people of all ages who need braces and aligners, so you can have your kids see us while you also get your own orthodontic work done.
What Is Orthodontic Care?
Orthodontics is a specialized branch of dental care that focuses on aligning the teeth for a proper bite, a beautiful smile, and good jaw health. It involves the use of braces, aligners, and retainers to restore the look and alignment of the teeth. Modern orthodontic treatment, which uses 3D imaging to plan treatment, makes this process quite precise and effective.
When Should You Consider Orthodontic Care?
Orthodontics is for people of all ages, but the teeth often move more quickly and cause fewer complications with the mouth and jaw if you get treatment in childhood and adolescence. Today, we recommend children get evaluated for orthodontics in lower elementary school. While not all will need treatment, this gives us a chance to look for issues, such as crowding or bite concerns, that could impact the adult teeth, and create a treatment plan that avoids these concerns.
Conditions We Treat with Orthodontic Care
You may be thinking about orthodontic care for aesthetic issues, and this is one area we can improve with help from our orthodontists, but it is just one. At Florida Smiles Dental, we use orthodontic treatment to assist with:
- Jaw pain and TMJ disorder
- Misaligned bites
- Overbites
- Underbites
- Tooth crowding
- Tooth impaction
- Rotation of the teeth
If you struggle with any of these common conditions, rest assured you are not alone. Help is available with our orthodontic team.
Orthodontic Care for Children and Teens
Based on the most recent guidance from the American Association of Orthodontists, we recommend a first visit to the orthodontist by age seven. Sometimes, young children will need braces or expanders this early to help their adult teeth grow properly. This early treatment can reduce the risk of complications, such as late erupting adult teeth or TMJ disorder. Severe misalignment, known as malocclusion, can even reduce the lifespan of the child’s adult teeth if left untreated.
Whether we start in childhood or when the child has become a teen, our team will focus on creating a positive experience for all of our young orthodontic patients. We have a number of treatment options that can create excellent results for your child. For teens, clear aligners may be an option, though many prefer to stick with traditional metal braces.
For kids who are in braces, good oral care during treatment is vital. If they do not brush or floss well, they can develop cavities or stain their adult teeth. We often ask parents to partner with us to help children protect their teeth during their braces treatment. We also work closely with our pediatric dental team to ensure the teeth stay as clean as possible while they are in braces.
Orthodontic Care for Adults
A growing number of adults are choosing orthodontics to improve their smile and their bite. Today, around 20% of all patients are over the age of 18. Adult patients may find that their treatment takes a bit longer since they are no longer growing, and structural changes involving the jaw and soft palate are no longer possible, but older patients can still get excellent results from their orthodontic care. For most adults, we do recommend periodontal evaluations before starting orthodontic care to reduce the risk of any complications from gum disease. We also highly recommend regular cleanings and good oral health at home if you are going to have braces, as the risk for cavities and staining is true for adults just as it is for kids.
Our Treatment Options
At Florida Smiles Dental, we use the latest innovations to provide top-notch orthodontic care to our patients. For many, this will be traditional metal braces, but even with braces, we have a variety of devices that can improve results or speed up treatment. We also offer more aesthetically pleasing options like ceramic brackets that provide similar results.
In addition, we are pleased to be a Platinum Invisalign Provider. This treatment option uses clear aligners to treat most orthodontic concerns in a nearly invisible way. We can even combine Invisalign with specialty devices that can move the jaw or expand the palate without the need for traditional braces. This treatment is popular with adults who do not want the look of braces but want the positive results of orthodontic care.
How Long Does Orthodontic Treatment Take?
The amount of time you will need to be in braces or aligners depends on the severity of your alignment issues, and no two treatment plans are identical. Some can be as short as a few months to a year, while others can take three years or longer to complete. We create personal treatment plans for every patient we see, so you can rest assured the treatment plan we suggest will be based on your mouth’s precise needs. After finishing treatment, you can expect to have post-orthodontic care for at least a year, sometimes longer.
Caring for Your New Smile
After you are done with orthodontic treatment, your visits with us are not over. Post-orthodontic care is vital to protecting all of the work you have put into your teeth. Teeth have memory, which means they can return to their original position if you just remove the braces and move on.
To help protect against this, we use retainers to keep the teeth in the new position after braces time. You will not need to use a retainer forever, but you do need to use it for a period of time while your mouth settles into the new position for your teeth. Our orthodontic team will follow your progress closely to determine when you can safely stop using the retainers.
What to Do in an Orthodontic Emergency
At Florida Smiles Dental, we offer emergency care for our patients. If something on your braces breaks or loosens, you corthodontic an call us for a quick appointment to get it fixed. Our orthodontists may also be able to help people who have trauma injuries to the mouth, though sometimes these require the help of an oral surgeon if they are severe. If you think you may need an emergency orthodontic appointment, don’t hesitate to give us a call.
Schedule Your Orthodontic Evaluation Today
If you have crooked, crowded, or misaligned teeth, orthodontic treatment could be the right solution. All it takes is one phone call to Florida Smiles Dental to see if you are a good candidate. Our team will carefully evaluate your teeth and bite and provide a quote for orthodontic treatment. In many cases, this is covered by insurance, so you have nothing to lose and a beautiful smile to gain. It all starts with one call for your free consultation, so schedule today.
