Learn More About Orthodontics
Orthodontics corrects your teeth and jaws if they are positioned improperly. Crooked teeth and teeth that do not fit together properly can affect your appearance and are harder to keep clean, which can lead to early tooth loss due to tooth decay and periodontal disease. Additionally, crooked teeth can cause added stress on the chewing muscles that can lead to headaches, TMJ syndrome and neck, shoulder and back pain.
Orthodontic treatment can give you a healthier mouth, a more pleasing appearance, and teeth that are more likely to last a lifetime.
Reasons to Opt for Orthodontic Treatment
After an evaluation from the friendly, knowledgeable staff at Safari Dental, we can determine whether you can benefit from orthodontics.
Based on our diagnostics, including a full medical and dental health history, a clinical exam, plaster models of your teeth, and X-rays and photographs, we can decide whether orthodontics are right for you, then develop a personalized treatment plan.
Some common reasons for orthodontic treatment include:
- Overjet: A condition where the upper front teeth stick out too far over the lower teeth
- Underbite: Where the lower teeth stick out too far forward or the upper teeth are too far back in the mouth
- Crossbite: When biting, the upper teeth do not come down slightly in front of the lower teeth properly
- Open bite: A space exists between the biting surfaces of the front and/or side teeth when the back teeth bite together
- Misplaced midline: When the center of your upper front teeth doesn't line up exactly with the center of your lower front teeth
- Spacing: Gaps or spaces between the teeth are caused by missing teeth or teeth that do not fill up the mouth.
- Crowding: There are too many teeth in the mouth to be accommodated by the dental ridge
Read More About How Orthodontic Treatment Works
Both fixed appliances such as traditional braces, and removable aligners like Invisalign®, are used to gradually help move your teeth, retrain your muscles and affect the growth of your jaws. These appliances place constant, gentle pressure on the teeth and jaws. The type of orthodontic appliance depends on the severity of your condition.
Through years of experience in orthodontic treatment, and thousands of successful smiles, Dr. Menser can effectively determine which options will work best to bring you the smile you dream of. Call our friendly staff today to schedule your FREE orthodontic consultation. Same-day and walk-in appointments are also available.
Get the Perfect Smile With Braces
Braces are the most common fixed appliances and consist of bands, wires and/or brackets. The bands are fixed around your back teeth and used as anchors, while brackets are commonly bonded to the front of your teeth via a durable orthodontic adhesive. Arch wires are then passed through the brackets and attached to the bands.
The arch wire puts tension on the teeth, thus gradually, gently moving them to their correct position. At Safari Dental, we usually adjust your braces every 6 weeks to give you the desired results. Depending on your goals, this may be achieved within a few months to a few years.
Today's braces are smaller, lighter and show far less metal than they used to. They're also available in bright colors for kids as well as clear styles, which are preferred by many adults.
Today’s modern advances in orthodontic sciences have also brought about a wide new set of options for bracket technologies. The options available to the orthodontic patient are vastly more comfortable and work significantly faster for most patients than the forms of braces originally in service.
After in-depth research on the bracket systems available to him, Dr. Menser chose the Tip-Edge Plus® bracket as his tool to bring about the smiles his patients desired. Using light constant pressure vs. abrupt heavy, as well as making movements that work with the body’s natural growth and movement tendencies, Tip-Edge Plus® brackets bring a beautiful result for our patients in less time and a more comfortable experience.