Yara Zakharia, Esq.
Each year, more than 70% of Americans pay at least one visit to a dentist or dental clinic. Many of them are eventually referred to an orthodontist, a dental specialist, whose practice focuses primarily on correcting irregularities in teeth such as misaligned jaws and teeth, enhancing or restoring dental function and oral health, and beautifying a client's facial appearance and profile.
Orthodontists enable patients to have straighter, whiter teeth, eat with greater facility, speak in a more natural manner, become free of dental impairment, and feel more confident about their smile. Through orthodontic care, individuals can achieve an aesthetic and functional profile and jawbones as well as facial symmetry. By improving their health and look, many patients experience a significant boost in their self-confidence.
Orthodontist Procedures
The task of an orthodontist is to examine, diagnose, prevent, and treat oral cavity abnormalities in an individual's jaws, bite, and teeth. This dental professional performs corrections on a wide variety of dental problems including the following:
- Cleft palates
- Crowded or crooked teeth (thus preventing tooth loss, gingivitis, and tooth decay)
- Dental malocclusions or bad bites (i.e. underbites, overbites)
- Gaps between teeth
- Impacted teeth
- Jaw disorders such as improper jaw position and temporomandibular joint (TMJ)
- Misaligned teeth
- Overlapping teeth
- Protruding teeth
- Skeletal and dental imbalance
- Unerupted teeth
More specifically, orthodontists identify the cause of a patient's jaw pain and muscle soreness, and when necessary, rectify any resulting structural damage by recommending and/or inserting a device to protect the patient's teeth and aid in muscle relaxation. Through a combination of jaw surgery and orthodontic care, an adult patient's insufficiently-grown jaws can be repaired. An orthodontist can help individuals with misaligned or protruding teeth to fix speech impediments.
The vast majority of orthodontists perform numerous cosmetic dentistry procedures including the following:
Dental veneers are added to teeth that are worn, crowded, excessively short, discolored or stained, chipped, or have gaps, they apply a porcelain veneer to correct the damage.
Patients with teeth that are improperly spaced, crooked, or rotated can have them corrected via braces. An orthodontist properly aligns a client's jaws, lips, and teeth, thus improving the functioning of his or her facial structure and balancing it. Braces and retainers not only reposition and straighten teeth but improve a patient's bite, chewing comfort, and smile.
In this cosmetic dentistry option, an orthodontist fills in damaged portions of a patient's teeth, chips, and cracks, leaving them with a youthful, healthy-looking mouth and smile.
Orthodontists also offer their clients professional teeth bleaching that brightens their teeth and reverses signs of aging, as well as stains due to coffee, tea, colas, and cigarettes. The teeth whitening procedure may be done entirely or partly at the dental clinic. Clients may request that their orthodontist create customized whitening trays that they can use at home at their leisure.
Patients with old, worn-out metallic fillings may opt for tooth-colored fillings that match the natural shade of their tooth enamel.
Orthodontists perform dental implants for patients needing a replacement of one or more missing teeth.
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Design and Installation of Realignment Appliances
Orthodontists also create and install corrective devices to realign patients' jaws and teeth for purposes of enhancing their appearance and assuring their proper function.
At the initial consultation, the client undergoes a complete examination of his or her teeth, speech patterns, muscular functions, profile, facial appearance, temporomandibular jaw, breathing passages, and other structures is conducted.
Prospective clients seeking a qualified and skilled orthodontist should consider the following tips:
- Obtaining recommendations from their family dentist
- Asking their friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors for referrals
- Verifying that the orthodontist selected belongs to the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO), which holds its licensed members to high ethical standards and rigorous training
- Finding out the number of years an orthodontist has been in practice and the extent of his or her experience
- Requesting a recommendation from the orthodontics department of a local dental school
- Researching whether the orthodontist utilizes advanced, state-of-the-art cosmetic dentistry techniques and is proficient in the latest technology such as invisible braces, lingual braces, Invisalign aligners, laser for removal of gum tissue, and short-term mini-implants
- Ensuring that the orthodontist is genuinely interested in their situation, readily answers their questions, and is someone with whom they feel comfortable and trust
Orthodontists normally charge an amount that corresponds to the length of treatment, the method utilized, and its complexity.
[page updated December 2008]