A Parent’s Guide to Emergency Dental Care

Posted on: 23 November 2015

Dental braces are orthodontic appliances placed on teeth to correct defective tooth alignment or bite. Dental braces consist of small brackets that are cemented onto individual teeth and then wired together to pull teeth into proper position. Some dental braces also use elastic ligatures under the brackets to chain them together. Coiled springs can also be inserted on the connecting wires between teeth for added correction. 

Dental conditions corrected by braces include

• Crooked Teeth: Teeth that are not aligned horizontally next to each other can be drawn into position by braces. 
• Crowded Teeth: Teeth that overlap each other can be realigned to sit in a straight line by the use of braces. 
• Widely-Spaced Teeth: Teeth that have wide spaces between them can be corrected with braces.  
• Deep Bite: Upper teeth that excessively overlap lower teeth can be corrected with braces. 
• Cross Bite: Upper teeth that criss-cross lower teeth in a haphazard alignment can be positioned correctly with braces.
• Open Bite: Upper teeth that do not overlap bottom teeth at all can be realigned with braces. 

Types of Dental Braces

To realign and correct a patient's teeth, different types of braces are personalized for each individual patient. The most effective dental braces in current use are as follows:

• Metal Braces: Metal braces made of stainless steel or an alloy of nickel and titanium are the most commonly used dental braces. These braces are cemented onto the outer surface of a patient's teeth.The brackets of the metal braces are then connected to each other by a thin gauge wire that straightens the teeth. 

• Ceramic Braces: Ceramic braces are often used to realign a patient's teeth. The ceramic brackets are made of a translucent material that is perfectly matched to the color of a patient's teeth. This makes ceramic braces almost invisible. Ceramic braces are easy to wear because they blend in so well with a patient's natural teeth. 

• Invisible Braces: Invisible braces are a series of removable plastic trays that are worn by a patient. As a patient's teeth slowly move into alignment, a new removable plastic tray is made to progressively reshape the teeth and continue the correction. Invisible braces are not worn while a patient is eating or brushing their teeth. These braces are hardly noticeable when being worn. 

• Lingual Braces: Lingual braces are mounted behind a patient's teeth so they are virtually invisible. Lingual braces are made out of stainless steel or an alloy of nickel and titanium. Because they are placed on the back of a patient's teeth, lingual braces come into frequent contact with a patient's tongue and may be cumbersome to wear until a patient gets used to them.

All dental braces need to be continually adjusted by an orthodontist as a patient's teeth are moved into correct alignment. In between dental visits, small rubber bands are used to put additional pressure on the tooth correction. All in all, dental braces are a very effective means of straightening and correcting a patient's misaligned teeth or bite.  For more information, talk to professional like Clark Family Dentistry.