DENTAL BRACES

                Great advances have been made in the design and placement of braces. It was only a few years ago that each tooth that was to be straightened had to have a full metal band around it. The band was so large that it extended down underneath the gum all the way around the tooth.  This made the tooth ugly and it irritated the gums around the tooth terribly. Placement of the bands took an extraordinary amount of time and was very difficult on the poor patient.

                Now dentistry has small brackets made of metal or porcelain that can be bonded to the tooth quickly and easily. The bracket serves the same function as the band but it is much smaller and comfortable. It does not touch that gum so it can be cleaned easily and there is no irritation.

                Many parts of the braces are made in brilliant colors. The rubber band and rings can be color coordinated with a child’s earrings or contact lenses. Retainers can be striped like a tiger or luminescent so that it will glow in the dark.

                The best age to begin braces is twelve years old. Sometimes it is best to catch serious problems earlier than that. If your child has any permanent teeth, it is best to have his teeth check by your dentist to see if braces are going to be indicated. If the child is not old enough to tell, then your dentist will tell you a time that will be appropriate to see better if the child will need braces.

                More and more adults are turning to braces to improve their dental health. Improvement in the appearance of the teeth is only one of the reasons for braces. Crooked teeth are difficult to clean properly. Gum disease will attack crooked teeth and destroy the bone from around them if the teeth can’t be cleaned. Braces straighten out the teeth making it easier to clean them and thus preventing the ravages of gum disease. 

                Braces are used to treat joint disease of the jaws called TMJ or tempero-mandibular joint disease. This is a disease that most normally is caused because of the poor arrangement of the teeth. For many people, a bad bite will cause joint disease. TMJ is a terrible condition to endure. If it progresses into the later stages, surgery may be required to relieve the pain. It is much better, easier and cheaper to treat the disease with braces before the joint is irreparably damaged.

                All of the above reasons are excellent reasons for turning to braces. But there is a much more important reason. If a child has to bear the jeers and ridicule for having crooked teeth, it could embarrass the child enough to change his personality. Instead of a confident, self-assured successful college graduate, the parents could be faced with a with-drawn, shaggy, high school drop-out couch potato on drugs. So if money for the braces is a concern, spend the money for braces now or for drugs later. Just kidding.

                We all would love a beautiful smile. Children need all the help in the world to make it through the formative years. White, straight teeth will assure them all the advantages that they deserve for succeeding in life. What may appear to us as a nuisance could be a devastating deformity to a child. 

Bless you, 

Larry W. Cox DMD