WeLCOMe Blog

When teeth are overlapping or crooked they can be a potential plaque trap and food may get caught between the teeth when eating. Without regular tooth brushing and flossing it can act as a plaque trap with a risk of decay or gum disease. Having straighter teeth reduces the potential of this plaque trap and the teeth are easier to keep clean. There are definite health benefits as well as gaining a beautiful smile.

Yes, brace treatment would most definitely help correct the overbite. Fixed braces work by producing gentle forces to guide the teeth into the correct positions. By moving the teeth into their ideal positions, the overbite can be corrected along with straightening the teeth.

There have been some great advances made in orthodontic treatment as technology has improved. There are braces now available which in some cases can reduce your treatment time than before. The Damon brace system can in some cases reduce your treatment time.

When you suck your thumb or a dummy, the pressure of the thumb can push the upper front teeth forwards, the lower teeth backwards. The cheeks which are moving to suck the dummy/thumb can narrow the upper back teeth, If you try sucking your thumb now, you can easily see how the cheek muscles are moving and where the thumb is positioned in-between the upper & lower front teeth. By having the thumb or dummy there can also prevent the full eruption of the teeth as it acts as a barrier to the eruption of the permanent teeth. While your son only has baby teeth, it is very unlikely to have an effect on the adult teeth, but still extremely important to stop the habit now to ensure the habit doesn’t continue into the permanent teeth. 

The permanent teeth start to come through from around age 6 onwards. And as a parent, the years go by so quickly, he will be 6ys before you know it!

Braces will certainly straighten them out, but whether teeth need removing is very dependent on the severity of the crowding. To straighten teeth, overcrowded or crooked teeth, we need space in which to straighten them. In mild cases, only a small amount of space is needed, and we can find this small amount of space already in the mouth. The braces would then move the teeth into their correct positions.

In slightly more crowded cases, we may need to create a more space in the mouth which can be done by a procedure called interproximal reduction. This does not involve tooth removal, but is gently filing the teeth.

Only in the more severely crowded cases, we need to remove teeth. Damon braces are a brace system called self-ligating braces. The way Damon braces work can sometimes mean that teeth may not need to be removed as Damon braces allow teeth to move more freely. The decision to remove teeth or not can only is assessed after your orthodontic consultation with a specialist orthodontist. A specialist orthodontist is highly trained and competent to make these decisions and carry out a comprehensive assessment.

It sounds like your daughter has a bite where the upper front teeth are positioned slightly further ahead and protruding forward. Correcting this type of bite is a very common reason to have brace treatment. When the upper teeth are protruding forwards, there is also a slightly increased risk of trauma as a child, as the teeth are not protected by the lips and soft tissues. Brace treatment can definitely help to correct the bite. Depending on the severity of the bite, your daughter may need teeth removing or if suitable could have a functional brace treatment.

Lingual braces are fixed braces on the inside surfaces of the teeth. Lingual brace treatment is suitable and effective for many types of teeth straightening. They work the same way as conventional fixed braces but with the big difference of being invisible braces. Lingual braces have opened up the doors for many people to have orthodontic treatment with great results.

You will be bowled over with the number of brace options that are now available for you. Braces have changed considerably over the years. There are now a number of brace options available including invisible braces. You no longer just have metal fixed braces but there are clear transparent brackets called ceramic braces. Ceramic brackets are discrete and tooth-coloured. There are also braces which are fitted on the inner surfaces of the teeth called lingual braces. With lingual braces no-one will know you are wearing braces. Lingual braces are the nearest to wearing invisible braces. Technology has advanced considerably since our childhood. Damon braces have innovative technology allowing longer intervals between appointments and possibly slightly shorter treatment times. If you have a chat with your orthodontist, hopefully you will be happily taken aback with the number of brace options which would be suitable for you.

Invisible braces these days can achieve ‘invisible’ status. Lingual braces are braces fitted on the inner surfaces of the teeth and no-one need know that you are wearing braces. There is no risk of anyone seeing any ‘spinach stuck in your braces’, because the brackets are all on the inside of your teeth. The only obvious feature which will definitely be noticed is your smile.

Yes, the Invisalign trays are quite sturdy and robust. They are able to withstand the average forces in the mouth. One of the great things about Invisalign is that you can remove them for eating which I hope will allay your concerns of shattering in the mouth. And additionally being able to remove the Invisalign aligners, the good news of not having to make any changes to your diet, there are no specific foods to avoid.