Dental Braces
Dental Braces in Fort McMurray
If your smile’s alignment is in need of adjustment, your dentist may suggest that you consider braces. Mild or moderate adjustments may be achieved by using Invisalign®, but this treatment may not be appropriate if the patient is young, has a nighttime grinding habit, or has complex alignment issues.
Ask about the options you have concerning braces at our dental office in Fort McMurray. We offer braces that are miniaturized and reduce the amount of irritation to your lips and cheeks. Their reduced size allows for patients to maintain good oral hygiene because they are easier to clean. We also offer clear brackets as an alternative method for braces.
Steps To Getting Your Braces
Step 1. First Consultation
Come see Dr. Tran and his assistants for a consultation to see which option will work best for you.
Step 2. Ortho Records Appointment
In order to make a treatment plan and to predetermine the cost of your braces by your insurance company, we need a little more information. The second appointment is your ortho records appointment. We will do pictures, X-rays, and a 3D scan of your teeth for Dr. Tran.
Step 3. Second Consultation
The last appointment before your braces are placed is your second consultation when we will go over the financial aspects of your braces. We will be able to answer all your questions and get you booked in to have them installed!
How Do Braces Work?
Braces use your body’s natural capacity to adapt to pressure in order to coax teeth into their correct placement. When continuous pressure is applied on one side of the tooth using a bracket and arch wire, bone tissue that forms your tooth’s socket begins to erode on one side. As the tissue erodes, the tooth moves with the direction of pressure and as the tooth moves, your body fills in the space in its wake to keep the tooth stable. With adjustments, pressure is increased to encourage a smooth progression into alignment.
Adjustment Discomfort
As your teeth are put under more pressure with an adjustment, you may find that your teeth and gums feel sore for a few days while they adjust. This can be managed with over-the-counter painkillers or anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen. If you find that your brackets are irritating your cheek, place a wad of dental wax over the offending bracket to stop the rubbing or scratching.
Caring for Teeth with Braces
Once your braces have been installed, it will be important to spend time getting to know the best way to clean them. This can take a couple of days, but most patients develop a routine quite quickly. This is important because now that you have an arch wire and brackets cemented onto your teeth, you’ll need to get to know how to brush and floss around the hardware effectively.
Brushing and flossing routines should be strictly maintained when wearing braces, since increasing the amount of surface area in your mouth by adding hardware allows many more nooks in which bacteria can hide. Brushing should be done a minimum of twice daily and flossing a minimum of once, though we recommend brushing and flossing after each meal to decrease the potential for bacteria and debris to attack the teeth.
Flossing is easily accomplished using a floss threader, which can be purchased at your local drugstore. The threader is more rigid than the floss and allows the floss to be passed behind the arch wire to facilitate flossing.
Eating with Braces
Braces will not only make your teeth harder to clean, but the process will require changes to your diet until they are removed. This is because brackets are mounted to each tooth independently and can be broken away from the tooth when eating hard, crunchy or sticky foods. You will want to avoid snacks like popcorn, since the kernels are easily caught in the braces, and avoid biting into crunchy fruits and vegetables like apples or carrots. Sticky sweets can dislodge your appliance – but it also gets stuck in the nooks and crannies of the braces. This increases the mouth’s exposure to acids produced by the sugar and increases risk of tooth discolouration, tartar, plaque, and decay. Sweets like chocolate melt easily in the mouth and are more easily washed away.
Try to avoid consuming too many pigmented drinks, since these pigments can transfer to your teeth and discolour them unevenly. When brackets are removed, the area beneath them could be a lighter shade than the rest.
Undergoing orthodontic treatment can seem like an imposition, but it isn’t forever. The steps you take today to ensure that your food and hygiene regimen remain on par with the requirements means that your teeth will be healthy and less discoloured when braces are removed. Your straight, beautiful smile awaits!
If you have questions about this or other services offered by our general dentist, contact our clinic today.
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