ORTHODONTICS

Orthodontics is a field of science concerning the repair of crooked teeth and incompatibilities between the teeth, jaw and face.

Orthodontists enable our jaw and teeth to situate in the proper position and place. Correcting crooked teeth provides an important esthetic appearance and also contributes to mouth and teeth health.

How Do Teeth Move During Orthodontic Treatment?
A force is applied on teeth with braces and appliances. A movement is formed in the direction of the force. A temporary bone tissue loss is achieved in front of the mobile tooth, and new bone tissue formation at the opposite end of the movement. Thus teeth take their new places and are placed in a new bone socket.

Orthodontics In Adults

There is no age limit for orthodontics treatment. Everyone who has healthy bone tissue surrounding their teeth can have the treatment. Braces are now made out of porcelain in the color of the teeth. No one can easily notice your braces. Treatment can last from 3 to 30 months varying according to the patients problem and age.

Why Orthodontics?
It is harder to enable mouth hygiene with crooked teeth that is why gum diseases and tooth decays develop easier.

With disarranged joint relationship and crooked teeth chewing cannot be totally achieved and several problems begin.

Maladjusted upper and lower teeth put too much pressure on the jaw or a single tooth causing painful and problems difficult to treat.

With cosmetic treatment unbelievable changes can be reached in some cases.

Braces are one of the best choices to fix your smile and regain your health.

Treatment
Fixed Orthodontic Appliances
It is a treatment in which braces are pasted on the teeth. The braces may be metal or porcelain. Porcelain braces that are the same color as the teeth cause no cosmetic discomfort.

Removable Orthodontic Appliances
These are appliances the patient can place and remove on their own. They are used in simpler cases.

Jaw Orthopedics
It is a field of orthodontics aiming to correct the relationship between upper and lower jaws with special appliances placed on the face at younger ages. Usually orthopedic treatment (to fix the harmony of the jaw) and orthodontic treatment (the closing compatibility of the teeth is provided) are performed together.

Orthognathic Surgery
In situations which cannot be fixed with orthodontic or orthopedic treatment orthognathic surgery is used. The disorders in the jaw and face can be from birth or develop later due to accidents or diseases. The incompatibility of the jaws with one another or the face causes both cosmetic and functional problems. It is possible to correct these disorders with new high technology and surgical techniques.

Invisalign
In some simple cases crooked teeth can be corrected with the use of a transparent cast. These casts need to be used 20 hours a day and changed twice a week. Each treatment requires 60 pairs (upper-lower jaw) of correcting casts. The treatment period is close to that with braces. It varies between 6-24 months according to the case.

The Reasons Of Orthodontic Problems
Nutritional Disorders
People who do not eat well enough experience shrinking in the volume of their face and jaw structure which in turn narrows the area causing crookedness, rotations and buried teeth.

Mouth Breathing
Chronic infections and similar reasons when prolonged can cause excess tonsil growth. In such conditions the airway narrows and breathing difficulty arises. In order to overcome this difficulty the person feels the need to situate their lower jaw or tongue frontward. If this situation goes on for a long period the lower jaw will locate anteriorly. The person's tongue will come between their teeth and cause problems. If the patients cannot breathe from their nose this can cause a negative effect on their upper jaw.

Thumb Sucking
A newborn has a highly evolved sucking mechanism. A baby with a non satisfied sucking reflex gains some habits in order to meet this need. In babies who breastfeed for 9-18 months this isn't generally seen. Research carried out shows that finger sucking develops as a result of hunger in the first five weeks of life. While the teeth our first emerging finger sucking helps the pain due to local irritation and is useful. Finger sucking decreases as the child grows.

Reasons of finger sucking:

• Sudden detachment from mothers breath or bottle
• To shorten the period of breast feeding
• Breast feeding the baby in long periods.

No precautions are taken for finger sucking in the early period. Preventing the habit at this stage is harmful because it will affect the child's physiology.

There is no exact age for treatment. The best time is different for every child. The extent of the habit or the child's past can affect the timing. Generally if this habit is going on after 3.5 years treatment should be initiated.

If the child keeps this habit up he/she will have teeth placement and jaw closing irregularities.

Pacifiers
A pacifier of high quality can be used up to 1.5 years. It also may prevent the child from taking on a thumbsucking habit. When pacifiers are used for a long time they will cause abnormal effects on the tissues they compress.

Sleeping Stature
Our sleeping stature usually determines the position of our lower jaw during sleep. This gives us information about the position of the lower jaw for an average of 8 hours a day. For example the position of the lower jaw in a child laying facedown and a child laying face up is different. People who always sleep on the same side and put their hand or fist under the pillow may have orthodontics problems due to continuous pressure on that side.

Other Reasons:

• Teeth grinding, nail biting, pencil biting, lip biting habits
• Early loss of baby teeth
• Teeth irregularities due to gingival problems
• Irregularities due to teeth loss
• Irregularities due to wisdom teeth crowding the front teeth
• Genetic tendency
• Hormonal irregularities, systemic diseases

Things You Have To Be Careful During Your Orthodontics Treatment

• Braces enable food and bacteria to accumulate easily. Mouth hygiene is very important.
• You need to use a medium soft tooth brush. Special orthodontics brushes can be used.
• Superfloss dental flossing is important in ensuring total mouth hygiene.
• Another material providing help for your mouth hygiene is an interdental brush.
• Also mouth wash can be used as an aid but remember that they cannot replace brushing or flossing.
• Hard foods such as apples, carrots shouldn't be bitten into but cut and eaten. They can cause the braces to brake.
• Your must avoid shelled and hard foods because they can break the braces.
• Sticky foods such as caramel cause decay and braking of the braces. In this period your routine controls are very important for your dental health.