Tin Grins Are In

October marks the celebration of National Orthodontics month. With this in mind I thought I should discuss where advancements have led orthodontics today.

Not too long ago straightening teeth meant discomfort; both physically and socially. With scientific advancement making these procedures faster and less painful and new high tech color choices making it more fun; these days braces are "in".

Both improved orthodontic materials and increased use of functional appliances have children spending less and less time wearing braces. The average time in braces now is about 18 to 24 months rather than two to three years.

Dentistry has found that by intervening at a younger age and having children wear functional appliances when problems begin they are able to offset future problems.

When the orthodontic procedure is begun it is now done with smaller, smoother brackets than in the past. In addition, these are now applied directly to the teeth instead of first being attached to metal rings. This adds up to both increased comfort and ease of cleaning.

New wires also add to increased comfort. To create the forces that actually move teeth an "archwire" is threaded into the brackets from molar to molar. In the past this archwire would bend as the teeth moved, creating gaps between the wire and the teeth that would require readjustments. These adjustments were both frequent and painful.

The wires used today are made up of metals such as nickel titanium that demonstrate "memory" and will spring back to their original shape as the patients teeth move.

Ligature ties attach the wires to the brackets and rubber bands are utilized when extra pressure is needed to help the wires move teeth. Today the ties and rubber bands are available in a rainbow of colors. Children can sport their school colors, choose orange and black for Halloween or switch to fluorescent colors for a special occasion. Ligature ties and rubber bands are changed at every visit so this does not increase the price. In addition retainers can now be custom designed to suit the wearers, individual taste.

Computers are also advancing orthodontics. We can now feed the patients skull and full mouth x-rays along with a picture of the mouth into a computer data base to analyze current as well as potential problems allowing for more efficient diagnosis and treatment.