What Is The Difference Between Premolars and Molars?
As adults we might not fully remember the process of how we lost all of our teeth and had them replaced with our adult teeth. While
November 27, 2023
One of the many issues we might with our smile are orthodontic problems. Gaps between teeth, crooked teeth, or crowded teeth, can have both cosmetic and functional issues for patients. For example, if your teeth are crooked or misaligned, it could lead to bite problems that can cause issues with your jaw over time. Additionally, many patients are unhappy with crowded teeth or gaps between their teeth. A traditional orthodontic approach to handling alignment issues is with metal braces. Both teens and adults have expressed a variety of grievances with traditional braces. They can hurt, they limit what you can eat, they don’t look great, and they make it hard to brush and floss. By contrast, removable, clear, aligners are a great option for orthodontic procedures. In this article we will cover a variety of questions frequently asked about aligners. If you are looking to get aligners for you or a member of your family and you live in Boston, Revere, Lynn, or the surrounding towns, we would be happy to make an appointment for you.
Aligners work similarly to traditional braces. They use tension to pull teeth into new positions. Traditional braces are tightened at regular intervals to increase the tension. With aligners, each set of aligners exists to move your teeth partially towards the final positions. The final set of aligners probably wouldn’t fit on your teeth when you start the process. Unless you are handling a minor straightening project, you will go through multiple sets over a period of time. Each set will move your teeth a little bit of the way towards your completed treatment. This process can cause some soreness or dental discomfort, similar to traditional braces. However, aligners are removable which means you don’t have to worry about breaking them while eating or the challenge of brushing and flossing around them.
Aligners are different from traditional braces in a few ways. Unfortunately, traditional braces might be the best choice for more complex movement. If your teeth are very crowded or you have a pronounced over or underbite, traditional braces might be the best choice. But for fixing gaps or misalignment or even crowding, removable aligners can often get the job done. That being said, the speed at which they work is dependent on a few factors. In some cases traditional braces might be quicker than aligners, but one thing that really effects the aligner treatment process is adherence. Traditional braces cannot be removed by the patient, aligners can. If aligners are not used for the recommended 22-23 hours per day, this can lead to the process slowing down.
Aligners, like traditional braces, do not provide permanent solutions for tooth alignment. Unfortunately, our teeth can shift as we age, and are always capable of shifting back into place. Dentists or orthodontists will recommend different solutions to keep your teeth in place. One example are retainers that you wear at night to prevent your teeth from shifting. Another option is a permanent retainer like a metal bar that can be bonded behind your teeth to handle a row of teeth that are more likely to shift. For example, the bottom front teeth can often shift the most so a permanent retainer might be added to them.
If you are interested in aligners for yourself or a member of your family, please give us a call. We provide aligners at our location in Revere. We also use an intraoral digital scanner to easily scan your teeth and make your aligners. Instead of the traditional molds, this requires no molding material so you can have your teeth easily and quickly scanned and get your aligners quicker as well. For more information give us a call or send us a mesage.
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