- The Importance of Orthodontic Treatment
- What Makes Our Office Special?
- The Benefits of Orthodontics
- The Skills of the Orthodontist
- The Cost of Orthodontic Treatment
- Relieving Discomfort
- When Should Treatment Begin?
- Advantages of Early Treatment
- Adult Orthodontic Treatment
- How Orthodontic Treatment is Accomplished
- The Importance of Cooperation
- Time Required for Orthodontic Treatment
The goals of orthodontic treatment are to provide the patient with both a beautiful and healthy smile. Crooked and crowded teeth are hard to properly clean and maintain. This in turn can contribute to dental decay and/or gum disease. Irregularities in the bite can cause excessive wear of the teeth, excess stress on the supporting bone and/or the joints of the jaw (TMJ). When these problems are left untreated, many can become worse.
An attractive, or beautiful smile is also very important. A pleasing appearance of the teeth and face is a vital asset to one's self-confidence and self-esteem. In this way, orthodontic treatment can benefit social and career success as well as improve one's general attitude toward life.
What Makes Our Office Special?
We provide a caring, friendly staff that strives to stay on time for appointments, and remove braces at scheduled treatment times. We have an up to date facility that provides the latest in high technology, including silver, gold, clear and colored braces. We also offer video games for patients entertainment. The new temperature sensitive gentle wires that allow the patient to control the amount of pressure applied. We have before and after school appointments, accept all insurance plans, and provide flexible payment plans. We believe that orthodontic treatment should be a rewarding experience, that enhances one's self esteem and is remember and cherished for a lifetime. Our goal is to provide the highest quality experience, and provide optional dental health. We know that your care in our office will provide a valuable, lasting result.
Orthodontics involves the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of dental and facial irregularities. Malocclusions (crooked teeth) can cause tooth decay, loss of teeth, diseased gums, bone destruction and TMJ or joint problems. Beyond the physical problems, there can be harmful psychological or emotional consequences, which may influence a person's social and vocational goals.
The Skills of The Orthodontist
The orthodontist is a qualified professional with at least two years of advanced education beyond dental school. Orthodontics takes specialized training in the treatment of irregular teeth and improvement of the facial appearance. With this specialized education and experience, the orthodontist is prepared to prescribe a detailed program of corrective treatment for the healthy growth and development of the teeth and face. Membership in the American Association of Orthodontic and the American Board of Orthodontics assures that an orthodontist has met exacting standards of training education and experience.
The Cost of Orthodontic Treatment
The actual cost of orthodontic treatment varies widely with the severity of the problems, type of braces or appliances used, and the length of time required to correct the problems. It is impossible to accurately give a fee for one's orthodontic treatment without first examining the patient and evaluating the orthodontic problems. Several financial options are usually available to the orthodontic patient. These typically range from plans with a down payment and monthly, quarterly, semiannual or annual payments, to a no down payment option with regular installments. Usually available is a discount if full payments for the treatment, is paid in advance. Visa, MasterCard are accepted. Fees and a monthly payment schedule will be discussed with you in detail during your first examination appointment. Orthodontic insurance is becoming more popular in many company's benefits packages. This insurance is typically an addition to general dental insurance and typically has a lifetime maximum benefit and a restrictive age limit. If your company does not offer orthodontic insurance, you may want to request the personnel department to consider adding it. This insurance has helped many people offset the cost of treatment. If you have orthodontic insurance, Dr. Cramer's office will process all the forms for you. Payment can be made directly to Dr. Cramer's office from companies who participate, including Delta and Blue Cross.
Recent innovations have reduced the amount of discomfort during treatment. There may be minor discomfort during the first few days after the appliances are placed, as well as following adjustments. Serious discomfort is not normal, however, and should be reported to us at any time. For unusual pain or other unexpected occurrences please feel free to call our office. Problems can often be handled over the phone; occasionally they require a special trip to the office. Every attempt will be made to resolve your situation quickly.
Since each individual's problems are unique, it is difficult to establish a time when orthodontic problems should be addressed. For this reason, the recommends that every Childs first visit an orthodontist by age seven or earlier if an orthodontic problem is detected by the family dentist, physician, or family member. This may surprise many due to the usual association of orthodontic treatment with adolescence. An early evaluation allows Dr. Cramer to determine the nature of the child's orthodontic problems and suggest the best time to address any problems to maximize the improvement in the least amount of time and with lowest expense. In many patients, early treatment gives Dr. Cramer the chance to correct problems that might not easily be correctable after growth of the face and jaws have ceased.
Early intervention, which takes advantage of facial growth and tooth eruption, can lessen the severity of a problem, and it frequently makes the completion of treatment at a later age less time-consuming and less expensive. Interceptive treatment may be beneficial in:
|
|
More than 25 percent of all orthodontic patients are adults. Teeth are still movable in the adult population because the biological process allowing tooth movement is the same as in children. There are a few differences in adult and children's orthodontic treatment, mainly the lack of growth in adults inhibiting some of the corrections possible in children. If the adult patient's problems are largely due to a discrepancy in the jaws, a combined approach including orthodontics and orthognathic "jaw" surgery is possible. This treatment option can achieve very dramatic improvements in the appearance of the face and function of the jaws and teeth. Orthodontic treatment for adults is often indicated to aid in treatment planned by one's general dentist. This combined approach is often best when teeth are missing or mal-shaped, and are planned to be replaced, or restored with crowns, bridges, or implants. The orthodontic treatment designed to properly reposition the teeth adjacent to the missing tooth site so that an ideal sized and shaped replacement tooth can be fabricated. Also, teeth that are overlapped and crowded can be straightened, so that better access for cleaning can be achieved. Another important factor in the adult patient is the continual maintenance of the health of the gums and bone that support the teeth. It is sometimes necessary that the adult patient see their dentist or a periodontist more frequently, if the health of the gums or supporting bone is less than ideal.
How Orthodontic Treatment Is Accomplished
Treatment is typically accomplished with "braces" (brackets and wires attached to the teeth) and/or custom made appliances designed to accomplish a specific goal. The braces may be made of metal, ceramic or plastic. Most are bonded (glued) to the outside surface of the teeth, however, there are braces designed to be placed on the inside surfaces of the teeth (lingual braces). The custom made appliances may be removable or fixed (cemented and/or bonded). All orthodontic appliances are designed to apply gentle pressure to the teeth resulting in movement into their proper positions. Orthodontic appliances have significantly improved in function and design over the years. Using technology from the space industry, orthodontic wires are now capable of providing more gentle forces over a longer period of time. This often translates into a decreased frequency of office visits, reduction in overall treatment time and a decrease in the discomfort of wearing braces. Now, wires are available which are temperature sensitive which dramatically decreases the discomfort when the braces are initially placed. When the wires are cold, they act much like spaghetti. When they warm up to the temperature of the mouth, they apply gentle pressure to the teeth causing them to move.
Orthodontic treatment is only successful when there is a team effort from Dr. Cramer, the patient, and the parents. Dr. Cramer decides the appropriate treatment and implements the necessary appliances needed to correct the problems. Many of the treatment plans prescribed for patients require the patient to wear adjunctive appliances (rubber bands, headgear, etc.), which are placed, by the patient. In order for the treatment to be effective and finish in the least amount of time, these adjunctive appliances, the patient must be worn as requested by Dr. Cramer.
Time Required For Orthodontic Treatment
Active orthodontic treatment (time in braces) typically required from one to three years with the average being two years. If you the problems are minor or only certain problems are addressed, the treatment time may be shorter than one year. It is not uncommon these days for a child's orthodontic treatment to be broken into two phases. The first phase occurs usually between the ages of 8-10 with the second phase beginning when most or all of the permanent teeth have erupted. A two-phase treatment is sometimes indicated when a child has a significant discrepancy between the growth of the upper and lower jaws. It is also indicated when there is an early loss of baby teeth and or crowding to the point that will not allow the permanent teeth to erupt. Once the braces are removed, retainers are fabricated to maintain the new position of the teeth while the supporting structures of the teeth stabilize. Some retainers are fixed and some are removable. After the retainers are fitted, appointments are necessary to adjust the retainers and monitor the stability of the teeth. The nature of the initial problem determines the time requirements for wearing the retainers and how long the retainers will be necessary.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
||||||
 |
 |
 |
|
||||
 |
|
||||||
 |
 |
 |
|
||||
 |
|
||||||
 |
 |
 |
|
||||
 |
|
||||||
 |
|
||||||
 |
|
||||||
 |
 |
|
|||||
 |
|
||||||