What Orthodontics Treats
Orthodontics refers generally to the science of straightening teeth. Typically, teeth are moved from their current position to a more ideal one. It can be used to treat many different kinds of improperly aligned teeth, including:
- Overbite—in this condition, your upper teeth extend too far beyond your lower teeth, sometimes described as buck teeth.
- Underbite—in this condition, your lower teeth extend beyond your upper teeth.
- Crossbite—when individual teeth from the upper and lower arch do not meet uniformly. For example, some teeth may have an overbite, while others have an underbite.
- Open bite—when you can’t bring all your teeth together because the crowns of teeth have different heights.
- Off-center midline—when the middle of your smile doesn’t align with the middle of your face.
- Gaps between teeth—when teeth have spaces between them.
- Crowded teeth—when teeth are pushed too close together, causing some to move forward or back out the dental arch.
It’s not unusual for people to suffer multiple types of alignment problems. Often these can be treated at the same time.
Orthodontics Options
We offer a full range of orthodontic treatments. Having a varied toolkit allows us to make sure every patient gets just the right orthodontic treatment for them.
Traditional Wire Braces: Traditional wire braces are the most studied, most reliable, and most powerful orthodontic treatment available. We can use wire braces to correct any and all teeth alignment problems, and it’s our treatment of choice when we need orthodontics as part of TMJ treatment.
Invisalign: Invisalign uses clear plastic aligners, similar to teeth whitening trays, but more durable, to gradually move your teeth into position. These can treat most cases that braces can treat, but have many advantages over braces, such as being clear and being removable so that there are no diet restrictions or special cleaning required. There’s also Invisalign Express, which is designed to correct minor cosmetic problems, and can work in about three months!
Six-Month Smiles: Six Month Smiles is a new take on traditional braces and orthodontics. They use the most predictable technology to get you a better smile faster than many other approaches. Six months is the average, some may be a little less, others a little more. It’s not only faster than other approaches, it’s also usually cheaper, too.
Accelerated Orthodontics: AcceleDent, Accelerated Orthodontics work much like traditional braces…but at a much faster rate. By using vibrating device attached to a mouthpiece, AcceleDent Aura can reduce the time of orthodontic treatment by almost half!
Inman Aligner: The Inman Aligner is a removable device that uses springs to apply pressure to your teeth from both the front and back. Although it is highly visible and more limited in the cases it treats, it doesn’t have to be worn for as many hours a day as Invisalign and it achieves a straight smile in record time—as little as 6 weeks to a straight smile! It’s also among the best budget orthodontics options.
Porcelain veneers: Porcelain veneers don’t move your teeth—they reshape them. Although the tooth root stays in place, the tooth crown is reshaped so it fits better with its neighbors. For cases where this approach is effective, it allows for rapid results that can also correct problems like discoloration and poorly shaped or small teeth.
During your Irvine orthodontics consultation, we will discuss all your options and help you find the right one for your situation.
You don’t have to live with crooked teeth. Please contact Rice Dentistry in Irvine today to schedule a consultation.