What is orthodontics for?
There are patients who come to the office looking for an aesthetic change that allows them to have a beautiful, comfortable smile that gives them security and that is what orthodontics can do, move the teeth to leave an ideal, perfect smile. On the other hand, there are also patients who come looking for a function that allows them to chew well, eat well and for that occlusion to be stable over time.
What is necessary to achieve these objectives?
The first thing is to make a good diagnosis, it is necessary to make a diagnosis of the face, look at what it needs and what we want to modify, what that smile needs, what we like or do not like, what happens to the teeth, if they are worn or if they are fine, they are correct, because it is not the same to treat a child as to treat an adult. Children have young, healthy dentitions and not worn dentitions while adults have worn dentitions and our goal is to restore the dentition to a young shape to achieve a nice and beautiful smile.
Is pain a reason for orthodontic treatment?
More and more patients are coming to our practice seeking a solution to headaches. Children may have headaches, neck pain, back pain… adults the same, and also pain closely related to the ear area. As Dr. Rocabado we should not only blame the jaw joints but also look for any possible cause in the posterior area of the back, the cervical spine, for this we must make a good diagnosis and see in what percentage the occlusion is the cause of this problem, in what percentage the joint is the cause of this problem and in what percentage also the cervical spine can give us this problem and so we will look for the ideal solution for these headaches.
Can dental rejuvenation be achieved only with orthodontics?
When we talk about rejuvenation we are talking about giving the patient a beautiful and youthful smile, and for this orthodontics moves the teeth, but we need our partners, the perios, aesthetics, prosthodontists, surgeons… to see the patient in a global way and thus achieve optimal, satisfactory and stable results.
What orthodontic techniques are most requested by adults?
Adults are requesting techniques that are not visible, more discreet techniques. We have had clear brackets on the market for many years, but currently the most requested technique is lingual orthodontics or Invisalign. The lingual technique consists of brackets that are placed inside and are completely invisible, the discomfort they cause is the same as for vestibular, but the patient gets used to them immediately and is happy to wear them. The second technique is the aligners, which are plastics that are placed on the entire arch and move the teeth little by little. It is above all comfortable, it is not completely invisible but it is a very good option for the discretion required by adults.
How long does orthodontic treatment last?
It depends entirely on the severity, the malocclusion and the objectives that a patient wants. If what the patient wants is simply to fix the facade, the treatment can be very short.