The ancient Greeks had a word for it – orthodontics – straight teeth. They even had a way to make the crooked straight – using a combination of common metals and cat gut. And although the cats couldn’t have been happy about it, humans have been smiling since.

Those smiles come from being satisfied with the cosmetic advantages of having a row of straight teeth. Nevertheless, there are also medical benefits of correctly aligned teeth:

  • Maintain tooth wellness
  • Easier to clean well aligned teeth
  • Easier to chew
  • Avoids gum disease, which can cause tooth loss and/or a severe infection that can result in heart disease

These days even adults get cosmetic dentistry. Ideally, though, children should have their bite checked at about age 8. Often, family dental services will be the filtering mechanism for this evaluation. If it looks like young mouths will be too small for the size of the emerging permanent teeth, Interception Orthodontia can be done to expand the palate’s arch. Sometimes, this is all that is required to keep things in line. Otherwise, 12 is the average age for braces.

It’s interesting to note that we have only developed orthodontic problems within the last 10,000 years or so. Early humans evidently had excellent bites. However, as our diets improved over the millennia, most of our bodies grew bigger, but our mouths and teeth didn’t develop at the same rate. So, the old saying, “Your teeth are too big for your mouth,” makes sense. The same is true of palate stretching.

The cost of orthodontia is largely dependent upon geography and the difficulty of the problem. A straightforward overbite being treated in a rural area could have a $3,000 price tag. A severe malocclusion (bad bite) in a big city might cost as much as $7,000 or more. Some dental insurance plans include orthodontic treatment and often Orthodontists themselves offer payment plans.

Getting braces in childhood can avert poor jaw development and the long-term consequences of jagged teeth in adulthood – tooth loss and grinding, or TMD (temporomandibular joint disorder), an inflammation of the temporomandibular joint. This joint is the connector between the jaw and skull, and if it is not healthy, it can cause difficulty with biting and chewing, a painful jaw and face, a clicking sound when the mouth is opened or closed, even difficulty in completely opening the mouth, and hearing loss.

There are many modern options and appliances to correct crooked teeth – from the traditional brackets and wires to Invisalign™ (“invisible” braces), braces in “designer” colors, even lingual braces that are applied to the backs of teeth. Additionally, Orthodontists use sophisticated computer software to track and personalize their patients’ progress.

The objective, however, is the same — beautiful — and healthy smiles.

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  5. Your Questions About Toddler Developmental Delays

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