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Health, Life

How Long Do Braces Take to Straighten Teeth? Duration, Tips, And More!

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Wearing braces or aligners is the standard treatment for straightening misaligned teeth. Yet, how long one has to wear braces to get that perfect smile is not fixed. It usually varies according to the treatment requirements and the patient’s lifestyle.

Moreover, the orthodontist often gives instructions about oral hygiene, which promotes faster treatment. So, make sure that you follow them.

The Average Amount Of Time For Braces

Usually, it takes between 1 to 3 years for misaligned teeth to get straightened. However, the time can get shorter or longer as per the patient’s circumstances.

Having said that, let’s learn about these circumstances.

  • How Crooked Your Teeth Are

The most common reason to wear braces is when a person has crowded, stuck out, and space between the teeth. These are different types of crooked teeth. The Orthodontist often suggests getting braces for crooked teeth as it helps prevent gum disease, cavities, and enamel erosion.

Also, the duration of the treatment depends upon the severity of these conditions. In fact, some people even have to remove their teeth to make more room in the mouth. Such a situation increases the treatment duration.

  • Teeth Alignment When You Bite

It isn’t necessary that your top and bottom teeth align (also known as bite) the way they are supposed to. Generally, there are four types of bite,

  • Open bite
  • Deep bite
  • Underbite
  • Crossbite

If you are getting braces to treat a bite, it will take much longer than the treatment for misaligned teeth.

  • Type Of Braces Used

The type of orthodontic treatment also has a significant impact over the duration.

  • Metal Braces: These include brackets that are attached to your teeth and connected using a metal wire. To align your teeth, the orthodontist will tighten these wires regularly. These are generally recommended for serious correction of misaligned teeth.
  • Clear Aligners: Unlike metal wires, these are made of plastic-like trays and can easily be removed. It makes it convenient to brush and floss your teeth. However, you need to wear them almost every day. Otherwise, the treatment plan will get extended.

But, these are not recommended for closing teeth gaps.

  • Lingual Braces: These are aesthetic braces and are more effective than metal braces and clear aligners. Here the metal braces are glued behind your teeth. But these might not be a great option for everyone. Therefore, you must consult your dentist.
  • Diet And Lifestyle

Eating food after getting braces can be pretty challenging. Therefore, it is essential that you follow your orthodontist’s advice about what you can and can not eat. Otherwise, your braces can break, which will require an emergency appointment.

Likewise, you might also need to make some changes in your lifestyle. Ask your dentist if they can provide you a mouthguard to wear while playing sports or exercising. Also, you must visit them every six months for cleaning.

Wrapping it up!

Braces are essential for teeth and jaw alignment. Plus, healthy teeth also lead to better well-being. The period will vary as per your treatment plan. Even so, it is essential that you communicate with your dentist or orthodontist throughout the process.

Going Healthy, Health, Life, Tips

Root canal: Everything you need to know before treatment

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Your parents must have told you that good oral hygiene habits are the key to healthy teeth and gums. But even after practicing such habits, you can still have a badly infected tooth or decay that needs to be dealt with. This can be done by performing a root canal treatment. When a tooth’s pulp and nerve become badly inflamed and irritated and infected, it is most likely due to deep tooth decay. This procedure involves removing the pulp and nerve of the tooth to clean and seal the inside of the tooth. This helps in stopping inflammation, infection, and intense pain. Without this procedure, an abscess can form around the tooth’s surrounding tissue.

What is the need for removing the pulp?

When there is damage that has occurred to a tooth’s pulp or nerve tissue, it starts to break down, and bacteria multiply in the pulp chamber of the tooth. All of this is very severe since it can cause infections or, worse, an abscessed tooth. This pus-filled pocket that ends up forming at the end of the roots means that the infection has spread all the way past the ends of the roots. This can result in many severe symptoms and problems, such as bone loss at the root’s tip, an intense swelling that can spread to other areas of the head, neck, and even the face.

Signs and symptoms

According to the experts at Artisticsmilesmiamidentist.com, you will know that you need a root canal treatment if you have the following issues:

  • If you have tooth sensitivity that ends up lingering.
  • A sharp sensation when you bite or chew.
  • Cracked or chipped teeth.
  • Painful or swollen gums.
  • Darkened gums or severe deep decay.
  • Discoloration of the tooth.
  • Extreme tooth pain.

What to expect?

The first thing that your dentist will do is take an X-ray to determine if there is any decay in the tooth. Then they will determine if there is an infection in a surrounding bone. After providing you with local anesthesia, your dentist will drill a hole for access to the tooth. They use certain root canal files to clean the area. Pulp, decayed nerve tissue, and bacteria are removed from the tooth, and the full length of the tooth is flushed down with sodium hypochlorite to flush away the debris.

Recovery

This treatment has more than a 95% success rate, and most of these procedures can last a lifetime. You might have to deal with infection after the treatment if there was an undetected crack in the root of the tooth. You need to follow certain instructions after a root canal procedure, such as no chewing gum for two days after your procedure, only having cold liquid after your procedure, and sticking to soft foods for two days.

A root canal treatment can be quite a frightening procedure if you do not know what to expect. Use this list to help you understand the process so that you are well prepared before your treatment.

Going Healthy

4 Great Reasons Why You Should Have Regular Dental Check-ups

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Most people think that if they brush and floss their teeth daily, then everything should be OK. However, this is not the case and regular visits to your dentist are required to keep your teeth in optimal shape. You should try to go see your dentist at least twice a year, to let him or her check for decay and plaque, and if necessary, remove it for you. Keeping your teeth clean and healthy protects you from further infections and a clean mouth is the key to good health.  Make sure to search for a top dentist in your area to ensure a comfortable visit with a caring and knowledgeable staff.

In the past, the dentist was there to administer fillings and pull out rotten teeth if necessary, but now dentists are taking a more preventative approach, where they try to catch issues before they become problems. You may say that you are just too busy to visit a dentist Noosa locals go to, but going to visit your dentist means that you don’t have major problems further down the road. There are many reasons why regular dental checkups are essential and we will look at some of them here. 

1. Poor Gums – Gum disease in Australia, and even in other countries around the world, is an ongoing problem. Just because you brush your teeth regularly doesn’t mean that you can avoid gum disease. When you go to see your dentist at your regular times, they will look for any changes in the structure of your gums. They will look for any large spaces between your teeth and your gums because this is a sure sign of gum disease. Poor gums can actually affect the rest of your body and lead to ill health.  

2. Prevention Is The Key – Many of us already have cavities in our teeth, but because we feel no pain, we wrongly believe that everything is OK. The cavity may be hidden between your teeth and may not be in a prominent place where you chew, and so you feel nothing. Your dentist’s job and the purpose of your twice annual check up is to find these cavities in their early stage. This way, it can be treated early and with the minimum of fuss. 

3. Well Equipped – Even though we brush well and we brush regularly, we never get everything totally cleaned. Plaque can build up behind the teeth in places that are hard to reach with the toothbrush. If the plaque continues to accumulate, it will create tartar and this will certainly lead to bad gum disease and most likely cavities. Your dentist has all the tools necessary to clear away the plaque and the tartar. 

4. Early Discovery – When you attend the dentist, they just don’t look at your teeth and gums, they also look at other areas like your throat and tongue, to try to spot other potential issues with your health. If you get early treatment with some oral cancers that are spotted earlier, there is a better chance that treatment can address them. 

Dental health checkups are an essential part of your dental routine and should always be undertaken twice yearly. Healthy teeth means healthy gums and a more confident smile.