If you’ve been looking into orthodontic treatment for you or your family, you may be a little confused by the wealth of information and options that are available. While many dental providers offer braces as part of their range of services, it’s important not to lose sight of some fundamentals in the treatment process. If you want the very best for you or your family, here are six reasons to see an orthodontist, rather than a dentist, for your orthodontic treatment.
1. Orthodontists are specialists
Orthodontists are experts in their field, specialising in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of dental and facial irregularities to help correctly align teeth, bites, and jaws, including straightening crooked teeth.
Although orthodontists and dentists share many similarities – they both work hard to help you improve your overall oral health – specialisation is what sets an orthodontist apart from a dentist.
It’s a bit like the difference between your medical GP doctor and a specialist physician like a dermatologist (or any other medical specialist).
Did you know that orthodontists complete an additional three years of full-time university training, on top of their general dental degree? Only an orthodontist has been specifically trained and is the most qualified and experienced person to treat issues to do with the alignment of teeth and jaws to ensure you, or your child, ends up with a healthy smile.
2. Orthodontics is their only focus
Orthodontics isn’t just part of what an orthodontist does – it’s all they do. All day, every day. Every appointment in an orthodontist’s office is someone having their smile assessed or their orthodontic treatment carried out.
This singular focus allows them to not only build on their experience, but to learn everything they can about their specialisation. Whether it is new technologies, techniques, or ways to make your treatment more comfortable, you can rest assured that your orthodontist is on the frontline.
3. Your smile is one of your most important features
It is one of the first things we notice when we greet someone, it’s the way we remember one another, and it’s the way we interact with one another. Having confidence in your smile can positively change your life, which is why consulting an orthodontist to help you create your most healthy and attractive smile is so important.
A beautiful, straight smile not only means your teeth are easier to clean and your gums are healthier, but it can also help exude confidence and reduce stress.
4. Psychological and physical benefits
In addition to psychological benefits such as improved self-confidence, orthodontic treatment also brings many physical benefits, including a beautiful smile through the correction of:
- Bad bites that can damage teeth and gums
- Protruding or misaligned teeth
- Gaps in your smile
- Crooked and overcrowded teeth
- Speech, breathing or chewing difficulties
- Misaligned jaws (which can affect your facial profile)
An orthodontist can also help in the diagnosis and management of obstructive sleep apnoea and can help manage persistent thumb and finger sucking habits in children.
5. Options to suit every lifestyle
Orthodontic treatment has come a long way since the days of chunky metal braces, bands and headgears; today, contemporary orthodontic treatments are designed to be as discreet and comfortable as possible so patients can get on with their lives without discomfort.
While braces are still an extremely effective way of straightening teeth and achieving a great smile, modern orthodontic treatment options now include clear braces, lingual (inside) braces and clear aligners.
Whether you’re considering clear aligners or traditional braces, only a specialist orthodontist has the training, experience, and complete suite of treatment options to give you the confidence you’re in the best hands possible.
6. Kids and orthodontics
Did you know that young kids with crooked teeth or bad bites should be seen by an orthodontist when they’re around 7 or 8? Did you also know that you don’t need a referral to see an orthodontist?
If you answered ‘no’, then don’t worry, you’re not alone. Most parents are a little confused when it comes to understanding orthodontics.
What is important to understand is that some (but not all) orthodontic problems can be easily corrected when treated in young growing jaws, well before all the adult teeth come through. Waiting until the teenage years to see an orthodontist for the first time can result in further worsening of these early problems resulting in more complicated and invasive treatment methods which would otherwise have been avoided.
Although early orthodontic treatment won’t be needed for all children, taking your child to see an orthodontist between the ages of 7 and 10 will give the orthodontist a chance to assess the alignment of your child’s teeth and jaws to determine if and when, early intervention is needed.
Orthodontists are highly trained to pinpoint a child’s orthodontic problems from a young age, even if they are subtle, and they can start correcting some problems to avoid potential long-term issues.
If you’re unsure of where to find a registered orthodontist, check our Finder Tool.
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Informative! Smiles become even more beautiful with a healthy aligned tooth.