Facts & Myths
•You need freezing to put on braces
No, braces go on without freezing. The brackets are bonded or stuck to the enamel of the tooth and it is completely painless and easy!
•Braces hurt
No braces don't hurt but the subtle pressure that the wires put on the teeth cause some discomfort when chewing about four hours after the braces are placed.
•White braces don't work as well as metal braces
That is false. White braces now work every bit as good as metal braces only they are less noticeable. There was a time when the first generation of white braces came on the market that they didn't work as well. The new clear or white braces are great!!
•If you receive orthodontic treatment early your teeth are more likely to relapse or move in the future
There is no evidence that this is true. It makes no difference to the long term outcome whether we start a bit earlier or later. If we will be redirecting the growth of one or both jaws we need the patient growing so in that sense we have to start younger.
•Do wisdom teeth cause my teeth to crowd up in my late teens
There has been a lot of study in this area and there is no clinical proof or evidence that wisdom teeth push or cause crowding.
•Braces damage the enamel of the teeth and leave white spots
No this is not true at all. The bonding process that we use to stick a bracket on a tooth has no detrimental affects on the enamel. The only time you see white spots on the teeth post orthodontics is when the oral hygiene or brushing has been very poor. These white spots are the first stages of tooth decay.
•Headgear is the only way to correct protrusions
Headgear does correct overbites if it is worn properly and the patient is growing. There are many other appliances that do the same thing and are much easier to wear and less dependent on patient cooperation. These appliances are called functional appliances and are used to redirect the growth of the upper and lower jaw as well as move the teeth to correct the protrusion. I personally have not used headgear in ten years.
•If you have jaw surgery you have to have your mouth wired shut
No that used to be the way but now the surgeons use tiny screws to hold the jaws in place so that we don't have to wire the mouth closed. This has been a major breakthroughs in the area of orthodontic surgeries.
•Orthodontic fees are paid up front when the braces go on
No orthodontic fees usually start with a small up front appliance fee, then the balance of the money is paid monthly over the course of 16-20 months. The monthly payments are interest free and usually set up to fit the patients budget.
•Orthodontic treatment damages the roots of the teeth
In some cases the orthodontic forces will cause the roots to resorb. This is extremely rare!! There is no way to predict or prevent this from happening. Luckily in my 21 yrs of practice I have only seen it a few times. I have never seen anyone lose a tooth because of this.
•You can't move a tooth that has had root canal therapy
No that is false. Teeth that have had root canals can move just like any other tooth. It will not cause the root canal to fail or the tooth to deteriorate.
•If you have crowns you can't have braces
No that is false. We can stick to either porcelain or metal crowns just
like we can enamel. No problem!!
•Will my teeth move in the future
In a nut shell! YES! The fact that we put the teeth in a straight position doesn't guarantee a life time of straight teeth. The teeth are in a constant state of transition and movement. As we age the bones change, the teeth wear, we develop new habits and our gums shrink causing the teeth to be less rooted or stable. Long term we have to realize that it is impossible to have perfectly straight teeth. We have to lower our expectations slightly because that is just NATURE!!
