AreBracesRightfor AdultPatients?
Weallknowthathavingcrookedteethisamajorissuethatcanaffecthowwe eatandtalk,andleftuntreated,itcanhavedetrimentalhealtheffects.Insome cases,aseverespacingorcrowdingissuewithteethhasbeenknowntocause severejawissuesanddiscomfort.Whileitiswellknownthatchildrenand teenscangetcorrectivedentalbraces,thereisstillsomeconfusionasto whetherornotbracesareanoptionforadultpatients.
Infact,bysomeestimates,nearlyaquarterofalldentalpatientswith correctivebracesareover18.However,unlikechildrenandteens,therearea fewmoreconcernsaboutgettingbraces.Inthispost,we’lllookatwhatit takestogetbracesasanadultandhowtheycanstillhelpfixdentalissues.
GettingBracesasanAdult
Whilechildrenandteenstypicallyfacefewconcernswhengettingbraces installed,asadultpatients,therearethreemaincriteriathatadentistwilluse toevaluateifbracesareaviablesolutiontoyourteethspacingissues.
Firstofall,thedentistwillseethatthepatienthasahealthysetofteeth.This examinationisbecausethebracesmustbeaffixedtotheteeth,andmissing teeth,teethinpoorshape,orteethwithrootdamagemaybeatriskwhenthe bracesareattached.
Secondly,thedentistwillusuallychecktoseetheshapeandconditionofthe jawbone.Thischeckissothatthebracescanbesupportedproperlyand
ensurenopermanentdamagetothejawduetodentalissuesthatdentistsdid notpreviouslycorrect.
Lastly,thedentistwillmakesurethatthemouthandgumsarefreeofdisease andinfectionthatmayimpactthepatient’shealthwhentheyreceivebraces. Becausemostbracesrequirealong-termcommitment,thepatient’soral healthmustbeinoptimalshapebeforethebracesareinstalledtoprevent complications.
Onceallthecriteriahavebeenmet,patientsofallagescanbegivenbracesto correctdentalissues.