Prejudices about orthodontic treatment

More than half of people worldwide have malocclusion.

They are divided into several significant groups of patients based on their attitude towards the problem.

Some live with anomalies almost calmly their entire lives and do not think about their treatment, for others the beauty of their smile is extremely important and they regularly visit an orthodontist, and others correct their bite using folk remedies.

Getting into one of these or other groups of patients often occurs on the basis of myths about orthodontics and bite correction.

Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions and prejudices on the Internet and in the "oral creativity" of patients. Let's try to understand some of them, says Poleshchuk Anna .

Myth 1. A bad bite can cause headaches and scoliosis

Researchers have been trying to find out the links between bite problems and other aspects of health, such as whether bite problems are related to posture or headaches.

Many patients suffering from tension headaches often have temporomandibular joint dysfunction. But what is the cause and what is the effect? Someone describes patients with malocclusion, which allegedly affects scoliosis.

But just as treating the joint does not eliminate headaches, there is no evidence that if the bite is corrected, the patient will receive a healthy, straight spine as a bonus.

There is no consensus yet: some confirm the dependence, while others refute it. There are also obvious shortcomings in the methodology and insufficient patient sample sizes.

Rather, it is worth saying that the formation of the bite (and its anomalies) is a complex process that depends on many factors.

Heredity, evolutionary changes, bad habits (for example, using a pacifier for too long) play a role in childhood: general features of the development of muscles and skeleton of the child lead to both malocclusion and scoliosis. The causes of occurrence are the same, but correcting one does not guarantee recovery of the other.

But diseases, the development of which is almost directly dependent on the bite, do exist.

Among them: caries, tooth abrasion, periodontitis, speech and sometimes breathing disorders, ENT diseases and gastrointestinal problems. Complex effective treatment implies both bite correction and suppression of emerging foci of diseases.

Myth 2. Treating a bite is long and useless - in a couple of years everything will return back

If orthodontic treatment lasts more than two years, patients lose motivation, for example, to thoroughly clean their teeth: caries occurs from insufficient cleaning, not from braces. Well, and in general, the duration of treatment is a complex psychological problem.

However, for some people, teeth move easily, for others, very slowly. This cannot be predicted accurately with braces, but aligners provide almost 100% understanding of the treatment time.

With braces, the terms that the doctor names are average. With braces - 1-1.5 years. With aligners - 10-12 months. But there are cases of long-term wearing of systems, among the reasons - errors of doctors and patients:

• When installing braces. Incorrect installation of the brace system reduces the force of the arc, and therefore the effect.
• When choosing a treatment strategy. In some cases, there is a certain sequence, for example, first you need to eliminate crowding, and only then correct the occlusion.
• When using additional devices. Each person has their own correct installation time and operating time with this equipment.
• If the patient himself fails to follow the rules. Missed an appointment - the treatment did not progress, but stood still.

Therefore, modern orthodontic systems are designed to reduce treatment time as much as possible. This is achieved, among other things, through digitalization.

For example, a plan for moving teeth to the correct places is created by special software that takes into account all the individual characteristics of the patient and visualizes future changes.

And the patient who has chosen aligners knows not only the result, but also the treatment time: the program calculates the number of caps needed to achieve the goal.

Both braces and aligners require wearing retainers for some time. Usually, this is a period equal to the treatment period.

These removable transparent or non-removable structures, attached to the inside of the teeth, no longer affect the movement, but hold the teeth in the desired position. This is a mandatory stage of treatment. And with it, everything will remain in the right places.

Myth 3. Treatment is only possible in adolescence

Many people are sure that the bite is corrected only when the baby teeth are replaced by permanent ones. Therefore, we can often see 12-17 year old teenagers with braces.

But the thing is that you can work with the bite at an earlier age. Of course, braces cannot be installed during the period of changing the milk bite.

But there are removable polymer caps that correct the position of teeth already during their growth. That is, there is no correction, as in teenagers and adults, but an initial correct formation.

Myth 4. If pregnancy occurs, everything is lost and treatment must be started over again

Pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding are not direct contraindications to wearing orthodontic systems. Both braces and aligners are completely safe, they do not emit harmful substances and cannot harm the mother and fetus. From this point of view, you can safely wear the systems at any time. But there are nuances, and doctors ask to pay attention to the following facts:

• Before installing any of the systems, caries must be treated and all necessary images must be taken, and painkillers and X-rays can be harmful to the woman and the fetus.
• During pregnancy, teeth may become loose. This is not the "joy" of an orthodontist, but a problem of mineral and vitamin imbalance in pregnant women, for example, a serious calcium consumption occurs in the second half of pregnancy. If orthodontic treatment continues, then it is necessary to carefully monitor the required level of microelements.
• If pregnancy occurs after braces have been installed, they will probably have to be removed. The doctor will recommend a retention cap, which will not correct the position of the teeth, but will fix the results. It will be possible to return to treatment after the woman's body has recovered, usually 6 months after the birth of the baby.
• If the bite was corrected with aligners, then the “stop” is easier - the patient wears a fixing cap for some time, and then continues the treatment - puts on the next cap according to the plan.

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