Most people are aware that an orthodontist treats problems like overbite, underbite, openbite, crossbite, upper front teeth protrusion and difficulty breathing, speech impairment, abnormal wearing of teeth and enamel for instances.
While toothache in such conditions is treated with over the counter medications, scratches and ulcer occurring due to braces are treated during initial phase with orthodontic wax.
As with intervention in any other body parts, orthodontic treatments pose risks which the dentist deals with diligently owing to experience. The dentist has a thorough discussion with patients about the complications in the treatment before going ahead with it.
While oral hygiene is advisable for any normal person, it is mandatory for those seeking orthodontic treatment. Lack of hygiene may lead to gingivitis which while wearing orthodontic equipment causes infection and ends up in irreversible consequences.
Brace in presence of sugar demineralises tooth enamel and initiates decay which develops as cavities and stains the teeth in yellow shades. Besides minimizing sugary food, the patient is advised to brush and rinse with fluoride paste and mouthwash respectively.
While through the procedure, the dentist faces many problems like debonding of orthodontic braces. The dentist removes modules and archwire, grips the debonded bracket and eliminates excess composite from the mesh and bonds the bracket back on tooth surface.
While the patient is expected to maintain oral hygiene, material alba is around the brackets encourages plaque content due to sticky food and results in debonding. When the patient visits the clinic in such a situation, gingival is in highly inflammatory condition.
While the orthodontist opts to scale tooth thoroughly in order to clean the tooth completely. The gingival blood in the tooth oozes for which Chlorhexdine mouthwash is locally applied to improve oral hygiene. Sometimes Zingisol or Pyosan is applied in case of gingival swelling and offers relief from irritation that occurs due to chemicals like thymol, menthol and iodine.
To stop gingival bleeding and obtain clean operating field without debris, the orthodontist could apply soft tissue lasers. Not only do soft tissue lasers control bleeding but also produce haemostasis and dispose tissue tags and clear the field for dentists.
In another context, children experience difficulty in breathing when jaws reduce size of airway due to improper positioning. This not only leads to lifelong respiratory problems but also affects facial development and ends as long faced syndrome. Rapid Palatal Expander helps the upper jaw to expand properly and increases nasal cavity size so that patient could breathe through the nose.
Disorders in bone, blood and endocrine, habits like smoking and prescription and non prescription medicines, problems in temporomandibular joints (TMJ) influence orthodontic treatment. If time for treatment exceeds estimated time due to faulty appliances and postponed appointments, the lengthened treatment time might affect the quality of treatment.
On a concluding note, orthodontist is prepared for adverse effects like root resorption, pain, pulpal changes, periodontal disease, temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD) and all of the above mentioned risk factors as placed before for discussion after which the treatment is executed.
