Perfectly straight teeth let you smile with confidence, but not everyone is born with perfect tooth and jaw alignment. Genetic factors, such as jaw size and malocclusion, poor myofunctional habits in childhood, like thumb sucking, tongue thrusting, excessive use of a dummy, and facial trauma, can contribute to the development of crooked teeth.
Teeth straightening treatments are commonly performed on adolescents to correct teeth alignment before the jawbone is fully formed; however, adults can also benefit from wearing orthodontic devices to straighten crooked teeth, although the options available and the treatment timeline may be slightly different.
Understanding how to straighten teeth and what options you are a candidate for can help you make the right decision for your oral health and give you a smile you are proud to share.
What Conditions Can Teeth Straightening Treatment Correct?
Crooked teeth not only affect your physical appearance and self-esteem but can also have serious consequences for your oral health. Misalignment can contribute to the development of gum disease, cavities, and deep decay, as crowding and tooth rotation can make it difficult to clean between your teeth adequately.
Crookedness can also impact your ability to chew, potentially leading to digestive issues. It can affect how you articulate sounds, causing speech difficulties.
Finally, crooked teeth cause excessive wear and tear on your teeth, gum tissue, and temporomandibular muscles, leading to cracks, chips, headaches, and TJD.
Teeth straightening treatments, such as dental braces and clear aligners, can address many misalignment issues, including:
- Overbite where the upper teeth significantly extend past the lower teeth and jaw
- Underbite where the lower jaw protrudes forward past the upper dental arch
- Crossbite where several of your lower teeth do not align with their antagonist upper teeth
- Open bite in which the anterior upper and lower teeth don’t meet when the jaw is closed
- Overjet, similar to an overbite but only occurs on the upper front teeth, giving you what is commonly referred to as “buck teeth”
- Crowding in which there is not enough space in the jaw for proper tooth alignment, causing many teeth to rotate
- Diastema, or gaps between your teeth
How to Straighten Teeth: What Are My Options?
Do you want to know how to straighten teeth quickly? At Available Dental Care, we use the latest orthodontic technologies to help you achieve a straighter smile in the shortest amount of time possible. We offer several effective teeth straightening options, including:
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FastBraces®
FastBraces® is the latest development in orthodontic devices. These discrete dental braces have a unique bracket and wire system that enables them to realign your teeth in a shorter timeframe than traditional metal dental braces.
With traditional dental braces, teeth are moved in a two-step process. First, the crown shifts, then the root trails behind it; this is one reason why conventional dental braces take so long to show visible results.
FastBraces® feature specially designed triangular brackets attached to a square-shaped wire that reaches your tooth root. This system moves the entire tooth at once for a faster treatment time.
FastBraces® only feature a single wire, and the minimal brackets make it easier for you to clean your teeth and have little impact on your speech.
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Clear Aligners
Clear aligners are the modern way to achieve a straighter smile. This orthodontic system is preferred by most adult and teenage patients, as the aligner tray appears almost invisible, and they are more comfortable to wear than traditional braces. As they are removable, they don’t disrupt your daily life, allowing you to brush and floss as normal and eat the foods you love without the need to modify your diet.
At Available Dental Care, we offer ClearCorrect clear aligners. Developed by trusted dental company Straumann, the system uses a series of custom aligner trays to move your teeth to the correct position gradually.
Your dentist digitally scans your teeth during your consultation and inputs the data into the ClearCorrect software system to create a visual map of your tooth movement. This not only allows you a preview of how your teeth will look after treatment but provides the lab with the information they need to create your set of clear aligners.
Once you receive your aligners, simply change to the next set in the series every two weeks or as recommended by your dentist in your treatment plan. Ensure you wear them for at least 22 hours per day, and you can achieve a straight smile in as little as 12 months, depending on the extent of your misalignment.
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Dental Veneers
If your crooked teeth do not impact your oral health, you may not need orthodontic treatment to straighten your teeth. For cosmetic issues like minor gaps or shortened teeth, porcelain veneers can be an excellent option to mask your dental flaws and give you the appearance of a straighter smile.
The wafer-thin porcelain or composite shell is applied to the front of your tooth, colour-matched to the rest of your teeth to give you a natural-looking smile. The veneers are custom made using digital scans and impressions to help them blend in seamlessly with your other teeth.
Get the Smile Your Want at Available Dental Care
If you have misaligned teeth and want to know more about how to straighten teeth to get the smile you’ve always wanted, contact Available Dental Care on (02) 4062 8763 to book a consultation.