Common Orthodontic Issues

Crowding of the teeth

Patient started treatment at age 11 and wore braces for 26 months. 

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Open bite - Front teeth don't touch

Patient sucked her thumb as a young child. She started treatment at age 13. Treatment last 28 months and included myo-functional tongue therapy to retrain her tongue for swallowing and improved speech. Now she can bite the lettuce out of a sandwich.

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Deep overbite - Lower front teeth bite into palate

This adult patient, age 25, required braces to correct a  very severe overbite which was beginning to damage the lower gum tissue.  Treatment lasted 22 months. This problem could have been corrected  in a shorter time period had treatment occured during the late adolescent or early teen years while the patient was growing. 

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Missing lateral incisors

This patient's lateral incisors were congenitally missing. She had braces for 20 months to move the teeth into their correct positions, then the missing teeth were replaced with resin bonded bridges. Once growth is completed, he bridges will be easily removed and the missing lateral incisors will be replaced with two dental implants. 

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Underbite - Lower front teeth in front of upper teeth

Patient's underbite was causing jaw joint discomfort and excessive wear patterns on the upper and lower teeth. The underbite was due to a significant skeletal discrepancy between the upper and lower jaws. Treatment involved a combined orthdontic-surgical approach to first align the individual jaws and then surgically repositioning the upper jaw forward to achieve a correct dental and skeletal relationship. Treatment time was 18 months. 

Spacing of teeth

Patient was bothered by the spaces between his teeth. Braces closed the spaces and achieved an ideal bite in 18 months. Special glued-in retainers behind he teeth help keep the spaces closed.

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Overjet - Protruding front teeth

At age ten, this patient had a big overjet with the top teeth protruding beyond the bottom. She had two phases of treatment. The first phase which lasted 10 months helped her jaws to grow more harmoniously and the second phase which lasted 20 months aligned her teeth and bite. At age 13, she was proudly displaying her new smile.

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Non-braces treatment

Sometimes braces are not needed to get noticeable improvements in tooth alignment. This patient was first seen at age seven for crowding of the lower permanent teeth. The baby canines were removed to create room for the blocked out incisors, and a space maintainer was inserted to to preserve the existing arch length and allow for a spontaneous resolution of the crowding. 

Phase-One

Patient's parents were concerned about both aesthetics and the health of the erupting permanent teeth when they brought their son to our office at age eight. The lower front teeth were crowded and touching the palate, and the upper front teeth were extremely displaced from their normal positions. After 12 months of Phase-One treatment with an expander and partial braces, his appearance and dental function were vastly improved.