Braces in Action
Why Braces? | Braces in Action | For Children | For Adults | Orthodontic Dictionary | FAQs
The following few examples will give you some idea of what type of problems orthodontics can correct. These are just a few scenarios and we may be able to help picture the correction of your specific problem at a consultation.
Crowding of the teeth. 
Patient started treatment at age eleven. He loves his new smile.
Openbite. Front teeth don't touch.
Patient sucked her thumb as a young child. She started treatment at age thirteen. She had braces and a special appliance—called a crib—to retrain the tongue. Now she can bite the lettuce out of a sandwich.
Deep overbite. Lower front teeth bite into palate.
This adult patient (age twenty-five) required braces and jaw surgery to correct his severe overbite. His problem could have been corrected without surgery if he had been treated before he was a teenager.
Missing lateral incisors.
This patient's lateral incisors were congenitally missing. She had braces to move the teeth into the correct position, then the missing teeth were replaced with bonded "Maryland" bridges.
Underbite. Lower front teeth in front of uppers.
Patient's underbite was causing her to have jaw joint discomfort and excessive wear patterns on her teeth. She now finds smiling and chewing much easier.
Spacing of teeth.
Patient was bothered by the spaces between his teeth. Braces closed the spaces and gave him an ideal bite. Special glued-in retainers help keep the spaces closed.
Overbite. Protruding front teeth.
At age ten, patient had a big overbite with the top teeth protruding beyond the bottom. She had two phases of treatment. The first helped her jaws to grow more harmoniously; the second aligned her teeth and bite. At age thirteen, she was proudly displaying her new smile.
Non-braces treatment.
Sometimes braces are not needed to get noticeable improvements in tooth alignment. This patient was first seen at age 7 for crowding of the lower permanent teeth. A procedure was performed to reduce the width of the adjacent baby teeth and the permanent incisors aligned on their own.
Phase I
Patient's parents were concerned about both aesthetics and the health of the erupting permanent teeth when they brought him to the orthodontist at age 8. The lower front teeth were crowded and they touched the palate, and the upper front teeth were extremely displaced from their normal positions. After Phase I treatment with an expander and partial braces, patient's appearance and dental function was vastly improved.