ORTODONTICS

Removable and fixed orthodontic treatment

Orthodontics or orthodontia is the specialty of dentistry that is concerned with the study and treatment of malocclusion (improper bites), which may be result of different anomalies of tooth and jaw alignement, relationship and their growth. Therefore, orthodontic treatment is focused on dental displacement, but can also deal with the control and modification of facial growth which leads to disproportionate jaw relationships. In the latter case it is better defined as "dentofacial orthopaedics".

Orthodontic treatment can be divided into two groups: removable and fixed. . Removable orthodontic appliances could be moved by a patient and have to be worn for a few hours per day. Their function is to modify and correct the maturation of the malocclusions directly on the bone and/or neuromuscular level. Fixed orthodontic appliance consist of metal wire inserted into orthodontic brackets (dental braces) that move teeth into the desired positions.

Today, for aesthetic reasons, brackets are no more made only from stainless steel, but also from more aesthetic materials such as ceramic. This way the color of the braces is almost the same as the colour of teeth which improves the general appearance of patients' teeth. Recently, a new method has been developed, which consists of a series of clear, removable teeth aligners made of plastic material. Changing the aligners every 2 weeks will gradually shift teeth into right place.