Doctors recommend patients to opt for interceptive orthodontics to ensure that they get a presentable smile. Interceptive orthodontics help teeth to growly evenly. They are used to detect issues within a patient’s mouth at an early stage and help in resolving them. This helps in ensuring a better functional relationship between upper and lower jaw.
When to opt for interceptive orthodontics?
Dentists offer orthodontic treatment for children and adolescents based on the severity of malocclusion. This treatment is prescribed by dentists to resolve issues such as protruding front teeth, teeth growing out of position, crowded teeth and narrow dental arch. Opting for interceptive orthodontics, especially for children ensures symmetrical facial growth as their jaw develops with age. The treatment helps in ensuring that there is space for permanent teeth which haven’t grown yet.
What type of treatments do we offer?
At Rapha Dental Centre, we customise interceptive orthodontics for each patient. Our treatment process is discussed below-
- A palatal expander is used for expanding the upper dental arch of a patient to ensure that there are more teeth for growing, thereby reducing crowding within the mouth.
- The palatal expander is then installed. It has two pieces of plastic which are attached on both sides of upper molars and an expansion screw.
- Once the expansion screw has been turned, the device applies pressure to push two sides away from each other. The jaw widens, thereby ensuring that there is ample space for the adult teeth. If the arch is of the correct size, there is a high chance that adult teeth will grow in a better position.
We use space maintainers as an early method of intervention. If a child loses a tooth early, because of injury or decay, we shift another tooth for filling the vacant area. We place a space maintainer for holding the space until a permanent tooth grows. The space maintainers we use are often a temporary crown which is fixed to the empty space. Once the permanent tooth starts growing, we remove the space maintainer. This process helps in ensuring that there is no need to opt for intensive orthodontics in the future.