Straightening Your Smile - Braces for Adult Teeth Explained

Any brace system works on the simple fact that if you put a force on a tooth, then the position of that tooth will move, (simple, right?). I would also forgive you for thinking that the harder the force, the quicker things will move, but this is the exact opposite of what happens, in fact putting too much pressure on the tooth can slow it down, and even cause some permanent damage to the tooth. The reason for this is that too much pressure kills the bone around the tooth!

So now, I hope you thinking: “If the new braces like six-month smiles don’t put too much pressure on the teeth, then how do they achieve quicker results?”

The answer to this is that it's all just clever marketing - all systems which have a bracket and wire system will move teeth at pretty much the same rate, the difference is in what is done in terms of the treatment.

If you do less treatment, then the results will be quicker!

With almost all adult focussed systems (also known as STO: Short Term Orthodontics), like the ones mentioned above, the aim is to just straighten the front teeth - and hardly change the back teeth, and the bite.

This is fine, in most cases, and even if you had a comprehensive brace treatment, this would be the first thing which is done.

So how do you know if it's a good option for you?

Ultimately, the best answer for this will be given by a dentist or an orthodontist who has experience in this treatment. Here are a few things that STO will struggle with:

1. Reducing an overjet

Overjet is how far in front the top teeth are, in relation to the lower teeth. If this is something that you want to improve, then you might need to remove two upper side teeth so that there is room to move the front teeth back. STO will not do this.

2. Severe crowding.

Crowding is the term we dentists use to describe how much tooth overlap there is. To get an idea of crowding, it's easier to look at a birds-eye view of the teeth.

If the crowding is beyond a certain point, then there may not be enough bone to straighten the teeth out, and there is a risk that the teeth are slightly moved out of the bone- this sounds worse than is actually is, but it can cause gum problems at a later date. Again, in these situations, it's usually a better idea to remove some teeth to make some room.

3. Open bites

Open bites are where the front teeth do not overlap when the back teeth touch

Open bites can be closed, but they are usually beyond what short-term orthodontics can do.

Saying all of this, Short Term Orthodontics is a great solution for most adults, I would estimate about 70-80% of adults would be suitable for this treatment, and combining the dramatic results with short treatment times, it's definitely worth asking your cosmetic dentist about it.

Keeping your teeth straight

About half the patients I treat have had brace treatment as a teenager- so why do they need it again?!
It all has to do with something called retention.

When a tooth is moved, then it will want to move back to its original position once the brace is removed. To stop this happening most children will be given a clear retainer, similar to the Invisalign brace. The problem is that they don't were it!

In theory, you could remove the retainers after several years, and the teeth should stay where they are, but most people get used to the retainers after a few days, and it does not bother them to keep wearing the retainers.

Recently I have seen orthodontic systems advertised to dentists saying that "minimal retension needed." I do not believe any STO system can be made with "minimal retension," they all need the same amount of retention