One of the most common teen dental treatments is orthodontics. Orthodontics is the branch of dentistry that focuses on correcting crooked teeth and jaws.
Crooked teeth can not only detract from one's appearance but they are also harder to keep clean, are at risk of being lost early due to tooth decay and periodontal disease, and cause extra stress on the chewing muscles that can lead to headaches, TMJ syndrome and neck, shoulder and back pain. Dr. Payam can provide recommendations on the best orthodontic treatment to prevent all of these problems and give you a beautiful smile!
Some signs that you may need orthodontic treatments are:
- Overbite, sometimes called "buck teeth" — where the upper front teeth stick out over the lower teeth
- Underbite — a "bulldog" appearance where the lower teeth are too far forward or the upper teeth too far back
- Crossbite — when the upper teeth do not come down slightly in front of the lower teeth when biting together normally
- Open bite — space between the biting surfaces of the front and/or side teeth when the back teeth bite together
- Misplaced midline— when the center of your upper front teeth does not line up with the center of your lower front teeth
- Spacing — gaps, or spaces, between the teeth as a result of missing teeth or teeth that do not "fill up" the mouth
- Crowding — when there are too many teeth for the dental ridge to accommodate
For active teens playing contact sports, a properly fitted athletic mouthguard is a must.
Studies of mouthguard users and nonusers have consistently shown that mouthguards offer significant protection against sports-related injuries to the teeth and soft tissues. Since mouthguards provide a resilient, protective surface to distribute and dissipate forces on impact, they minimize the severity of traumatic injury to the hard or soft tissues.
A properly fitted mouthguard must be protective, comfortable, resilient, tear resistant, odorless, tasteless, not bulky, cause minimal interference to speaking and breathing, and most importantly have excellent retention, fit, and sufficient thickness in critical areas.