It depends on the type of braces: the fixed directs the teeth in the desired direction and the mobile stimulates or inhibits bone growth in the right way. The mobile works while the bones of the mouth grow – it is more used in children between 6 and 12 years old – and the fixed one can be used even in adults. To find out if you need braces, the answer is on the tip of your tongue. “A healthy mouth means ideal closure”, says orthodontist Marcelo Kignel. For this, the upper arch must fit slightly in front of the lower arch. And this task is not always easy. As the mouth is very sensitive, stupid habits like sucking a pacifier or breathing through the mouth are enough to misalign the smile. Orthodontic problems can also make hygiene difficult and even cause headaches.
– (Erika Onodera and Mario Alberto/)
1. There is a small, fiber-filled space between the root of the tooth and the gum bone where it is embedded. As the bone does not move, the devices interfere with this space, betting on the body’s tendency to keep it the same size
two. When the device forces the tooth, the fibers are compressed. The body restores its original shape by producing osteoblasts, which “eat” the bone cells. Thus, in the hole left by the missing bone, the tooth settles into its new position.
3. On the other side, where the tooth came out, the fibers are stretched, and the organism produces more bone to keep the tooth attached and the fibers with the same thickness. This readaptation takes 20 to 30 days, interval in which adjustments are made
BRACES
– (Erika Onodera and Mario Alberto/)
The brackets, squares of metal from the fixed device, are glued to the tooth with resin. The exact place where they should be depends on how and how much you want to move the tooth. These structures have a channel through which a nickel-titanium wire passes. With a little rubber ring around it, the wire is held very tightly.
– (Erika Onodera and Mario Alberto/)
Fixed braces move all teeth that have brackets at once. To adjust, the dentist releases the wire ends and pulls. The movement varies: if the bracket is glued on the tip, with little force the tooth moves a lot; if it is close to the gum, it moves less. The side where the bracket is glued also influences the movement.
– (Erika Onodera and Mario Alberto/)
The elastics that stretch when the person opens their mouth are extra features of some devices – they help to close the bite and are attached to three hooks placed at strategic points on the wire. Some braces also have tiny springs between some brackets, pushing teeth apart or together.
MOBILE DEVICE
The dentist makes a mold of the palate, the roof of the mouth, with alginate, a mass that hardens in about ten minutes. Then a plaster mold is made, which serves as a base for the colored part of the apparatus, in acrylic. Some appliances have an expander in the mold, a piece that can be adjusted to widen the palate bone.
• The braces wires, made of steel, already have the shape that defines the correct way the teeth should look. If the teeth start to want to go too far forward, the floss acts as a barrier, keeping them in place. If the tooth is left behind, pieces are used that individually push the lazy ones.
THE MAIN ORAL PROBLEMS
– (Erika Onodera and Mario Alberto/)
Overbite – The upper archway closes far ahead of the lower one.
Crossbite – The lower arch is in front of the upper one.
– (Erika Onodera and Mario Alberto/)
Deviation from the midline – Looking from the front, the middle of the arches does not match
Open bite – The arches do not completely close on the bite
– (Erika Onodera and Mario Alberto/)
Diastema – The spacing between the teeth is too wide
Crowding – Due to the small arches, the teeth end up overlapping
Consultancy: Marcus de Castro and Ligia Magalhães, dentists, and Marcelo Kignel, orthodontist