Hard pressure applied to both teeth and jaws through gnashing and clenching. These are becoming common signs of difficult times. Potentially harmful and abnormal movements of the mouth are reflections of tension caused by job insecurity, inflation, identity crises, and the like. It is getting common for adults to exhibit a condition known as bruxism, where adults grind their teeth and clench their jaws while asleep. A common neuromuscular problem nowadays, the clicking of jaw joints causes side effects like headaches, vertigo, and ear pain.
One of the findings of studies done on bruxism is that women over the 40 age bracket are more susceptible to the condition than men are. Stomach problems are usually a reflection of men’s frustrations, while women’s are usually reflected through problems in the mouth. The cure for the problem is not orthodontics because the only way to effect a cure is to deal with the frustrations that cause the tension, but to prevent damage to teeth temporarily, plastic retainers or jaw straps while asleep are advised.
Bruxism is a problem among many others in the dental world that orthodontists are only discovering now. Straightening teeth just for cosmetic purposes is not just the only thing that the field of orthodontics is concerning itself with these past years. The focus of a lot of techniques and theories that have been recently developed is the whole face, inclusive of muscle, jaw, lips, teeth, and tongue.
Although orthodontics is often thought of as an area of dentistry that deals primarily with adolescent problems, it also relates well with many adults. A dentist said more care has to be exerted when treating adults. The tissues of adults are not as quick in bouncing back as those of children.
The advances in the combination of orthodontics and plastic surgery make reconstruction of deformities possible, he said. 66 percent of orthodontists’ cases every year usually have something to do with the problem of jaw growth, he says. Teeth are in the service of the jaw. The location of the jaw would most often dictate where the teeth will also end up. Restructuring through surgery and the use of corrective appliances are two possible options to guide the underdeveloped jaw to proper growth.
Orthodontics is not required most of the time, but it does serve as prevention against certain dental diseases. A child may develop problems in speech and swallowing if he develops improper tongue thrust, which may develop especially if he sucks his thumb. The tongue is strong enough to actually change the location of teeth.
The upward and downward forces exerted by chinstraps are useful in correcting abnormal bite. A bad bite can lead to loss of teeth, bone damage and jaw joint problems. Improved materials such as bands made of lightweight chromium and cobalt instead of heavier metals, and direct bonding of transparent plastic with metal for braces are cosmetic improvements in orthodontic devices. There is more visual appeal to the wearing of plastic than the wearing of metal, even if the former is not as effective.
What is being used in orthodontics more commonly nowadays is a device known as the laminagraph. In one shot, it can take an X ray of the entire dentofacial region, and uses only a small amount of radiation compared to the conventional full mouth Xrays. Laminagraphy is useful for doing diagnosis, though it will not take the place of individual X rays in identifying tooth decay.
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