Dental braces (Orthodontic treatment)

What is an orthodontic treatment

Orthodontics is a specialty branch that addresses irregularities of individual teeth, dental arches and, in some cases and in cooperation with the maxillofacial surgeon, the correction of jaw misalignment that cause aesthetic and sometimes functional problems. Our common aim at the end of therapy is to achieve well-aligned dental arches that match each other in a regular manner. As a result, your dentition will become one of the pillars of the harmony of your face which will no doubt open the door to success in both your social and your personal life. 

Who is a good candidate for the treatment

The GHC Clinic offers orthodontic treatment to clients of all ages, both children and adults.

Before orthodontic treatment

First of all, a treatment plan is prepared which will be followed during the treatment. The integral part thereof includes a preliminary check-up, documentation, X-rays, impressions of the dentition and photographs. You will be acquainted with a detailed treatment plan and if you agree with the plan, it will become binding.

How is the treatment performed

In our office, orthodontic treatment is performed by means of both removable and fixed appliances.

Removable appliances which can be removed from the mouth by the patient, are used mainly to treat minor defects or as a pre-treatment of complex anomalies before the application of a fixed appliance mostly in children.  Removable appliances may also be used after the therapy with a fixed appliance as passive retention appliances to stabilize the achieved therapy results.

The alternatives of orthodontic removable appliances include the Invisalign clear aligner.

There are no restrictions as regards both eating food and drinking or hygiene. Orthodontic treatment with Invisalign clear aligner is very discreet, because its is virtually invisible and simple at the same time. Whenever you need it, you simply take out the aligner, brush your teeth and put it back again.

A large number of defects are treated with fixed appliances, i.e. brackets bonded to the teeth. For aesthetic reasons, there is a choice of brackets: they can be metal, ceramic or golden. The wires inserted in these elements shape a desired dental arch progressively; along the wires, the teeth may be moved into the required position. Through long-lasting day-long exposure, very good results can be achieved even in case of major defects of the dentition.

In some patients, we use additional components to complement the fixed appliance. They mainly include an external traction and elastic intermaxillary tractions of various kinds. Our orthodontic assistants will instruct you in detail how to use them and they will practice with you their application in our office.

After the placement of a fixed appliance

Perfect cooperation of the patient is an inevitable condition for a successful orthodontic treatment. Regular visits are one of these conditions. For fixed appliances, the visits take place roughly once every two months. For removable appliances, visits every 2 – 3 months are necessary. A fixed appliance that is not properly examined for a longer time may cause undesirable effects or even damage the dentition. The most important condition of the successful treatment is perfect hygiene. Teeth with a fixed appliance must be brushed with a proper type of tooth brush after every meal. Insufficient hygiene leads to the creation of spots on the teeth due to the decalcification of enamel. The treatment entails some changes in the eating habits. During the first few days after the application, the patient may feel some discomfort and even pain and can eat mostly mixed or liquid food only. Later on, it is possible to eat everything with the exception of extremely hard food, e.g. toasts, nuts, raw carrots etc. Brackets are bonded to the frontal part of the teeth and therefore they may be pulled off, so it is better to cut food to smaller pieces. Sticky candies, caramels or white nougat should be avoided!