“How do dental orthopedics help your teeth?”

Teeth positioned in the correct place like a building being built on the correct foundation have a superior result. Crowding trauma from bad bites cause problems that can lead to damage to teeth

Dentofacial orthopedics is the guidance of the bones around the teeth to a more normal position and relationship with surrounding bones with orthopedic forces in order to achieve better facial balance, esthetics, function and harmony.  Since the teeth are attached to the maxilla and the mandible, they benefit from placing the bones in their correct position, because they are now in their correct position and lined up better with regards to the opposing teeth. So, a combination of orthopedic and orthodontic forces are sometimes necessary to obtain facial balance and a good bite or occlusion. Dentofacial orthopedic treatment is usually best done when the patient is still growing and this correction helps the jaws and teeth to function better when you eat, as the teeth protect each other and chew food more efficiently. When teeth are lined up correctly, they are easier to brush and floss, experience less wear, and thus will last longer. Please see your local orthodontist to see what kind of treatment would be best for you.

Daniel A. Flores, DDS, MS

Orthopedics refers to the use of growth in young children and teens to aid in correction of skeletal imbalances. It’s not really applicable at your age. .

Dental orthopedics should mean normalizing upper and lower jaw relationships in all 3 dimensions, transverse, vertical, and horizontal, with forces that are higher than we use to move teeth. The forces need to alter bone at growth sites. Extra oral appliances such as headgears that can move the upper jaw forward or back to normal and intra oral appliances such as rapid palatal expanders widen the upper jaw to its normal width. Some oral appliance are thought to help the mandible grow more forward which may or may not happen. We have given up on trying to retard the excessive forward growth of the lower jaw as a risk of harm to the delicate mandibular joints with the skull. With non growing patients, only surgery can normalize the proper relationship of the two jaws with the skull, which is an orthopedic procedure. Unless jaw relationships are normal, the dental fit of teeth are necessarily compromised. Our profession is orthodontics and dental/facial orthopedics, but we do not do surgical procedures on the jaws. Oral surgeons are trained and skilled in providing that important service.

Dr. Nicely answers: Teeth are not by-themselves good for looks until they are fitted well into a facial profile. We cannot miss the big picture when working on Orthodontics, because the jaw bones should hold the teeth stable, the facial features (including lips) should be well supported to prevent display of aging prematurely ["who needs a face-lift?"], and the tongue should be given enough room for proper airway functions to alleviate sleep apnea or headaches. Dentofaical Orthopedics principles guide the orthodontic work to finish cases with both beautiful smiles and healthy functions.