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Monthly Archives: September 2020
All about Dental Retainers
What Is A Retainer?
It is a custom-made device prepared from wires or plastic that keeps your teeth in the required position and don’t let them move. Mostly, orthodontists and dentists suggest patients get a retainer installed after they have gone through Invisalign, corrective surgery, or metal braces. Dental retainers help this process to keep the teeth straight. Your teeth usually take around six months to become permanent in one position. But in other cases, patients need to wear a retainer for the rest of their life, but of course, only at night.
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Moreover, some people need to wear a retainer if they have speech problems or a misaligned bite. For making the right size of retainer for you, a dentist or orthodontist will take an oral exam, an impression of your teeth, take intra-oral images of your mouth, and may also need X-rays. After that, they will make a retainer for you using this information.
What Do Dental Retainers Do?
This dental accessory ensures that your teeth stay in a specific position. If you have gone through Invisalign or recently removed your braces, a retainer can help you keep your teeth straight. The orthodontist or dentist often suggest retainers to help correct an overbite or underbite. Your teeth get a pretty appearance with the help of retainers, as they give you proper alignment and make your teeth straight. You may also need this treatment when you have a problem like speech impairment. It helps to align the shape of your teeth, which can help you to speak clear words.
Why Do You Need A Retainer?
A retainer can help a patient prevent their teeth from relapsing. This means you can get good results from the metal braces, Invisalign, or corrective surgery, which takes place to keep your teeth at their place. A retainer makes sure that your teeth grow in a straight position, and you don’t have to go through more treatments after getting braces or corrective surgery.
Types of Retainers
There are two basic types of retainers – removable retainers and permanent retainers. These types are also divided into various types.
· Removable Retainers
Removable retainers have two more types, vacuum form retainer (VFR) and Hawley retainer. The VFR is a clear horseshoe-shaped material that can be perfectly shaped to fit over the patient’s teeth. These retainers are best because they are pretty invisible, highly comfortable, and not as big as other of its types. However, it is not an ideal option for patients who have a habit of grinding their teeth, as it can wear down because of continuous teeth grinding.
In contrast, a Hawley retainer is a traditional one that consists of a plastic material made for the surface or roof of your mouth. This retainer is preset with a wire that gets fit over the front side of your teeth. These are durable and offer you the ability to adjust it according to your requirements.
For instance, if one or two teeth need to get a new position, dentists sometimes adjust the wire to make them stronger. This feature is not present in other types of retainers. However, Hawley retainers do not have an aesthetic appearance like the VFR. Not to mention, some patients face problems while talking and swallowing food when they wear retainers.
· Permanent Retainers
The fixed lingual retainer is the type of permanent retainer. It consists of a wire fixed to the backside of the teeth. Generally, an orthodontist recommends you to get a permanent retainer if you have crowded, rotated teeth, and have a lot of spacing between the teeth. The benefit of the dental retainer is that it is permanent, and you don’t have to take it out for any reason.
However, they can sometimes give you a hard time. For instance, you may feel difficulty to clean them. Your lower teeth often gather a lot of calculus and plaque with time, leading to various dental problems. So, if you get this treatment, make sure to clean lingual every day.
Another major drawback of these retainers is that they can cause various problems, requiring emergency orthodontic care, which you never need with removable retainers. If this retainer breaks, you need to visit the orthodontist as early as possible to avoid shifting your teeth.
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Bottom Line
As you have learned, sometimes, it becomes important to get a dental retainer. In case you avoid getting one after having braces or corrective surgeries, these treatments become worthless. Thus, after going through some oral treatment, you need to keep your teeth straight, as mentioned in the post. So, get your retainer from an expert to avoid any future problem.
Wondering where you can find a qualified orthodontist? Well, we can help you in this case. We, at Manhattan Family Orthodontics, have the best orthodontists who can help you with any oral treatment. You only need to call us at (646) 760-8028 to get an appointment.
Visit our website for more details.
Best Children’s Orthodontist: What to Look For
What should you look for in the best children’s orthodontist? Are you thinking of taking your child to an orthodontist? But did you search about the dentist before visiting them with your kid? Oh! You did not. Well – it’s not a good idea to take your kid to any dentist. You need to look for some important qualities in children’s orthodontists so that they can treat the dental problems of your child from its core. Read the article to know what specialties you need in a dentist.
What to Look for in a Children’s Orthodontist
Special Training
Not every dentist is good for your children. You need to look for a dentist that has specialization in treating children. Children’s orthodontists have the expertise to offer the best treatment to your kids. They know how to protect a child’s oral health. They also have studied a few more years than a regular dentist to get training to treat children. Thus, you can feel relax that your child would receive the best treatment for their dental problem.
These training teach dentists how to deal with kid’s behaviors, create a joyful atmosphere for children, and provide a pleasant, less painful experience. Not to mention, it’s best if you look for a dentist that has additional training in oral problems of children.
Active License to Practice
Another most important thing you need to look in a children’s orthodontist is their license. They should have an active license that permits them to practice in the field of dentistry in your state. Of course, who would want to take their child to a person who doesn’t even follow the state’s rules? Only the state can give professional dental license to any orthodontist.
Wondering how you will check the license? Generally, the licenses and certification are displayed in the dentist’s room or in the clinic’s reception area. If you don’t find them, without hesitation, ask the dentist about their license.
Behavior Management Skills
You may know that children with ASD have poor social skills and communication. You need to look for an orthodontist who has strong behavior management skills. This dentist should have the capability to greet your child with a big warm smile.
Usually, children’s orthodontist knows how to communicate with children. These dentists know the trick to play with their facial expressions, have a light and friendly voice tone, and know the dynamic process of dialogue. A good example of it is that the dentist let a child move the dental chair up and down before asking them to sit on it.
This helps build a sense of trust between the dentists and children. In other words, you need to look for the dentist who doesn’t get harsh when your kid does not follow their leads. Find the one who can easily treat your children without aggressively forcing them to follow their instructions.
Welcoming Environment
Most people fear visiting dentists, even adults. This is why it is your responsibility to find a dentist that doesn’t give your children a frightening experience. The best children’s orthodontist makes their offices or clinic bright, happy, and colorful for children’s psychological and physical needs.
This environment is enough to impress your little one and convince them to have dental treatment. Of course, not every atmosphere suits every kid. Toddlers and children around 2 to 5 years have different needs, and children above than this age get overwhelmed with other things. This is why you need to choose a dentist who can communicate according to the age of your kid.
Knowledge of All Available Procedures
Orthodontics should have knowledge of all types of procedures and techniques to treat your children. They should also be able to perform basic prophylaxis and other regular dental care techniques for your kid. Moreover, they also should have the required qualifications and experience to do complex procedures such as sedation or root canals.
Of course, it’s waste of time, energy, and effort if you have to visit different dental clinics for different treatments. So, it’s best to choose an orthodontist with knowledge and experience in all types of procedures.
Well-Equipped Dental Clinic
This is the last but one of the most important things you need to consider. You need to check whether or not the dental clinic has all the essential equipment to do treatments. If your kid needs sedation, this dentist should have an oxygen tank, intubation sets, papoose board, and pulse oximeter. If they don’t have all the essential material, they will not be able to deal with emergencies or even can’t give your child the best treatment.
Bottom Line
Now you can easily choose the best children’s orthodontist with the help of the qualities mentioned above. You can take our help if you are looking for the best orthodontist in town. At Manhattan Family Orthodontics, we have a comfortable environment that can easily attract children and win their hearts. Because of our orthodontists’ light and friendly manner, children feel ease in getting dental treatments.
Visit our website or call us at (646) 760-8028 for further details.