You only get one set of adult teeth and nature designed them to last a lifetime. Often though, they don’t and one thing that can reduce their chances of lasting you a lifetime is if they are badly aligned.
Misaligned teeth tend not to last as long as straight ones. They are more prone to decay and gum disease, owing to being that much harder to reach with your toothbrush. Our orthodontist in Stanmore loves nothing more than extending the lifetime of your teeth by getting them to line up properly. Sometimes, this means having to do some work on your jaw as well as your teeth. This is why an orthodontist in Stanmore goes through a lot of extra studying and training before they are allowed by the General Dental Council, UK dentistry’s governing body, to call themselves an orthodontist.
Our orthodontist in Stanmore at the Centre of Dental Excellence is Neil Patel. He will be able to guide you to the right straightening and realignment treatments for you as an adult. He can also take care of any children you might have.
Jaws and teeth
There are two categories of misalignment – those that affect the teeth and those that affect the jaw. Teeth can be realigned at any time during your life. During the process, the jawbone responds to pressure within the tooth socket by removing bone material on one side of the pressure whilst simultaneously building it back up on the other to keep things stable. Realigning the jaws or widening a narrow arch need to be done before the age of 18 as, after that, the jawbone loses its plasticity and cannot be manipulated.
Bring your kids in
Not so long ago, the average age for braces treatment from the orthodontist in Stanmore was about 12. These days, we think it’s a good idea to guide the teeth into place as they erupt rather than rearranging them once they are already in place. This means treatment with the orthodontist can start from around the age of nine, and appointments to diagnose potential problems can start from around the age of seven.