Can "braces" change the face shape?
Expert: You can’t eat hard food while wearing braces, your face will change temporarily but will gradually recover
Nowadays, among teenagers, the "clamping" is almost as popular as OK mirrors.
Among the children's classmates, there will always be a few "bracket girls" and "steel teeth boys".
In the recent winter vacation, the orthodontics department of the hospital also ushered in a small peak of consultation and orthodontics among students and parents.
Chief Physician Liu Chufeng of the Orthodontics Department of Southern Medical University Stomatological Hospital (Guangdong Provincial Stomatological Hospital) said that some teenagers do need treatment because of uneven teeth, but there are also some teenagers whose dental problems are not obvious. However, parents still hope their children’s teeth are "tighter." ", the appearance is better, so I take the child to seek medical advice "clip teeth."
So, under what circumstances do children need to "clamp their teeth"?
What is the best age for orthodontics?
Is there any hidden risk of "braces"?
In this issue of famous doctors, the reporter asked Chief Physician Liu Chufeng to answer the questions for parents.
Text/Guangzhou Daily All-Media Reporter Zhou Jieying Correspondent Li Guihua
Column Coordinator/Guangzhou Daily All-Media Reporter Cao Teng
Under what circumstances need braces?
In the process of children's growth and development, various causes of misalignment of teeth, abnormal occlusal relationship between upper and lower dental arches, abnormal size and position of jaws, and facial deformities are collectively referred to as malocclusion deformities. Common dentitions are crowded. , Protrusion, ground cover, sparse dentition, open occlusion, etc.
Chief Physician Liu Chufeng said that there are indeed many cases of irregular dentition that need to be corrected by wearing braces, which is what citizens call braces and braces.
However, there are some serious skeletal malocclusion deformities that need to be treated with orthognathic surgery after the growth and development are completed (usually after the age of 18). It is not just a simple way to put on braces to make teeth neat.
It is not that the teeth are neat, and the "beautiful" expected by the parents can be achieved.
With the development of social economy, people's demand for beauty is increasing, and "beauty" is often very subjective.
Whether it meets the indications for treatment, there are standardized medical standards. It is not that the parents feel that the child’s “teeth are not beautiful” subjectively, and the doctor will agree to the braces.
In addition, if parents are considering braces for their children, they also need to think about other issues arising from this, such as the need to wear braces for a long time, can their children insist on cooperating?
For example, wearing braces may increase the difficulty of oral cleaning. If the child cannot insist on ensuring oral hygiene, it may bring about a higher risk of dental caries.
Is the sooner the teeth corrected, the better?
Unlike the usual understanding of the disease, not all malocclusion deformities are corrected as soon as possible.
Chief Physician Liu Chufeng said that most malocclusion deformities such as crowded dentition and large interdental teeth can be corrected at any age in theory. The best correction period is generally between 11 years and 14 years for girls and between 12 and 15 years for boys.
At this time, the permanent teeth are fully erupted, the skull, occlusion, and face still have some developmental potential, the metabolism function is good, and the tooth movement effect is remarkable, so this is called the "golden period of orthodontic treatment."
But there are also situations that require early intervention.
For example, maxillary protrusion, mandibular recession, or both, the clinical manifestations are "deep coverage", convex type, commonly known as "big buck teeth"; or maxillary recession, mandibular protrusion or both, clinical manifestations are " Anti-occlusal", concave type, commonly known as "ground protection".
These conditions belong to the uncoordinated relationship between the upper and lower jaws, and it is best to treat them in the pre-peak period or peak period of children's growth and development.
If the anti-occlusion of the deciduous teeth can be corrected at about 4 years old, it is usually done with movable appliances, and the anti-occlusion can be relieved in 3-6 months.
The malocclusion caused by children's bad habits such as lip biting and finger sucking also requires early intervention and treatment to avoid adverse effects on the maxillofacial region during growth and development.
Braces can "beautify" but not "face"
Can braces improve the appearance and make children beautiful?
Chief Physician Liu Chufeng said that bad teeth will certainly affect the appearance. In this sense, braces can improve the appearance of the face, and indeed it can improve the shape of the face to a certain extent.
For example, some children, and even some adults who love beauty, have protruding lips and teeth from the side, no chin, and not beautiful enough. They hope to improve.
Orthodontic doctors can use tooth extraction to correct the protruding teeth, thereby reducing the convexity of the lips and making the side facial lines natural and smooth.
On the other hand, it usually takes about two years to wear braces. During this period, you cannot eat too hard food. This will cause temporary atrophy of the masseter muscle due to long-term lack of exercise, which will change the face shape. However, this situation will occur after the braces are removed. Gradually recover.
Therefore, simple braces can only change the shape of the face to a certain extent and within a certain period of time. If you want to have a greater degree of change, or if your jaw has serious congenital developmental deformities, you generally need to combine the upper and lower jaw surgery to achieve better Good results.
Pay attention to beauty and more attention to oral health
Chief Physician Liu Chufeng reminds parents to make it clear that in addition to improving the appearance of teeth, it is more important to restore normal oral function.
While paying attention to "appearance", everyone should pay more attention to oral health and mental health problems caused by uneven dentition.
Even if there is no unsightly appearance, but the teeth in the oral cavity are crowded and overlapped, causing problems such as "dead corners" and food debris impaction when brushing teeth, which will greatly increase the risk of dental caries and periodontal inflammation.
Secondly, severe malocclusion can also affect pronunciation, chewing and swallowing.
Some children have bad teeth, which affects the chewing function. The severe front teeth can’t close together, and even noodles are constantly biting. Over time, it can cause gastroenteritis.
Malocclusion may also damage children's self-confidence, hinder their social life, and affect their mental health.
Based on these circumstances, doctors will recommend that children with malocclusion and deformity receive formal orthodontic treatment.
Famous doctor's classroom:
Braces must be used during braces
Experts reminded that the "braces" generally referred to by the citizens actually includes a variety of different types of dental appliances with different functions and materials; there are also various ways of orthodontics. Parents should listen to specialists in regular hospitals according to their children’s age and self-control. Diagnosis analysis and recommendations based on strength, dental symptoms, etc., to choose a suitable correction method.
Usually, after wearing the appliance, most patients will experience various degrees of discomfort such as tooth swelling, softness, and inability to bite hard objects in a short period of time. Generally, they can relieve themselves without special treatment.
If you choose to wear a fixed appliance, you should avoid chewing hard food, sticky food, and correct bad habits such as biting pencils and nails during the entire correction process; also pay attention to oral hygiene. It is recommended to use a suitable toothbrush and auxiliary cleaning tools to avoid excessive force Excessive deformation of the steel wire and the falling off of the brackets, you need to brush your teeth after each meal, and brush your teeth for no less than 3 minutes each time.
In addition, during orthodontic treatment, it is necessary to closely cooperate with the doctor and follow up in time, otherwise it will easily lead to problems such as prolonged treatment and poor efficacy.