Archive | General Orthodontics

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Missing Teeth  

18 Oct
Missing Teeth

Roughly 3-5% of the population is missing a tooth. The tooth is absent because it never formed. If you walk down the street and pass twenty people, one of the people you pass will naturally be missing a tooth. The most common tooth to be missing is a third molar (no big deal) however, the […]

Surgery with Orthodontics

27 Sep
An illustration of patient with smaller lower jaw creating a discrepancy between the upper front teeth and lower front teeth. This patient’s problem requires jaw surgery to correct the discrepancy. The blue line indicates where the lower jaw should line up.

Most times a Herbst appliance will be sufficient to correct differences in jaw growth. In a few patients, the facial bones grow in so differently that a Herbst appliance or regular orthodontics are not enough to correct the bite. In order to achieve a functional bite the bones have to be realigned. Disparate facial bones […]

The Herbst Appliance

27 Sep
An illustration showing a Herbst appliance and the difference (blue line) between the upper and lower teeth (incisors). This appliance is designed to move the lower jaw forward.

In some patients the lower jaw is small and needs assistance to match with the upper jaw. A Herbst (lower jaw advancing) appliance may be the additional help needed. Elastics sometimes are not enough to make the needed correction to the tooth alignment. A Herbst appliance is typically worn 8 months.  

The Problem of Canines and Crowding During Early Development

27 Sep
early-development_7

The canines (the fangs) are the “rogues” during human tooth development. Canines as a tooth type have the longest eruption time (from 3 months to 11 years). The are two possibilities in which the canines can destroy the permanent incisors:   Sudden vertical growth of the face creates space above the maxillary incisors permitting the […]