WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE FOR BRACES? ARE YOU TOO OLD FOR BRACES?

Of course everyone wants perfectly aligned teeth which line up beautifully. Unfortunately, many people must contend with crooked teeth, crowded smiles, or poorly aligned bites. We get a lot of queries from people who are 25 years and older about the position of their teeth, bite issues and even joint problems. These problems raise more than cosmetic concerns. Crowded or overlapping teeth can be difficult to clean, making tooth decay and gum disease more likely. Teeth that don't come together properly when you close your jaws—a problem called malocclusion, or "bad bite"—can cause chewing and swallowing problems. Poor tooth alignment can also make it difficult to pronounce certain sounds and can put excessive stress on the chewing muscles, causing facial pain.

Although childhood is the ideal time to make changes in the positioning of the teeth, more adults are opting for orthodontic treatment and coming away with excellent results. In Summit Dental Clinic, our Orthodontist considers many variables when developing your customized treatment plan, but age is rarely a deciding factor. Orthodontic treatment can be as successful for adults as it is for adolescents. In fact, one in ten of our orthodontic patients is an adult!

So how is braces / orthodontic treatment in Adults different? The biggest difference in orthodontics for adults vs. children/teens is that adults are no longer growing. Whether you’re 10 or 60, it’s the same physiological process that moves teeth through bone. Teeth move in response to forces being placed on them over time. Many orthodontic problems can be corrected as easily for adults as for children/teens. Adults have denser bone tissue than children, so treatment may take a little longer, but age does not keep teeth from moving. Adults may have have fillings, missing teeth, misshapen or worn teeth, or other dental disease. Some medications, and habits like smoking, clenching or grinding teeth and this can affect the duration of treatment.

Treatment time for adults varies as short as 6 months to 18-20 months depending on the amount of alignment correction. It’s a comparatively small investment of time that pays big dividends in improved dental health, better function (biting, chewing), the ability to more easily keep your teeth clean, and higher self-confidence. In Summit Dental Clinic, our Orthodontist will perform a comprehensive evaluation to ascertain which type of braces are right for you- metal, ceramic or Invisalign.

The opportunity for a healthy, beautiful smile has not passed you by. You don’t have to spend the rest of your life hiding your smile. Just because you didn’t have orthodontic treatment when you were a youngster doesn’t prevent you from doing something about it now. Your age doesn’t matter. You can have the smile you’ve always wanted.