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HEALTH&FITNESS
256
January15
Orthodontics
– Then and Now
To get your teeth into this brand new year, why not resolve on
perfecting your pearly-whites? As
Verne Maree
finds out, it’s never
too late – and we humans have been at it for several millennia.
Valua Vitaly | Dreamstime.com
W
here did it all start? The
Ancient Egyptians realised
that teeth will move in
response to pressure, and
used crude metal bands and catgut
to coax errant teeth into line. Ancient
Greeks and Etruscans also dabbled in
the orthodontic arts, as we can see from
the dental appliances they left behind.
Forerunners of the orthodontic
techniques of our own age were first
developed in the late 18th century and
refined in the early 1900s. Since then,
the development of new materials – not
to mention the IT revolution – has been
making healthily functioning, good-
looking teeth increasingly achievable
for anyone, at any age.
Growth modification
Orthodontics has long beenmarketed as
ameans to achieve straight and beautiful
teeth, says orthodontist DR VICPEARLY
WONG (and yes, her parents gave her
that wonderfully apt name), but there
are many reasons to straighten a set of
crooked teeth, beyond just the aesthetics.
“These benefits include easier
brushing, which prevents tooth decay;
a more effective bite, making for better
nutrition; better speech and an improved
lip position.”
Early orthodontic treatment gives
your orthodontist the chance to guide
jaw growth, to ensure that both sides
grow evenly and retain their shape; it
lowers the risk of trauma to protruded
front teeth, and can correct harmful
oral habits.
Habits such as sucking thumbs or
fingers, or trapping the lower lipbehind the
upper front teeth, can cause permanent
misalignment, so they should be
discouraged, DrWong tellsme. If stopped
before the first adult front teeth erupt,
the dental problem may spontaneously
correct within six months – though some
orthodontic intervention might still be
needed to straighten the teeth.
“Early treatment with preventive
devices may discourage the habit and
prevent more serious problems from
developing,” she adds. “And as a result,
any later treatment will be shorter and
less complicated.”
Dr Wong says she enjoys her work in
growth modification: using orthodontic
devices such as headgear, face masks
and fitted oral plates, together with
the child’s natural potential to grow,
to achieve the desired results. These
devices can be highly effective for a
growing child with a very narrow jaw
or protruding teeth, she explains; or to
correct speech problems from habitual
tongue-thrusting.
“In some ways,” she explains, “growth
modification is both more challenging
and more rewarding to the orthodontist
than going the braces route. With
braces, your patient is in the chair for,
say, ten minutes, and you wave them off
with a reminder to brush their teeth and
come back in four weeks’ time.”
She has to establish if they’re
wearing their headgear, mask, plate
or other device, and whether or not it’s
comfortable; she measures their growth
and she talks to their parents.
“Mouth-breathing is a problem I see
frequently,” she tells me. “It’s generally
caused by air resistance related to