All people are not fortunate enough to be born with a set of pearl white set of teeth. Many people have teeth which they want to improve. Braces are basically appliances which apply gentle pressure on teeth for them to move slowly in the jaw to help correct the protrusion and bite. Your bite, either overbite or under bite are important for chewing and amount of pressure they put on lower jaw. They also help in to straighten your teeth. The braces are more often made of metal but now many options are available.

Who benefits from braces?

The people who benefit from braces are the ones who have crooked teeth, who have faulty bite, who do not have correct pressure of teeth required for chewing. Also people who have decayed teeth, cavities, and gum diseases.

How do braces help people with dental problems?

• Braces correct the dental problems by spacing out teeth, so that cleaning teeth becomes easier.
• Braces help controlling pressure of upper teeth on lower teeth.
• As teeth are required to be cleaned, and cavities are filled, before braces can be fixed, this vital step is taken which helps getting rid of major dental troubles.
• Braces also helps in protecting teeth from injury. When teeth are protruding, they are more prone to get broken. Braces can give protection by helping in straighten the teeth.

Can Adults Wear Braces Too?

There was a time when braces were only associated with the youth, teenagers and adolescents. When braces were discovered it was thought to start the treatment of braces, the child should have developed all permanent teeth because it would be useless to give braces to children who are going to lose temporary teeth anyway. Then doctors would advise parents to wait till all permamnt teeth erupted and they could be braced as early as possible to move them to correct position.

Slowly the treatment of braces to correct teeth alignment and a host of other dental problems began catching up all over the world. By the time it became very popular, many people had passed their adolescence and had become adults. They began to wonder about their own non aligned and crooked teeth. They started to wonder about correcting their own smile and how to get a better smile and in turn get a better self concept.

Many adults realized that it was possible to correct their previous dental work and get straighter and better looking teeth. It is now possible for adults to get braces on their teeth.

When do adults need braces?

Those who were not fortunate enough to receive timely dental braces for their dental problems such as overbites, under bites, overcrowded teeth, incorrect jaw position, crooked and protruding teeth may need braces when they become adults.

Can adults wear braces?

Since wearing braces have been an adolescent thing for so many years, adults always take time to think about going in for braces. It takes courage to take the decision of wearing braces in adulthood. It can be quite intimidating. Although now more and more adults are opting for wearing braces to correct dental problems and getting a better smile even in adulthood, it is not very easy to opt for in later age.

Adults who are professionals and have to present themselves in formal settings find it daunting to wear traditional braces comprising of dark wires and brackets. They find it undesirable to go about their social meetings wearing these brackets where the smile looks really unbecoming.

Now thanks to advances in dental treatment methodology, there are many options to braces which make more and more adults opting for braces. Today adult patients have a lot of choices available to them like lingual and ceramic braces to Damon, fixed, and clear braces.

Difference between braces among adults and young adults

Adults are as good candidates for receiving same benefits from braces as children. But the differences is that the recovery time for adults may be longer than in children because when children are growing they are more capable getting faster recovery. Adults have already grown that is why they take longer to recover from treatment.

Usually youth requires 12 months or more to wear braces whereas adults may require 18 months to 3 years to wear braces for them to be effective. The adults need to wear retainers also for a longer period after braces are removed to maintain the results of treatment.

Types of braces available

One of the reason today it has become possible for adults to go for  braces is the variety of braces available. Although the best option traditional dentists opt for is metal, there are other materials braces are made of which are attractive and reasonable priced.

There are smaller and less noticeable braces which are becoming popular.  There are natural tooth colour ceramic braces which are liked by many because they are not noticed at all and look natural at the same time very effective in straightening the teeth and correcting the bite.

The minor teeth and jaw alignment needs are taken care of by invisible clear braces made of plastic which is virtually invisible making it preferred choice among adults.

Traditional metal braces: These are made of stainless steel. They are attached to the front of teeth and are the most used braces among traditional practitioners.

Clear ceramic: The braces made from ceramic are worn on front of teeth like metal braces. They are clear and blend with the colour of teeth and are unnoticeable. They look better than metal braces but break more easily than metal.

Concealed or lingual: These brackets which are attached at the back of the teeth and therefore not seen or visible to people.

Invisible: These are a series of braces which are clear appliances made to order and are removable. They are called aligners. These are more convenient because they do not trap food as they can be removed. These are used for minor alignment problems.

As you can see, there are many methods available to correct your dental problems and enhance your smile. If you need a smile that needs correcting, get in touch with your dentist today!