Orthodontic Mouth Guard

Can I Play Sports with Braces on My Teeth?

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by DR. JOSEPH THOMPSON | Featured on Ask an Orthodontist

A lot of people enjoy watching sports and participating in sports activities.  It’s exciting when we see our team or the underdog come back and win the game.  Some parents are concerned about their children playing sports while they have braces on their teeth.  The question often asked is, “Are there any limitations or sports that my child can’t participate in?”  During orthodontic treatment with braces, a child can play any sport.  However, we have to be careful to protect our lips and teeth from injury.  The best way to protect our teeth is with an orthodontic mouth guard.

Orthodontic mouth guards are different from a regular mouth guard.  First the regular mouth guard is thermoplastic.  Before using it, you have to heat the regular mouth guard and bite into it to create imprints of your teeth.  This is a problem with orthodontic treatment.  As the orthodontist moves your teeth, the regular mouth guard will try to move the teeth into an old position going against the tooth movement we want.  Or eventually the teeth will move so much that the regular mouth guard will not fit any more.

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Getting Braces as an Adult

Getting Braces as an Adult

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Interested in getting braces? An initial consultation will provide an opportunity to ask questions about orthodontic treatment such as:

  • What are the costs involved in getting braces?
  • How will the braces correct my problem?
  • How long will I need to wear braces?

Contact us for a free consultation and Biermann Orthodontics will set you up with an evaluation!

Less noticeable teeth straightening options are available today. Learn about your options.

by Krisha McCoy, MS on Everyday Health

Many adults with crooked teeth think they missed their opportunity for braces during childhood. But dental professionals now readily use braces to help correct dental problems at any age. In fact, adult braces are more popular today than ever before.

When Adult Braces Can Help

Adult braces can be used to correct a variety of dental problems, including:

  • Crooked teeth
  • Overcrowded teeth
  • Bite abnormalities (for example, an overbite or underbite)
  • Problems with jaw position
  • Jaw joint problems

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Besty Way to Floss Braces - Biermann Orthodontics

Got Braces? It’s Easier to Clean & Floss with a Water Flosser

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Cleaning Dental Braces

Dental braces can create oral health problems such as gingivitis and decalcification (white marks), which lead to more serious issues.

  • Gingivitis is the earliest sign of gum disease. It appears as red, swollen, and shiny gums that bleed easily. It is caused by plaque that irritates the gum tissue and causes an infection.
  • Decalcification affects your tooth enamel, causing white spots or lesions on your teeth. It is caused by a combination of plaque and acid production after you eat and drink. Decalcification is impossible to correct, so prevention is critical.

You can minimize or prevent oral health problems caused by dental braces with good dental and orthodontic care.

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First Day in Braces - Biermann Orthodontics

First Day in Braces: Silke from Sidney, Australia

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First Day in Braces: Silke from Sidney, Australia

Here are some weird and wonderful things I thought I’d share with you about my experience with braces so far. I’ve had my braces on for 3 and a half months now. My teeth have moved quite dramatically already. I never expected it to happen so quickly. Anyway here’s my list of hopefully helpful tips for anyone out there thinking of getting braces:

Lots and lots of people have not even noticed I have braces. This surprised me because before getting them, I envisioned explaining my metal mouth to everyone and their dog. I told people at work I was getting braces and believe it or not, one girl was jealous! She says she has always wanted braces. She has perfect teeth but even asked her dentist if she could please get braces. Now that I did not expect.

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7 Tips to Prevent Ceramic Braces From Staining

7 Tips to Prevent Ceramic Braces From Staining

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Ceramic braces are brackets that are made to easily blend in with your teeth hence making them unnoticeable. Unlike the metallic and clear braces, these are made to look like your teeth hence more preferred. The ceramic braces are also favored due to their ability to align teeth much faster than the metallic and clear brackets. However, as much as we would like to have these unique ceramic braces, they stain easily if not well taken care of. You need to know the factors that lead to staining beforehand, so you can prevent your ceramic braces from staining in the future. Unfortunately, some people learn through experience which should never be the case.

Brush Your Teeth After Every Meal

This cannot be emphasized enough. This is a practice that should be trained even to small children due to its importance. Making it a habit to brush your teeth with braces immediately after meals ensures that the food color and flavors are washed off hence leaving the mouth clean. This will also prevent tooth decay which is higher due to food getting trapped in between brackets.

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About Braces

About Rubber Bands for Braces

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Orthodontic braces perfect your smile by applying constant, steady pressure to move your teeth into proper position. The brackets and wires attached to your teeth are limited in the direction of the applied force, however. Some situations, particularly to correct bite problems, require the upper and lower rows of teeth to move relative to each other. Rubber bands, or elastics, hooked to the brackets apply tension in directions brackets and wires cannot achieve alone.

Purpose

Elastics apply constant pressure to align the teeth in a perfect bite, states the website Rubber Bands for Braces. The lower jaw must move relative to the upper teeth for proper alignment. Braces alone only move teeth along the upper or lower arch.

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Dry Mouth With Braces - Biermann Orthodintics

Dry Mouth With Braces

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If you have braces and experience some side effects such as a dry, cottony feeling in your mouth, there are solutions that can allow you to remain comfortable with your mouth until the braces are gone.

Significance
If you’re a candidate for braces, your dentist will examine your mouth by taking X-rays and performing an oral exam. He should ensure that all of your teeth are properly aligned and your bite is even in conjunction with your jaw. If he sees a problem, he may refer you to an orthodontist for further evaluation and placement of braces. Your mouth then goes through a metamorphosis as it reshapes and readjusts to the proper fitting. You could experience a dry mouth during this time.

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Tooth Pain From Braces - Biermann Orthodontics

Tooth Braces and Pain

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Braces are a fact of life for many people—according to a study done by Orthodontics.org, approximately 4 million people in the United States are under orthodontic care at any given time, and 80 percent of teenagers will wear braces. Braces can cause tooth pain, though it’s typically not severe and doesn’t last for very long.

What Are Braces For?
Braces help straighten crooked teeth, close gaps and spaces, and correct over-bites and under-bites. They’re typically worn by younger teenagers, but can be put on at any age. Depending on the severity of the correction, braces come in several different styles, including metal, clear, behind-the-teeth and “invisible.”

How Do Braces Work?
According to KidsHealth.org, standard braces straighten teeth with a combination of metal brackets, wires and rubber bands. Metal brackets are glued to the front of the teeth and then connected with a wire that helps move teeth side to side. Colored rings called litigating modules go around the brackets to hold the wires in place, and can be changed frequently to match outfits or for holidays. Rubber bands are used to move teeth forward and backward and can be stretched from front teeth back to molars, or from top teeth to bottom teeth.

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What are Orthodontic Spacers?

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Your orthodontist may have told you that you need to have spacers before your braces go on. What does this mean?

Some of your teeth may need brackets that are attached to metal bands that go all the way around the tooth.* Usually, the bands are used only on molars. If the space between your molars is very tight, it will be difficult for the orthodontist to put the bands on the teeth. Therefore, space must be opened up to fit the bands in. This is where spacers come in.

SpacersSpacers are little rubber nodules that fit between the teeth. In some cases, your orthodontist may use a metal spacer, which looks like a tiny metal hinge. The spacers stay between your teeth for several days and move the teeth apart slightly. You wear the spacers 24/7 until your orthodontist removes them. Do not floss teeth that have spacers between them (it will be impossible)!

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All About Arch Wires - Biermann Orthodontics

All About Arch Wires

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An arch wire is the wire that attaches to your braces. It is called an “arch wire” because your top teeth comprise your top arch, and your bottom teeth comprise your bottom arch. An arch wire is like the engine that guides and moves your teeth. Without an arch wire to connect your braces, you would just be wearing braces for fun and your teeth would never move! Arch wires come in different sizes and have different material compositions.

Strength and Springiness

When you first start treatment with braces, your teeth are crooked. The wire that attaches to your braces must be able to return to its original shape when it is deformed or bent. The force that returns the wire to its original shape is what moves your teeth. The wire should be springy, yet exert a gentle force so that your brackets do not pop off when the orthodontist ties in your arch wire.

As your teeth get straighter, your orthodontist will exchange your wires for stronger wires that are usually less elastic and stiffer. These stronger, stiffer wires allow the orthodontist to have more control over tooth movements. Often times, these later wires have characteristics that allow the orthodontist to put permanent bends in the arch wire if he wants to move individual teeth.

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