Orthodontics for adults
Why not invest in yourself and enjoy a better smile for years to come?
Orthodontics is possible at any age. Today, more than 25% of orthodontic patients are adults. The advent of aesthetic and less bulky brackets, transparent Invisalign® aligners. Orthodontic corrections in adulthood can have a huge effect on your appearance and self-esteem, not to mention improving your dental health and function.
- Many orthodontic problems can be treated just as easily in adults as in younger patients.
- In some cases, limited or “compromise” treatments, aimed only at correcting certain aspects of a malocclusion, can be considered while allowing a significant improvement in function and aesthetics.
- “At my age, is it worth it”? Today, adults can expect to keep their teeth for life. Gone are the days when people expected to “lose their teeth when they get old”. Advances in modern dentistry and accessibility to quality dental care allow virtually anyone who wishes to have functional and aesthetic teeth throughout their lives. Often, orthodontics is one of the means that can help achieve these goals.
- The possibility of doing orthodontics in an adult depends more on his dental health and general health than on his chronological “age” as such.
The difference: Adults vs Teens
If the health of your teeth, the gums and the bone that supports them is good, the orthodontic movements of the teeth are practically identical in adults as in young patients. There may be some differences in some adults:
- A fundamental difference between adults and children or adolescents is the lack of growth. If there is a significant skeletal imbalance between the jaws, single or double jaw, surgery may be required to achieve proper balance between the jaws.
- In younger patients, growth potential can be used to correct a skeletal imbalance such as when one of the two jaws is too far forward or farther back than the other. (See malocclusions section for examples).
Pourquoi l’orthodontie pour adultes est plus complexe?
- Adults have more problems affecting the bone and gums around the teeth (periodontal disease) than the adolescent population.
- They sometimes have root canal treatments, broken, restored or missing teeth, dental implants or other forms of prosthetics (crowns, bridges, partials), which can alter the dental movements that can be made and the orthodontic mechanics that can be used.
- The treatment of such cases in orthodontics is still possible but requires a specific approach and treatment plans.
- Adults frequently have dentition that is “mutilated” by the extraction or loss of certain teeth, they have more worn teeth, sometimes damaged, tilted teeth or teeth that have migrated (see photos for examples) and present more problems of bone and gum around the teeth (periodontium), etc.
- These conditions can make treatments more complex and it is often necessary to work in collaboration with the general dentist and other dental specialists in order to establish the best treatment plan to benefit from solutions using the different spheres of modern dentistry.
