Answers to Common Questions About Orthodontics
New to braces? Dr. Goldberg & Dr. Davis can help.
Get answers to the most common orthodontic questions in Greensboro and High Point.
If you don't see your question listed, always feel free to call our office, and our helpful team members can answer all your questions.
Orthodontists are dental specialists who diagnose, prevent and treat dental and facial irregularities. Selecting an orthodontist in High Point or Greensboro who can help you achieve your smile dreams is essential.
Orthodontists receive an additional two to three years of specialized education beyond dental school. This is where they learn the proper way to align and straighten teeth.
Only those with this formal education may call themselves “orthodontists,” and only orthodontists may be members of the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO).
Dr. Goldberg & Dr. Davis from Davis & Goldberg Orthodontics have achieved this specialization and are active members of AAO.
Age shouldn’t be a factor when considering orthodontic treatment for adults. Any healthy adult with healthy gums and good bone support for your teeth is a candidate for orthodontic treatment. About 25% of our orthodontic patients are adults, and that number is on the rise!
Orthodontics is a branch of dentistry that specialized in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of dental and facial irregularities. In other words, a bad bite (the technical term is “malocclusion”).
Performing orthodontic treatment requires professional skill in the design, application, and control of corrective appliances such as braces.
An orthodontist uses these skills to bring your teeth, lips and jaws into proper alignment to achieve facial balance.
Determining whether or not treatment is necessary is difficult to assess, but the following signs can give you a good indication that it’s time to visit an orthodontist.
- Crowded or overlapping teeth
- Gaps between the teeth
- Front top teeth not lining up with the bottom teeth
- Top front teeth not meeting with bottom teeth
- Top front teeth covering more than 50% of the bottom teeth
If you see any misalignment or shifting of the jaw, your child may have a skeletal problem, which may require early orthodontic treatment at Davis & Goldberg Orthodontics.
These are only some of the obvious symptoms of orthodontic problems.
Many factors go into determining the cost of your treatment, including the severity of the problem, how complex the problem is, and how long it takes.
Dr. Goldberg & Dr. Davis will be glad to discuss the cost of treatment and your financing options before treatment begins.
Braces are more affordable today than ever before, and that’s some great news. Our staff also works with insurance companies and offers payment plans that meet your family’s budget.
Crooked and crowded teeth are hard to clean and maintain. A bad bite can wear down the surfaces of your teeth in an abnormal way, make it difficult to chew and speak, and even cause excess stress on supporting bone and gum tissue.
Without treatment, many problems become worse and can require additional dental care later in life.
The American Association of Orthodontists recommends an orthodontic screening at age seven. At this age, most children have several permanent teeth, which allows us to evaluate their orthodontic needs.
Dr. Goldberg & Dr. Davis can spot subtle issues with jaw growth and emerging teeth before all baby teeth have fallen out.
That’s important, because some orthodontic problems may be easier to correct if they’re found early. Most orthodontic patients begin active braces treatment between ages 9 and 14.
Phase I, also know as interceptive or early treatment, usually starts while the child has most of their baby teeth and few of their permanent front incisors.
This stage of development is typically between the ages of seven and nine.
The goal of Phase I treatment is to catch a moderate or severe orthodontic problem early enough to prevent it from fully developing. These problems include skeletal discrepancies, crossbites, and severe crowding.
Phase 1 treatment utilizes the growth spurt that takes place around this time and turns a difficult orthodontic problem a more manageable one.
Phase II treatment is always recommended after Phase I to achieve the final ideal bite. This takes place several years later.
We’re usually waiting for the remaining permanent teeth to erupt, including second molars before Phase II begins. This is usually at age 12 or 13.
No. Not every child will need Phase I treatment at Davis & Goldberg Orthodontics.
Only some children with certain bite problems will require early intervention.
Other children can wait until all of their permanent teeth have grown in.
There isn’t an exact answer to this. The length of treatment depends on how severe the problem is, your cooperation, how your mouth responds to treatment.
Patients who need orthodontic treatment generally have one to three years of active treatment.
This can be determined through a free consultation at our High Point or Greensboro office.
Most orthodontic issues are inherited, though some are acquired. Crowded teeth, spacing issues, extra teeth, congenitally missing teeth, and discrepancies in your jaws, teeth and face are all inherited orthodontic problems.
Acquired problems can be caused by trauma, thumb or finger sucking, airway obstruction by tonsils and adenoids, dental diseases, and premature loss of baby or adult teeth.
Many of these problems affect not only the alignment of your teeth but also facial development and appearance as well.
If you notice an unwanted change in your smile or bite, contact Davis & Goldberg Orthodontics at (336) 887-3168 for information. An orthodontic “tune-up” may be necessary to regain proper alignment.
When you first start your treatment, your teeth may be tender and sore for a few days, but it shouldn’t be painful.
Modern braces are more comfortable than they’ve even been, and we use technology that reduces your discomfort.
Orthodontic treatment is a partnership between the doctor and patient. Dr. Goldberg & Dr. Davis provides custom-made fixed or removable appliances that use gentle pressure to move teeth into their proper positions.
It’s your job to follow Dr. Goldberg & Dr. Davis’s instructions, arrive for your scheduled orthodontic appointments and maintaining excellent oral hygiene to get the best results.
You’ll also need to see your general dentist as recommended to continue your general dental care.
Not necessarily. According to research, wisdom teeth don’t always cause teeth to shift. Wisdom teeth are usually removed for general dental health reasons rather than for orthodontic health reasons.
Your family dentist or Dr. Goldberg & Dr. Davis can help determine whether your wisdom teeth need to be removed.
Small changes that happen after your braces are removed are caused when your teeth settle in as you use your teeth for biting and chewing. More serious and unwanted changes may be traced to genetics or unexpected and unpredictable later-than-normal growth.
Movement is more common on lower front teeth. If your teeth were extremely crowded before treatment, this is especially likely. Changes in tooth position are a lifelong and naturally occurring phenomenon.
The best way to keep your teeth from shifting is to wear your retainers as prescribed. If you notice movement after your braces are removed, please contact Davis & Goldberg Orthodontics.
Each treatment addresses crowding teeth. Extraction therapy is a technique where one or more permanent teeth are removed to make room for the rest of your teeth.
Non-extraction therapy where one expands a patient’s jaw or adjusts the size and shape of some teeth to make them fit within the jaw.
Our office's treatment philosophy is very conservative, and we make every effort to avoid extraction.
However, for severe crowding and severe jaw discrepancy, the extraction approach may be required.
Dr. Goldberg & Dr. Davis will recommend how long to continue wearing your retainers, whether they are removable (the kind you put in and take out) or fixed (bonded behind your teeth).
Wearing your retainers as prescribed is the best way to keep your teeth from moving after your orthodontic treatment. Teeth might move after orthodontic treatment for many reasons. Teeth aren’t set in concrete but in bone.
Because bone around your teeth is continually changing (breaking down and rebuilding), your teeth may shift after your braces are removed.
By wearing your retainers, your teeth are more likely to remain where Dr. Goldberg or Dr. Davis has placed them through braces treatment.
No. Retainers stabilize and preserve the alignment of teeth and jaws that orthodontic treatment achieved. Many people wear removable retainers nightly for the rest of their lives. Ask your orthodontist for guidance about your long-term retainer use.
Throughout your lifetime, your teeth will keep moving. This fact can be frustrating when you’ve had orthodontic treatment.
Many factors work together to cause teeth to shift. These changes are different for everyone, and most of the time, they’re hardly noticeable.
However, these changes can disappoint both you and Dr. Goldberg & Dr. Davis when they occur. Changes like this don’t mean that your orthodontic treatment has failed. They’re all part of the natural process.
We expect changes in our bodies as we grow older, and teeth are no exception. To help control and limit these changes, retainers are prescribed after your braces are removed.