You may have experienced going to a dentist to have your teeth checked only to be recommended to an orthodontist. Among the popular but least commonly understood field or specialties in dentistry is orthodontics. This field in dentistry is more complicated to explain not like pediatric dentistry and periodontology. To understand orthodontics, you need to have a little bit of know-how about the wider objective of dentistry.
Orthodontics can ultimately be described as the branch of dentistry which is concerned with providing perfectly aligned teeth using orthodontic appliances. This branch of dentistry provides solutions to malocclusions, which are known as the condition where the teeth are misaligned. Orthodontics treatment is also performed on people suffering from teeth spacing problems.
This branch of dentistry has been practiced since early times, but wasn't really considered as a science since the late 1800s. Many contributions on orthodontics were made even before it was considered as a branch of dentistry.
Before, orthodontic methods were only performed when the misalignment of the teeth and their supportive structures are already causing chewing problems or lack of dental function to an individual. However, the use for orthodontic procedures also changed when more and more people are already seeking treatments for cosmetic reasons.
These days, many people are getting these procedures in order to look much more attractive. It also shows that like other branches of medicine, orthodontics has not been spared from the desire of people to look more attractive.
And so, those who are opting to become cosmetic dentists are advised to take in as much orthodontic study as they can since a lot of help that people are looking for in a cosmetic dentist are related to orthodontics.
Orthodontic specialists usually use a wide range of tools and can also present a variety of techniques in order to bring perfectly align the teeth and supportive structures of their patients. For those patients with severe problems wherein the face is already distorted or affected, an orthodontist will usually recommend an outright surgical procedure to completely resolve them. Sometimes, surgical procedures are also performed if the misalignment of the teeth is already causing other health problems to the patient.
If the misalignment of the teeth is mild, the orthodontics specialist may only use different alignment tool such as braces. These orthodontic appliances are also the ones that are sought after by people who are opting to looking even more attractive.