“Several recent studies have shown a link between dental disease and coronary heart disease. The authors studied 320 U.S. veterans in a convenience sample to assess the relationship between oral health and systemic diseases among older people. They present cross-sectional data confirming that a statistically significant association exists between a diagnosis of coronary heart disease and certain oral health parameters, such as the number of missing teeth, plaque benzoyl-DL-arginine-naphthylamide test scores, salivary levels of Streptococcus sanguis and complaints of xerostomia. The oral parameters in these subjects were independent of and more strongly
associated with coronary heart disease than were recognized risk factors, such as serum cholesterol levels, body mass index, diabetes
and smoking status. However, because of the convenience sample studied, these findings cannot be generalized to other populations. ”

To translate this article, in this study dental disease was a larger risk factor for heart disease than being overweight, having a high cholesterol level, not exercising or smoking.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Brian Burton knows braces not houses.

A local orthodontist, Burton, 34, doesn’t have much experience building a home.

But the orthodontist’s commitment to Mary White and her three daughters trumps any contribution Burton can give hanging drywall and installing electrical outlets at the house being built for the White family.

“I worked construction throughout college, but I was primarily responsible for sweeping floors,” Burton said. “I was the clean-up guy.”

Instead of actually donating materials toward construction of the house, Burton is helping with fundraising.

Burton has known the White family for several years. His family used to live near the Whites and he was assigned through his church to check on the Whites periodically.

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1. Orthodontists are appropriate only for the most challenging and complex orthodontic cases.
FICTION: Orthodontists recognize the difference between a simple case and a complex one. And when a case is challenging, orthodontists know what to do.

2. My family dentist says he can straighten my teeth.
FACT: However, an orthodontist has 2-3 years of specialized training beyond dental school and is a specialist at straightening teeth and insuring proper form and function. A dentist may see a handful of cases a year amid drilling and filling. An orthodontist only practices orthodontics and treats hundreds of patients.

3. Braces are for kids.
FICTION: One in five orthodontic patients is an adult.

4. If there was a giant, overhead magnet and someone flipped a switch, people wearing braces would fly out of their chairs and stick to the ceiling.
FICTION: Unlikely, as braces are made from non-magnetic materials.

5. Orthodontists charge more than general dentists for orthodontic treatment.
FACT: However, it’s not the same work. The value in seeing an orthodontist for treatment is that the orthodontist is an expert, highly experienced and understands form, function and a wonderful smile.

6. Braces are painful and take two years or more for the desired result.
FICTION: After the adjustment period, like breaking in a new pair of shoes, braces are comfortable. Some may be worn for months, not years.

7. Signals from braces link to the Internet to download songs onto an iPod.
FICTION: This is not possible! Not yet anyway!

8. Braces are ugly, call attention to themselves and would be embarrassing in business settings.
FICTION: Today’s braces may be nearly invisible, made from clear plastic, or unseen, mounted on the back (lingual) side of the teeth.

9. Orthodontists have a low profile.
FACT: Some may prefer to be low profile, but orthodontists give back to the community by offering free, discounted, services to patients in need.

10. Any dentist may join the American Association of Orthodontists
FICTION: Only orthodontists may become members of the American Association of Orthodontists.

Invisalign treatment begins with a visit to a dentist who will make the referral to an orthodontist. There, the orthodontist will discuss whether or not Invisalign is an appropriate treatment plan and schedule an appointment to take molds of a patient’s teeth. These molds/impressions are sent to a lab where a system of mouth guard-style aligning devices will be fabricated, each one a couple millimeters different than the last until the ideal tooth position is realized with the final appliance. These appliances will be kept in your dentist’s or camarillo orthodontist’s office. (Some general or cosmetic dentists may also be able to initiate Invisalign treatment.)

Check out the Camarillo Orthodontist video

If you have a misshapen or rotated tooth or if the shapes of your teeth create a smile you don’t like, then a Camarillo Orthodontist can painlessly change your smile by adding a bonded composite material to your teeth. Minimally bonded smiles can look great and tend to look more natural than a fully veneered smile. When people see your new smile, they usually notice your own, natural teeth, not the small altered portion. Bonding, combined with a prior bleaching treatment, is one of your best options for teeth that look wonderful. Although bonded teeth can look great, they do sometimes pick up stain and the texture bonded surfaces can change over time.

Braces.

Both conventional orthodontics and Invisalign clear braces (invisible trays) are great options these days. Conventional braces move your teeth using wires and brackets on teeth (to hold the wire). The wire exerts tension on different teeth to move them into more desirable positions. Invisalign is relatively new and uses a series of clear invisible plastic trays to gradually move the teeth into a better position. While undergoing treatment patients are encouraged to wear the trays up to 23 hours a day and only remove them while eating and brushing their teeth. Sometimes straightening just the front and side teeth will dramatically improves your smile. With the Invisalign technique, straightening can be accomplished in as few as 18 weeks.

It’s no wonder that approximately one in five orthodontic patients in Camarillo is over the age of 21. Due to innovative developments in the past 10 years, adults are now more open to treatment. With the help of an orthodontist and a variety of new methods of teeth alignment, adult patients now can achieve a more attractive smile without the hassle and unattractive appearance of metal braces. Read on to learn more about a few recent developments in the field of orthodontics.

Invisible Aligners

Camarillo orthodontists implement this alignment system with a sequence of clear mouthpieces. Adult orthodontic patients will especially prefer Invisalign because the aligners blend into the appearance of a person’s mouth, unlike metal hardware. Thus, adults do not have to compromise a natural-looking appearance for orthodontic treatment. Another benefit of this treatment method is the ability to remove the mouthpieces to eat, drink, and brush and floss your teeth, improving oral hygiene compared to traditional braces. Plus, patients don’t have to give up any forbidden foods and treats for treatment!

Invisalign patients visit a Camarillo orthodontist every 8 to 10 weeks to review the progress of the alignment system and to receive several new sets of mouthpieces. The aligners are worn and replaced on a biweekly basis. Compared to the monthly appointments required for traditional adjustments, the Invisalign system saves time and hassle for time-crunched adults.

Additionally, patients will be happy to have a limited treatment time of 6 to 15 months. However, not every patient’s oral condition will be suitable for Invisalign. Camarillo orthodontics patients with major complications may require a more rigorous treatment plan, as Invisalign only remedies minor problems.

iBraces

Adult patients with more complex oral problems may benefit from invisible braces, or iBraces. Unlike Invisalign, Camarillo orthodontics providers utilize metal hardware, similar to that of traditional braces, for this treatment system. However, patients can still have a natural-looking smile during the process, as the brackets and wires are applied to the back of the teeth. Unless you let others in on your secret, they will not even know you are wearing braces!

Camarillo orthodontic specialists use technology to tailor each set of iBraces to an adult patient’s unique alignment needs. This treatment method, therefore, is considered to be more effective than traditional braces, in which the hardware is not completely customized for each patient’s mouth. iBraces patients also experience less visits to the orthodontist because the iBraces system does not need to be adjusted as often as traditional braces. Adult patients will benefit from this time-saving and less painful treatment method.

Tooth-Colored Braces

Ceramic, tooth-colored braces provide another visually appealing alternative to metal braces for adult Camarillo orthodontic patients. Although clear braces are affixed to the front side of a patient’s teeth similar to traditional braces, the hardware often goes unnoticed because of its natural tooth pigment. Additionally, Camarillo orthodontists augment the invisible appearance of this treatment method by securing the wire onto the brackets with white or clear rubber bands. The average treatment time for tooth-colored braces is 18 to 30 months.

Everybody is not born with healthy and perfect teeth. It is with the passage of time that your teeth develop some kind of dental defects. These dental defects can be misaligned, crooked, missing or chipped teeth. It is not a major problem that cannot be corrected or treated. Majority of people may develop a problem of crooked teeth, as they grow up. It really looks awkward if your teeth are not aligned properly. In fact, it mars your confidence and you may not be able to face the society. In this case, Invisalign braces are the best treatment that can be applied on the teeth.

People with dental defects do not like to apply something permanent on their teeth. After all, permanent braces looks bad. Moreover, it becomes really problematic to wear those traditional metal braces. Invisalign is a special treatment invented by Align technology, so that patients do not have to experience the heaviness of those metal braces. Invisalign braces are a part of orthodontic therapy that promotes these braces as virtually invisible. In fact, these Invisalign Braces are not at all identifiable. This makes them wear for a longer time.

Before applying Invisalign braces on your teeth, a Camarillo orthodontist will take your dental impressions, x-rays and photographs of your teeth. Then these impressions are put to a CT-scan from which a computer creates 3-dimensional model. After this, individualizing of the teeth in the computer model is done and moved to their final position as prescribed by the Camarillo orthodontist. Custom software then simulates the movement of the teeth in stages. The orthodontist reviews the simulation online by using Align technology’s Clin Check via a web browser and approves the treatment.

After the treatment if being approved, a plastic resin aligner is manufactured for each stage of the computer simulation. The time of the treatment varies according to the complexity of the problem. Average treatment time is less than a year, while simple treatments such as minor crowding and minor spacing may take only six months. Although the aligners can be removed, they must be worn constantly to avoid delaying the treatment process. An added advantage of Invisalign braces is that they are not visible and don’t hamper your smile.

With anything that has lots of advantages, there are disadvantages too. Though Invisalign braces are light and not visible, they have to be removed every time you eat. It really becomes tedious that braces have to removed and worn again and again. Moreover, it is mandatory for you to brush your teeth and those braces after eating something. This becomes problematic, as you may end up brushing so many times in a day. The treatment price is fixed by  Camarillo orthodontist, depending upon the complexity of problem. As far as the entire price is concerned, it may range between $ 2000 and $5000. Whatever the case may be, a variety of people prefer to go for Invisalign braces rather than traditional style braces.

Erzana Jones
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/invisalign-braces-can-surely-cure-crooked-teeth-75157.html

The product initially met with resistance from many Camarillo orthodontists who criticized the manufacturer for rushing the product into production, and concentrating too heavily on marketing at the expense of product quality. The company claims that preliminary issues have largely been remedied in the last several years. Now over 70% of all Camarillo orthodontists are certified to treat patients using Invisalign.

The primary advantage of Invisalign is cosmetic; the aligners are difficult to detect, rather than invisible per se, and therefore has become particularly popular among adults who want to straighten their teeth without the unflattering look of traditional metal braces, commonly worn by children and adolescents, and therefore carrying the connotation of immaturity.

Another advantage over traditional braces is that the aligners can easily be removed for eating, and brushing teeth. The treatment typically requires fewer visits to an orthodontist, as well. However, Invisalign treatment is typically more costly than traditional braces, although the cost of treatment varies considerably.

Invisalign is not as effective as traditional fixed orthodontic appliances, and is unable to correct many orthodontic problems such as severe crowding, open-bites, overbites, or under-bites.

Treatment time can be longer using the Invisalign method rather than conventional orthodontic appliances, and the practitioner’s ability to fine-tune the final result may be compromised by the limitations of its technology. In addition, being removable, the aligners are at risk of being lost or damaged, and they must be worn constantly to avoid delaying the treatment process. Because of this potential, many orthodontists never use this treatment for children or teenagers whose second molars (12-year molars) have not erupted.

These clear treatment retainers are most suitable for skeletal and dental Class I, mildly crowded orthodontic cases with good profile that normally can be treated with removable retainers. Compliance with these appliances is necessary, and the patient is expected to wear them for at least 20 hours per day.

Unlike traditional dental appliances, though, most patients are actually motivated to wear these appliances because of their superior aesthetics. There is an advantage for patients using these appliances if they have periodontal or gum problems because, unlike appliances like braces, these removable appliances allow easy daily oral hygiene practices.

Extraction treatment using these appliances must be cautioned because root parallelism in the extraction sites are usually compromised and the periodontal outcome in the extraction site needs to be further studied. Certain types of tooth movements are also limited with these appliances, such as rotations of premolars and intrusion of incisors.

Generally, Camarillo orthodontists can perform more complex movements and can supplement these clear retainers with a brief period of fixed appliances (traditional braces) to either attain complex tooth movements prior to starting or detailing the dentition at the conclusion of treatment. OrthoClear is a company that produces a rival brand of clear retainers for remedial tooth arrangement, established in 2005.

Disclaimer – The information presented here should not be interpreted as medical advice. Please talk to your dentist for more information about Invisalign.

Heather Colman
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/using-invisalign-to-straighten-your-teeth-64150.html

In 1850 the first modern attempt to correct the arrangement of teeth using added oral force was made. The dentist at the head of the movement was Dr. Norman Kingsley, who would go on to serve as the first dean of the New York University College for Dentistry. Back in those days, people didn’t pay any attention to the bite, and it was rare to find people who had a complete set of healthy teeth.

It was in the later part of the 19th century, that Dr Edward Angle published his work, Angle’s Classification of Malocclusion. It was a ground-breaking publication for its time. He discussed the method of creating a correct occlusion in the teeth, and also introduced a concept of a natural occlusion in the teeth. In his work, he developed three classes of malocclusion. Class I malocclusion which has an improper occlusal line, Class II malocclusion or overbite, and Class III malocclusion or under bite. Dr. Edward Angle along with some of his colleagues in the field of dentistry, established the American Association of Orthodontists.

With the publication of Angle’s pioneering work, orthodontics as a field of dental specialty, began to take form. It was still a far cry from the orthodontic specialization we know today, but the focus had begun to shift from mere straightening of the teeth appearance sake, to actually looking into the types of malocclusion, and the precise ways to correct them.

As the century progressed, interest grew in the part that removing teeth could play in orthodontics. In the 1930’s, dentists began to experiment with enhancing the proportions of the face through tooth extraction, making for a more secure alignment of the teeth.

Ten years later, dentists began to develop radio-graphs that allowed them to see how the development of bone in the jaw, and other areas of the mouth could influence alignment. This led to the knowledge that by redirecting the growth of bone, changes to the alignment could be made to prevent malocclusion.

In the sixties, orthodontia research began to chart uncovered territory, as it explored the role of surgery in correcting occlusion in people whose bone wasn’t able to develop any further.

Modern orthodontics has made significant advancements since those early days. Today, not only will a Camarillo orthodontist correct the alignment of the teeth for a more cosmetically pleasing experience, but it can also create a firm occlusal relationship.