What is Orthodontics?
Orthodontics is the specialty of Dentistry that treats malocclusions, or irregular teeth and bite.

Why is straightening your teeth and jaws important?
A good alignment and meeting of upper and lower teeth reflects normal healthy cranio-facial development. Therefore, correcting misaligned or improperly positioned teeth and jaws helps to restore normal cranio-facial features and balance.

This is significant because jaws and face relate directly to the cranial base that supports the brain, its nervous and circulatory system and the pituitary or master gland of the body. It also improves masticatory function (chewing) and dental hygiene, and enhances your sense of well-being and self-esteem.

When should Orthodontic treatment begin?
If at all possible, it may begin soon after birth. Early midwives gently remolded the infant’s head and face if they saw and felt it was distorted. Then with their little finger gently teased into the mouth, they would sweep the palate or roof of the mouth and round out the upper and lower dental arches. That’s how simple it is to promote normal development of the head, face, and alignment of jaws and teeth.

If this period is missed, then as early as possible. We see infants in our office.

Children can be seen at any time, and if they are able to keep a simple removable appliance in their mouth, it can help to develop and align or straighten the upper and lower dental arches and teeth.

How can I avoid extracting permanent bicuspid teeth?
First of all and by far the best is to begin jaw development early.
Secondly, careful, judicious, and interactive development of the jaw can begin at any age.

Can teeth be straightened without braces?
Yes. In youngsters as noted above, our office utilizes premolded, comfortable and easy to wear removable appliances.

Adults and teens that have fully emerged second molars can qualify to have the invisible non-braces teeth aligners, called INVISALIGN. It is the most comfortable, pain-free and advanced computer-generated method of straightening teeth today.

Why did my teeth change unfavorably after they were straightened?
In many instances, insufficient wear of retainers allowed the same forces, distortions, factors or habits that created the malocclusion to act on your teeth and jaws once again.

Unfortunately, just straightening of the teeth does not resolve the conditions responsible for your malocclusion. As a matter of fact, scientific evidence now indicates that two thirds of orthodontically treated cases will relapse (partial or complete change back to the original), and only one third will stay straight. And at this time, no one knows or can predict that fortunate group of people.

Our office strives to minimize this effect by incorporating and emphasizing TRAUMA RELEASE THERAPY, normal NASAL BREATHIN THEARPY, proper tongue and lip posturing, swallowing, jaw muscle balancing exercises, and reducing clenching, bruxing, and other unfavorable jaw posturing activities and teeth wearing-down habits.

Why is my bite still off after they have been straightened?
It may be that prior habits and conditions noted above are still very strong and have not been resolved.

TRAUMA RELEASE Therapy and establishing normal oral functions can help reduce this; and proper utilization of the jaw muscle exercise can help to re-establish your normal jaw function and maintain the stability of your teeth.

What is TMJ disorder or dysfunction?
TMJ refers to the jaw joints just in front of your ears—anatomically the temporo- (the side of the head bone that also houses your hearing and balancing mechanisms)-mandibular (the lower jaw) joint. Therefore, one half of the joint involves the jaws, teeth and face, and the other half the cranial base and head.

That is why symptoms of this disorder are so varied, extensive and significant. Symptoms are joint and facial pains, discomfort, popping, clicking, and grating noises on various movements.

More serious disorders include severe joint and facial pains, joint noises audible to others, limited, restricted opening or other movements, lower jaw locking in the open or closed positions, headaches, earaches, dizziness, nausea, vertigo, neck aches, difficulty and problems swallowing.

Can this condition be corrected?
Yes. The TRT protocol has been the most successful of all the methods presently available. TRT is the only therapy that has restored normal function to the “end of the line” TMJ disorders. These are the patients that tried everything, taken every type of pain medications, had or were recommended to have surgery and were still getting worse. Many were labeled hypochondriacs.

Can severe facial pains also be corrected?
Yes. The worse of these conditions, Trigeminal Neuralgia, or Tic Douloureux and Bell’s palsy, have responded well to TRAUMA RELEASE THERAPY.

A patient that had trigeminal neuralgia on the left side of her face, and later Bell’s palsy on her right side, responded very well to TRAUMA RELEASE THERAPY. This patient reports that he has no more painful episodes and now has a normal comfortable face.