Babies are born with a reflex to suck any object placed in their mouth. Sucking on fingers or thumbs is normal when children are very young. Most children stop somewhere between two and four years of age. However, if thumb or finger sucking continues past this age it can alter the normal growth of the jaws and cause significant misalignment of the front adult teeth as they erupt into the mouth. Problems caused by thumb or finger sucking Long-time thumb or finger sucking may

A beautiful straight smile created by orthodontic treatment - braces ! No more crooked front teeth. More attractive upper front teeth after midline corrected. Clear aligners might not be a good option because of severe crowding and midline problems. #orthodontics

This orthodontic case showed how traditional braces fixed teeth with severe crowding. The crooked teeth didn't look good and also created gum problems - gingivitis (reddish around gum lines in "before picture"). Any other options apart from traditional braces? Invisible braces like Invisilign? Unfortunately it may not work well in such a complicated case. In 18 months, crooked teeth were transferred to straight teeth. A confident smile created! #orthodontics

This is the result of the orthodontic appliance for rapid palatal expansion ( RPE ). About 8mm maxillary width expansion was achieved in a month with one turn ( 0.25mm ) per day. It's not only correcting the posterior crossbite but also creating space for crowded teeth. The gap between top front teeth showed that the RPE was working very well. But don't worry, the gap will be closed when we put braces on and start straightening the teeth. The link below is how it looked

A Rapid Palatal Expander (RPE) is an orthodontic appliance that puts pressure on the upper jaw (maxilla) to separate the mid palatal suture by turning a midline screw. It makes the maxilla wider and creat space. RPEs are used often to correct posterior crossbites. This procedure is better to be done at a younger age before the palatal suture becomes fused. With adults, Surgically Assisted Rapid Palatal Expander (SARPE) is needed, which combines an RPE and surgery performe

Crooked teeth are the most common reason to have orthodontic treatment. With braces, we closed the gaps between top teeth and straightened crowded lower teeth. No more crooked teeth, just a perfect smile! #orthodontics

Crooked teeth fixed by braces - fixed orthodontic appliance. #orthodontics

Crossbite caused two top front teeth hiding behind lower front teeth. Orthodontics (braces) was the best treatment option to fix anterior crossbite in this case. #orthodontics

Temporary anchorage devices (TADs) are used to facilitate the movement of teeth through what is called Skeletal Anchorage. TADs are also known by many names among which are mini-screws, mini-implants, and micro-implants. They are threaded titanium screws that will not corrode in the mouth or be rejected by the body, but they will not integrated with bone like dental implants . They are designed to hold fast in bone and be compatible with the soft tissue through which they pa

Clear orthodontic aligners are also known as invisible braces. This treatment does not use metal brackets or wires but straightens teeth with a series of clear and removable plastic aligners instead. In this case, we fixed the crooked lower teeth through a series of 10 aligners during 20 weeks. Clear orthodontic aligners are a very good option especially for cosmetics because no one can notice that you are having an orthodontic treatment but it also has its limitations com

Early loss of baby teeth due to decays will allow adjacent teeth move into the empty space. When adult teeth come through, the reduced space will be the cause of crooked teeth. To prevent this, we have to regain the space. Space regainer is a fixed appliance to get normal space back for adult teeth to ensure a normal eruption, avoiding crowded teeth. #orthodontics

Having straight teeth is important. Teeth that are crooked or out of place (misaligned) affect the way a person chews and talks and how their smile looks (Severe Malocclusion). Also crooked teeth are harder to clean and are more likely to have cavities. In some cases, crooked teeth can affect the way the jaws line up and can cause pain and discomfort. Orthodontics is a specialty discipline of dentistry that focuses on alignment of the teeth and jaws to improve a person’s sm

Lateral Cephalometric Analysis is used primarily in orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning. It is a useful record prior to treatment and can be used during treatment to assess progress. It is used to assess the aetiology of malocclusion; to determine whether the malocclusion is due to skeletal relationship, dental relationship or both. #orthodontics

One of important functions of baby teeth is to hold space in the jaws for permanent teeth that are growing under the gums. This photograph shows early loss of a baby tooth leading to poor alignment of a permanent tooth. That's why we need space maintainers . #prematurelossofbabytooth