Now that summer is over and everyone is back to school, Affiliated Orthodontics just wanted to take a minute to remind our patients to wear a mouth guard when playing fall sports, especially unorganized sports in your neighborhood.
Why everyone should wear a mouth guard while playing contact sports. This could be you if you don't.
A mouth guard protects not only teeth, but your lips and cheeks while wearing braces. A mouth guard is your best protection against serious sports injuries. The next time you’re in for a visit at Affiliated Orthodontics, we encourage you to ask us for a mouth guard! A mouth guard is your insurance policy to safeguard your long term dental health. Sports injuries can require major dental expense throughout your life. It only takes a second to pop one in to prevent loss or damage to teeth. Even though they may be uncomfortable to wear and tough to talk with, it is nothing compared to the discomfort you would experience in an accident… so make sure you play it safe.
Read more on Don't Let This Happen To You – Protect Your Smile!…
Some parents at Affiliated Orthodontics ask if stopping a child’s nail biting habit is another positive effect of orthodontic treatment. Since nail biting can be harmful to braces by breaking brackets and bending wires that delays treatment, Dr. Womack and Dr. Davis feel that finding ways to curtail the habit is in our patient’s best interest.
Here are a few facts about nail biting… technically called “Onychophagia”.
- About 30 percent of children aged 7-10 bite their nails
- About 45 percent of teenagers bite their nails
- About 25 percent of young adults bite their nails
- Only about five percent of older adults bite their nails
Read more on Braces and Nail Biting – Does Orthodontics Break the Habit?…
The technical term for a “bad bite” is a malocclusion. There are many different types of malocclusions depending on what the exact nature of the problem. Sometimes, a poor bite only develops on one side of the mouth instead of both sides. This situation, which is commonly known as a crossbite, happens because of an asymmetry of the teeth or jaw. This lack of balance can occur when some of the teeth on one side are lost, or if they never come in at all.
In a bi-lateral crossbite, (meaning one side only), the top teeth on one side close either outside or across the bottom teeth. This happens because the lower jaw shifts from side to side when the mouth is closing in an attempt to correct for the mismatch of the upper jaw and the lower jaw. This shift creates a misalignment of the teeth.
