Why we don’t take teeth out unless we have to (orthodontics)

October 4, 2008

Crooked teeth need space!

If you were lucky enough to grow up with a perfect set of straight teeth it means that they had just the right amount of space in your mouth, right from the start. We’re not all so fortunate these days though.

Our ancestors usually had bigger mouths than we have, and so crooked teeth were much less common than they are today, perhaps we’ll debate ‘why that is’ another time.

For the moment, lets keep it simple and look at 3 ways of getting more space for those teeth.

Take some teeth out, the traditional way for the past 80 years or so. Not so very long ago in the UK it was the norm, probably 80 to 85% of the time. In very crowded mouths it’s still necessary. BUT, If there is less crowding, then taking teeth out could give you too much space, which then causes its own problems, see below. Most people hate the idea in any case, especially for their children. So do we.
Widen the jaws. Used to be popular 80 plus years ago but fell completely out of favour. Now, with the swing of the orthodontic pendulum, its slowly coming back and we now use it frequently. Narrow jaws are very common and the method can work well for them - the extra width also looks attractive, reducing those dark corners of the mouth when you smile.
Make some teeth slimmer. “Slenderising” by filing between selected teeth. In mild to moderate crowding, especially when combined with jaw widening, it’s a very useful technique and really does make non-extraction a reality for many more people.

Remember, there is no going back if you extract teeth when you don’t need to.

Too much space could mean that

The arch can become smaller and too narrow, for a less attractive appearance.
Loss of lip support
Exacerbation of jaw joint/muscle problems.
Excess space can be difficult to keep closed and can tend to open up again, which is obviously going to affect the appearance.

The point of this isn’t to worry anyone, but we try to make sure people have all the information they need to make decisions during our consultations, and we believe extractions should be a last resort instead of routine.

Hopefully posting information in a forum like this is useful for our prospective patients! Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Posted by Michael | Filed Under General, Orthodontics | Leave a Comment

Special offer: free teeth whitening with Invisalign

June 12, 2008

I’m delighted to tell you that Winning Smiles Romford are now offering free teeth whitening to people taking up Invisalign treatment.

EDIT: If you don’t need invisalign, click here for our monthly prize draw to win teeth whitening.

(Sorry about the bold type and cartoon - always with the dramatic stuff this marketing department).

Hopefully, free teeth whitening will be a no-brainer for most people thinking of straightening their teeth, as both treatments are designed to improve the look of the smile. The idea works very well if only because the invisible trays used to straighten the teeth, also house the bleach for overnight whitening.

So, no separate visits and equipment to worry about, and it makes sense for us at Winning Smiles, because we’re not setting up twice, taking a bit off our costs.

Saving £395 on free whitening is a good offer, and we hope an attractive one to our Invisalign patients.

We haven’t yet agreed how long the offer will remain in place, (discussions continue), perhaps we’ll stop offering it when people stop asking for it.

Still, you never know, perhaps people should come in and have a free of charge dental assessment soon, just in case. Contact us here, and we’ll be in touch with some suggested dates.

Posted by Matt | Filed Under Special Offers, Teeth Straightening, Teeth Whitening | Leave a Comment

Invisalign Informational Video

April 29, 2008

This is a great video that shows how the system works, and the benefits. Worth watching if you are considering straightening your teeth at Winning Smiles, without the metal braces!

We hope you find it useful

Posted by Andrew | Filed Under Teeth Straightening | 1 Comment

Invisalign before and after videos

March 11, 2008

Invisalign is a great system, and we at Winning Smiles have been working with the technology for some years now - alongside our orthodontic treatments.

In the right instance, Invisalign has exceptional benefits and no downsides!

We discovered that one of our newest dental practice friends, Dr Daniel Noor from Dental Pride in New York, has been recording his substantial progress with the system, and, what’s more, has been sharing them on Youtube, all 110 videos!

We wanted to help promote the system and show what can be achieved, and Daniel has kindly given us permission to show his results here.

If you’d like to explore what can be achieved for your own smile, why not contact us?

Another example of how teeth can be re-aligned below. Good stuff, thanks Daniel!

Posted by Andrew | Filed Under Teeth Straightening | 1 Comment