Orthodontics: Functional vs Cosmetic Purposes

Orthodontics is a dentistry branch that specialises in the correction of crooked teeth and poorly positioned jaws. Not everyone is born with well aligned and spaced teeth, but thanks to orthodontics, the alignment can be redone and everything will look as beautiful as desired.

Orthodontics involves both functional and cosmetic purposes.

Cosmetic orthodontics is a dentistry branch whose sole aim is to deal with correction of misaligned teeth for aesthetic (cosmetic) purposes. It can be re defined as an approach where an orthodontist specialises in the cosmetic aspect during the correction of poorly aligned teeth. Cosmetic orthodontics is often done by wearing braces that help I the alignment in the teeth usually due to overcrowding.

Functional orthodontics on the other hand is a twofold approach that focuses on improving the patients’ occlusion as well as their airways. In addition, functional orthodontic aims at addressing other aspects such as

  • Lower and upper jaws of the temporomandibular joint.
  • Skeletal bones making u face and head
  • Relationships between the temporomandibular joint to the back and neck.

The main goal of these functional orthodontics is to help young children develop proper dental formula by optimizing on the aforementioned aspects. This is key in helping develop a proper facial shape among the children. This in terms helps curb the risks of extracting wisdom or permanent teeth.

Functional orthodontics can be viewed as a form holistic surgery where a surgeon is more concerned on the overall well-being of the body. However when it comes to cosmetic orthodontics, the focus is purely on the realignment of poorly arranged teeth.

What are these procedures that are undertaken during cosmetic orthodontics?

Dental implants

Dental implants is by far the most sought solution when it comes to solving any dental problem.in this case, these plants are used in the case where a tooth has been removed. It should be noted that at times the dentists are forced to pull out crookedly arranged teeth to create space for artificial implants.

Bonding

Dental bonding involves the application of composite resin to the teeth that are physically damaged or discoloured. This plastic resins are toot like shaped and resemble the natural human teeth.

Veneers

Veneers are thin porcelain made pieces that are used to make the natural look of teeth. These porcelain veneers also provide resilience and strength to the enamels of the natural teeth. The thin custom made tooth like piece is placed on the surface of the teeth to improve on the appearance and look of the natural teeth. They mimic the light reflecting characteristics of natural teeth.

Crowns

Just like the veneers crowns are made from porcelain. Crown are cap shaped covers that dentists place over an entire tooth and bonds to the edges of the natural tooth.

Teeth whitening

Another form of cosmetic orthodontics involves teeth whitening. Several teeth whitening methods exists .However in this context an in office whitening approach is used by cosmetic dentists. The dentists use peroxide with laser to give you a desired whitening.

Dentures

Dentures look exactly like natural teeth attached on artificial gums. Partial dentures are used as a replacement for missing groups of teeth or in the case of scattered teeth on the lower and upper jaws. Full dentures are dentures that have both artificial teeth and gums and can replace an entire set of lower or upper teeth or both.

Both functional and cosmetic orthodontics are the best sought solutions for missing teeth.The process however requires a specialized team of dentists who are up for the task. With our specializedteam, Dental Boutique is the place where an orthodontist specialises in the cosmetic aspect as well as other oral dentistry. Visit us to enjoy this and other services related to oral health.