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Orthodontics and Tooth Braces: You and Your Smile Are Worth It!

Our jaws do more than chew, grind and tear our food. They also help us swallow and enable us to experience normal speech. And, they contribute to our basic oral health. But most of us take our jaws for granted.

Orthodontics dentists know that when jaws meet correctly and teeth are configured properly, it's called occlusion. When things don't fit, that's malocclusion. About two million Americans suffer from malocclusion. Tooth braces can help improve the effects of malocclusion and other orthodontic problems.

For 20% of us, jaw problems are a handicap. For 5% of us, malocclusion can be considered a physical and mental hardship. Tooth braces and orthodontics make it possible to eat, breathe, and communicate normally.

Tooth braces can literally affect the quality of life in the most fundamental ways and give you the smile you have always wanted.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.

Orthodontic Braces: Preventing Playground Teasing

Sticks and Stones and The Halo Effect

Beauty is good. Beauty is character. Beauty is competence. That's the "halo effect." And the halo effect is alive and well and living on playgrounds everywhere.

What's the effect of the halo effect?

Not so good, if you're one of the unfortunates without a halo. Especially if you're a child called Beaver or Dopey or Goofy.

Not so long ago, a study of British schoolchildren revealed that the appearance of teeth was the fourth most common target for teasing. Children suffered under nicknames like Bugs Bunny, Fang and Dracula. Furthermore, children who were teased were twice as likely to be harassed, subject to verbal or physical intimidation, lying or other abuses, than children who were not teased.

Although height, weight and hair were also factors in teasing, ridicule about their teeth caused children the greatest amount of unhappiness.

Researchers were concerned that exposure to the sustained taunts and insults of peers would predispose some children to a lowered self-confidence and self-image.

The Solution? Orthodontics — The Sooner The Better

Thousands of children need early care — some as young as three years old. Early diagnosis and monitoring allows us to take full advantage of a time when your child's bone and facial structure are easier to shape.

If you think the odds of a young child having orthodontic problems are remote, consider these facts: Two out of three people have orthodontic problems, which should be treated. A fourth of the problems are severe, says the American Association of Orthodontists. Orthodontic defects aren't limited to protruding teeth or underbites.

Often the problems relate to the overall structure of the mouth and face. Frequently they don't show up in a smile at all.

That's why an orthodontic checkup and braces, if necessary, should be a part of every child's health care program.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.