Treatment with braces and installation of veneers are expensive and time-consuming procedures.
And, having received what you want – a beautiful smile, you want to keep it for the rest of your life.
However, quite often patients face various problems after removing braces or installing veneers.
Dentist and maxillofacial surgeon Dmitry Konstantinovich Yudin will tell you how to make sure that the results of orthodontic and aesthetic treatment last a lifetime.
Before making recommendations, it is critical to understand why patients who have undergone braces or veneers experience problems such as ear pain, specifically in the temporomandibular joint area, or in the area of the muscles that move the jaw, crooked teeth, and persistent loosening or chipping of veneers or crowns.
Temporomandibular joint disease
If we remove the treatment errors in the protocol for installing braces or fixing veneers, in the vast majority of cases such problems arise due to diseases of the temporomandibular joint. Unfortunately, as practice shows, these diseases occur in the overwhelming majority of patients.
Usually, the patient already has joint disorders before installing veneers or braces, they just don't bother him. The patient is in the so-called "cold" period, when there are no acute pain sensations.
However, dental treatment changes the position of the jaw by changing the proportions and geometry of the teeth, which leads to an exacerbation of the already existing chronic process in the joint itself.
This is especially true for braces, because any orthodontic treatment globally changes the patient’s occlusal pattern: it changes the bite, which is closely related to the condition and position of the joint.
That is why, before installing braces, in addition to standard examinations (CT, CT, TRG, occludogram, and others), it is necessary to conduct an MRI of the temporomandibular joint to assess the condition of the bone structures, cartilage, ligaments, and the position of the articular disc.
And if everything is OK with the joint, you can begin orthodontic or aesthetic treatment.
However, if there are changes in the joint, before installing braces or veneers, it is necessary to treat the joint, which includes oral cavity sanitation, the use of various devices in the oral cavity, mouth guards, splints or orthoses.
And depending on the severity of the disease, physiotherapy is used, rarely injection therapy and, in advanced cases, joint surgery.
Only when the doctor, after a certain period of time and based on the results of a control MRI, is convinced that the joint is completely healthy, can treatment with braces or veneers be installed and be sure that they will serve the patient for life.
It is necessary to record the results of treatment
Muscle memory is the longest. And if you do not stabilize the result, there is a high probability that the teeth will try to return to their previous position. In order to prevent relapse and consolidate the results of treatment for life, orthodontists advise using a retainer, as well as retention caps.
A retainer is a thin metal strip that is attached to the inside of the teeth and is used to stabilize the 6 front teeth. The retainer is completely invisible, it does not create any discomfort or difficulties in maintaining hygiene.
The second tool that orthodontists recommend using is retention caps. They cover the teeth completely and should only be worn at night.
The caps provide complete fixation of the teeth, which prevents the return of malocclusion. Thanks to these tools, the patient will be able to consolidate the successful result of treatment and not be afraid that the teeth will again take the wrong position.
In addition, after orthodontic or aesthetic treatment, it is necessary to visit the orthodontist regularly: every three months during the first year after treatment, and then twice a year.
And don't forget about oral hygiene and take care of your overall health: avoid constant stress, hypothermia and overwork, monitor the quality of sleep and nutrition. All this also affects the health and beauty of your smile.
Author: Valeria Kisternaya
