Ever wondered how many adults need braces in Leeds? Probably more than will actually go and get braces fitted. Often, people don’t go and see a dentist about getting their teeth straightened because they believe that after they reach their 20s, it’s no longer possible; that the teeth have set hard in the jawbone and won’t be shifted.
In fact, unlike bones, which do lose their plasticity in the late teens, the teeth remain movable throughout life, and so it is never too late to get braces in Leeds. There are quite a few dental practices in the city that offer teeth straightening, and one is Enhancedental.
How does teeth straightening work?
Teeth are moved by applying a sustained pressure in a particular direction. After about 72 hours, the jawbone responds to ease the pressure by resorbing the bone in front of the tooth and rebuilding it behind the tooth. It’s a slowish process, and the average treatment time is about a year, however, there can be much quicker treatment times depending on what needs doing.
There are all sorts of appliances available for shifting teeth. Those aimed at the adult market aim to be as discreet and quick as possible. Teeth straightening does not need to take as long because there is no work being done to realign the jaw. That’s the bit that can take two or three years. When it is just the front six social teeth, the ones that are on view when people talk and smile, it takes much less time, partly because there is only one root to each tooth. The back molars have three roots and take more pressure to shift.
The best way to find out which kind of braces in Leeds are best suited to a particular issue is to go along to a dentist for a consultation. Dentists sometimes offer these for free, or will knock off the price of the consultation when the treatment is taken up.
Patients often celebrate the end of their treatment by having their lovely new straight teeth whitened when their braces come off. Whitening can be done in-clinic, or with a custom-made take-home kit.
