Never too late to straighten teeth

Press, 30 November 1987, Page 13

Never too late to straighten teeth

By

DESMOND SMITH,

8.D.5., D.D.H.P.

Word of Mouth

"Straightening of teeth is something which cannot be done past the age of about 16 years." That was the principle dentists were reared on some years ago. But there was never any proof that such a statement was true, and some members of the profession started taking a few chances by trying to do orthodontic treatment on older teenagers and, eventually, on young adults. Thanks to the efforts of these trail blazers, it has now been found that there is virtually no age at which orthodontics cannot be attempted. And certainly, the sight of grown-ups walking around with a mouthful of bands has become a great deal more common than was previously the case. In fact, the state of adult orthodontic treatment has been the subject of a very recent survey done in New Zealand. It was shown that people aged 18 years and over comprised about 6 per cent of the total patients attending orthodontists during the period set by the study. Some surveys done in the United States have given numbers up to 25 per cent but these seem rather too high to be reliable, and more objective results from Scandinavian countries return a figure of about 7 per cent. So, wherever you look adults all over the world are seeking to have their teeth straightened. There are some elements common to all these groups. One is that the prime reason for their having treatment is to improve appearance. The second common factor is

that the majority of the would-be patients are women, actually 71 per cent of them in the New Zealand study. It is occasionally possible to fix the orthodontic problem with removable appliances, but that is in only a minority of cases. The great bulk of them (about 90 per cent) have to be treated with the use of small metal bands fixed immovably to the teeth, and staying in place for up to two years. There are both advantages and disadvantages to having adults as patients here. Their motivation and co-opera-tion are usually first class, as opposed to younger folk who will not put up with the inconvenience of appearance and the slight discomfort. On the other hand, it takes longer to move teeth because the bone structure is more settled, and there are limitations on the extent of treatment possible because the growth centres of the body have ceased to operate as in adolescence. A good example of this is the matter of bite opening which is frequently used in the early part of various orthodontic treatment, but is not often possible with adults. Further, there is considerable pressure put on an orthodontist to remove bands earlier than the

chosen time because of social events such as birthdays or weddings coming up. Nevertheless, the fact remains that an increasing number of adults each year are seeking to have dental anomalies corrected which have worried them for many years. Three-quarters of these patients are referred to an orthodontist by their general dental practitioner, but the day may well be coming when more and more of them will arrive under their own motivation as they find out what can be achieved.

Frequently, for instance, children in the family may be having treatment, and the parent who brings them along discovers that there may be a very good chance of improving their own dentition. They are encouraged still more when they know that there is now a technique available for putting orthodontic bands on the backs of teeth, thus removing one of the main social objections to adult orthodontic treatment. This approach is not perfect, for it can be bothersome to the movements of the tongue, but at least it is a viable option. With the wonderful improvement in dental health in New Zealanders, a greater and greater number of them are retaining th§ir teeth into mature adulthood. Yet sometimes, family economics has prevented them having those teeth straightened when they were young. The financial situation may now be very different for them. If that is the case with you, the orthodontist is waiting to advise you.