Adult Treatment
Approximately 30 per cent of the patients we treat are adults, adult orthodontics now being a matter of routine. Often patients have not had the opportunity of having treatment previously and nowadays, orthodontic appliances (‘braces’) are far less conspicuous that they used to be. Indeed, the appearance of the appliances has been shown not to be an obstacle to orthodontic treatment as patients have the choice of clear, tooth coloured attachments. Adult treatment may be comprehensive, involving appliances on both upper and lower teeth and treatment may take eighteen months to two years to complete. On the other hand, in some cases, adult treatments are much more limited in nature, involving appliances on either upper or lower teeth and the treatment times here are usually much shorter. Treatment of this type may be designed to prepare teeth for restorative dental work, either with the patient’s general dental practitioner or another restorative specialist.
Some adult patients present with quite marked discrepancies in relationship to upper and lower jaws and may require surgery in relation to orthodontic treatment. We have a special interest in this kind of work and undertake treatment in conjunction with our surgical colleagues at Kingston Hospital.
In general terms, the only limitations to adult treatment are the time-consuming nature of the treatment, in terms of attending regularly for appointments (four to six weekly intervals) and the patient’s dental health status, which obviously must be satisfactory.
General Dentistry:
It is important that patients attending our orthodontic practice maintain regular contact with their dentist during treatment, for routine check-ups etc.
To see some examples of our adult patients’ treatments, please click here: