Orthodontic treatments are medically beneficial for a number of reasons. Straight teeth are easier to clean, which lessens the instances of tooth decay and periodontal inflammations from plaque build up, as they can be brushed more effectively, and dental floss can do its job better without gaps or crevices to content with. Straight teeth also do a better job at chewing and biting, taxing the jaw less, and saving your TMJ from the many troubles that can befall it with crooked teeth.
Preliminary Orthodontics
But aside from the good things orthodontic appliances can do in and of themselves, they can be used as a preliminary treatment in combination with other dental treatments in order to solve larger problems that orthodontics alone may not have been able to solve. Usually, preliminary orthodontic treatments are much shorter than a regular spell in braces and will usually only affect one arch at a time, but it may be the case, depending on the obstacles to overcome, that a good old orthodontic session with two arches being treated for a year or so may be in order.
Fixing Crowding For Oral Surgery
Sometimes teeth are too crowded and the oral surgeon (or more frequently, the implantologist) needs to straighten the teeth before being able to access the area without extracting or without hurting the teeth. The other issue maybe that there was already an extraction; extracting too many teeth is simply not beneficial in the dental implant process, but there may not be enough space for an implant without it touching therefore possibly harming other teeth. If this is the case, the teeth need to be pulled apart to give some space for the dental implant.
Aesthetic Options
Another issue maybe that a smile makeover may be sought after, and some steps simply cannot be taken without handling a bit of crowding first. For instance, if a tooth whitening session is wanted, it may be beneficial to first make sure that all of the teeth that want to be whitened can be reached by the solution. This may require preliminary orthodontic treatment.
Crowns And Bridges
If the crowding is pretty big, a bridge may not be big enough to bridge the gap completely, and the same thing can happen with a single crown as well. Instead of having big units that look awkward and may be painful, having discrete units that are the size of your actual teeth is a much better option. But if the units are too small to fit, it may be the case that one end of the bridge needs to be brought closer, and orthodontic braces are the perfect tool to make this happen.
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