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​Many factors can influence the way that your teeth are aligned. One of the key factors is how your wisdom teeth are aligned, and how they are growing. Frequently, there isn’t enough room in the mouth for wisdom teeth to grow into, and these teeth become impacted. Impacted wisdom teeth can push all of your teeth together, causing crowding and other orthodontic issues. In these cases, it is necessary to get them removed. But in other cases, the wisdom teeth can actually act as anchor for orthodontic treatment, and should be left alone. Wisdom teeth and orthodontic treatment are not mutually exclusive, and it is well possible to align your teeth with orthodontics and keep your wisdom teeth.

If you are getting braces, your dentist may have told you that you need to get teeth extracted before treatment begins. Why is this the case? Read on to find out!

​Dental caries are holes on the tooth surfaces caused by acid damage that is the result of the enamel coming into contact with bacterial excretions. These bacteria are quite able to live and proliferate on the bristles of a toothbrush, regardless of the fact that toothpaste kills bacteria. This is because the bacteria that cause dental caries do so with a very interesting mechanism, namely, the formation of dental plaque and tartar. This is a calcified plaque layer that is resistant to attacks from the outside, and is the habitat that the bacteria live in.

​Many people do not floss, which is a shame, because flossing is the only way to make sure that your teeth stay healthy, as they clean the gaps between the teeth, which is where much of the bacteria and food detritus that causes tooth decay and periodontal disease resides. An interdental toothbrush is a good way of replacing dental floss, and it is reportedly much more comfortable and less likely to fray and get stuck between your teeth, a problem many people tend to have with dental floss.

One of the most important things in orthodontry is trying to get the force of the archwire transferred to the tooth surfaces. This is done via the brackets, but sometimes the tooth has to be turned at an angle, or must have the pressure distributed in a different way than that of the main pull of the archwire. In these cases, tiny “rubber bands”, or orthodontic elastics are used to align the teeth. These elastic rings tend to confound people, so we are going to write a few words in this article to try to clear up when and why these are used and what they are used for.

If you have just started an orthodontic treatment and are still getting used to the discomfort, to the new set of foods and the banning of the old favourites, and may even be fighting to rectify a new speech impediment, you probably do not feel like reading about how to keep your new appliance clean. But keeping the dental braces and the teeth clean is extremely important during an orthodontic treatment, as this is how you can make it through the process without any tooth decay. Your teeth are at heightened risk during the treatment, and you will need to clean them as well as your orthodontic device. Here are some useful products that can help you do that.

Sometimes teeth do not grow and fit into the arch entirely. These teeth do not descend into the mouth enough, and are at least partially, if not entirely covered by gums. This is a problem not only because it is unattractive, but because it is unhealthy.

If you are new to orthodontics and have a lot of questions as to the specific nature of how orthodontics work and how different braces work, and what kind of braces exist, this is an excellent article to read.