Is There An Age Limit For Orthodontic Treatment?

Your teeth straightening options in Ipswich at different stages of life.

One of the more challenging cosmetic dental treatments for some patients, is the thought of having to wear dental braces for a significant length of time. Many of us probably have images in our minds of school friends who were ridiculed for their braces and don’t wish to undergo the same thing, even if we are now much older. As you will see, later in this blog, things have changed greatly and modern orthodontics now offer a greatly improved experience.

The other factor for some people is their age. We often associate cosmetic dentistry with younger people, perhaps from their late teens to their early thirties. While this might be a period of our life where our appearance seems most important to us, the reality is that anyone can benefit from having straighter teeth, both for aesthetic and practical purposes. In today’s blog, we are going to look at some of the age factors that our Ipswich patients might wish to take into account.

Can you be too young for orthodontics?

Whether a child can have orthodontic treatment will depend on each individual case. Where problems have occurred early, perhaps through extensive thumb sucking when very young, it may be beneficial for a child to have braces to correct this. Generally speaking, this is unlikely to happen while the child still has most of their baby teeth. The most likely age to have this done as a child is from the age of ten upwards.

It should be noted that teenagers do come under a lot of peer pressure when it comes to appearance, often from social media. While general orthodontic treatment for practical purposes, or where an issue with crooked teeth is having a distressing impact on their life, may be carried out while younger, we generally don’t recommend having this treatment for minor aesthetic issues until such a time that the child has stopped growing and their jaw has fully developed.

Is there an upper age limit to have your teeth straightened?

It is perfectly acceptable for older people to have their teeth straightened. The only potential issue might be where the bone that holds the teeth in place has degraded to a point where pressure applied to the teeth may cause some damage. We always carry out a thorough assessment though, so we will be able to check this before any treatment starts.

You might ask why people would want straighter teeth as they grow older. The fact is that most of us are now living longer and also socialising well into our later years. It is understandable then that some of the more mature patients of Foxhall Dental will want to have an attractive set of even teeth for longer than may have been the case in the past. There is also the fact that gum disease can become a more frequent problem as we grow older and having straighter teeth makes them easier to keep clean, helping to reduce the incidence of tooth decay and gum disease among older patients.

But don’t braces look ugly?

Neither younger or older people want to have their appearance spoiled by unsightly dental braces while their teeth are being straightened.To help with this, we use two different types of orthodontics, both of which achieve excellent results but also do it in a much more discrete way than the dark metal braces that you might be more familiar with.

Invisalign

Invisalign orthodontics are mostly used where significant general correction is needed. They don’t use the wire and brackets approach of traditional braces but instead, use a progressive series of medical grade transparent trays that fit directly over your teeth. Each tray is designed to move your teeth a little and when this has been achieved is replaced with the next. This continues until your teeth are even.

The trays are removable by the patient and indeed, are designed to be removed when you are eating and for cleaning your teeth. This produces a level of convenience that previous braces wearers did not have. Not only does this mean that you can eat what you want, but are more likely to have healthier teeth than with traditional braces.

Quick Straight Teeth (QST)

For those seeking minor adjustments to their front teeth in order to produce an improved smile. Quick Straight Teeth offer a faster acting solution. Although these do use the wire and bracket approach to straightening teeth, they do so using finer and tooth coloured material to make them less visible. The time taken to achieve the final result will depend on the nature of the problem being addressed. We will be able to give you an estimated timeframe during your initial assessment.

If you are interested in having your teeth straightened and live in the Ipswich area of Suffolk, why not take the first step today by booking yourself in for a free initial consultation with one of our dentists? You can arrange yours by calling the Foxhall Dental Practice today on 01473 258396.