Orthodontic side effects

When teeth are uneven, the most common treatment is orthodontics. Through certain treatments, the teeth can be made white and neat. When undergoing orthodontics, you must be aware of some side effects. If the treatment effect is not good, it may cause certain harm to the health of the teeth and the health of the body, such as affecting the pulp, affecting the roots of the teeth, etc. You must pay attention to this aspect.

Orthodontic side effects

1 Effect on the dental pulp

In the early stages of treatment, a mild, temporary reaction occurs in the dental pulp, which manifests as pain or discomfort in the first few days of force application. However, experiments have shown that this effect is of no clinical significance and the pain reaction disappears in 2-3 days.

2 Impact on tooth roots

During orthodontic treatment, absorption and reconstruction activities also occur on the root surface. After treatment, the tooth root regains its stability through its own repair ability. However, if too much force is applied during treatment or if there are congenital deficiencies in the tooth roots, the risk of tooth damage will increase.

3. Tooth decalcification, gingivitis and periodontitis

After wearing the braces, there is an extra brace on the tooth surface. Food residues are easily accumulated after eating. If they are not cleaned in time, it will create a good environment for bacteria to reproduce. As time goes by, white spots will appear on the surface in mild cases, and defects or cavities will appear in severe cases. At the same time, bacteria will cause gingivitis and bleeding when brushing teeth. Continuing development will cause periodontitis, lower alveolar bone, gum recession and triangular gap formation. Generally speaking, children are more likely to have problems with tooth decalcification, while adults are more likely to have problems with gums. Therefore, after wearing braces, you should use a special orthodontic toothbrush to brush your teeth after every meal. As long as you brush your teeth well and carefully, you can prevent these problems from occurring.

4. Loose teeth

Under normal circumstances, each tooth has a certain degree of physiological mobility to buffer the chewing pressure and prevent tooth trauma. During orthodontic treatment, teeth may become more mobile, which is normal. Because teeth are fixed in the alveolar bone by the periodontal ligament, if teeth want to move, the alveolar bone and periodontal ligament need to be reconstructed, so that the teeth will become loose. However, after the teeth are corrected to their normal position and stop moving, the teeth can use their own repair ability to reattach the periodontal membrane and become stable, and no permanent damage will occur. However, excessive force should be avoided. If the teeth are found to be too loose clinically, the force should be stopped and allowed to recover for a period of time before continuing.

5. Inconveniences in life

The most significant impact is on eating, because the braces are temporarily glued to the teeth and will be removed later, so their adhesion is limited. Therefore, you cannot eat hard foods - you cannot chew bones, candied haws, or corn, and you cannot eat plums with hard cores. Hard and crisp fruits such as apples need to be cut into small pieces before eating. You can’t chew gum, either. On the one hand, chewing gum is very sticky and can easily remove the braces. On the other hand, chewing gum can easily stick to the braces and cannot be removed.