Shift in Arab Gulf females … to smile or not to smile
Am I too old for braces?
KUWAIT CITY, April 18: Mariam is a 25 year-old-girl who just started a career in a very famous bank in Kuwait. She visited the dentist and the dentist noticed that every time she talks, she hides her teeth with her hand and doesn’t smile comfortably.
After the dentist examined her, he noticed that, Mariam has severely crooked teeth. She later admitted that her teeth are causing her a major confidence problem especially as she is encountering customers in her new job but she was told by her friend that he has passed the age for braces.
A common question the orthodontist (braces doctor) gets asked is: I am old, can I have braces treatment? Adults form great proportion of patients attending for orthodontic treatment, some recent research showed that adults (defined as those above the age of 18 years) make up approximately 22% of the caseload in the USA (published in the New York Times on February 1, 2012) and it would seem that this trend is being followed here in Kuwait particularly for women.
One explanation for this rise in adults seeking braces treatment is that they are becoming increasingly conscious of the appearance of their teeth. There is a pressure from the society on individuals to improve their shape and certainly the alignment of their teeth and their smiles.
Treatment
Although orthodontic (braces) treatment can be delivered to adults, there are some factors and facts that the potential patient needs to consider and be aware of. On average, most of the growth completed by the age of 16 in females.
Jaw growth is seen as an essential adjunct to orthodontic treatment and will facilitate dramatically the progress of treatment. In adults, who are lacking growth, the treatment duration may be longer than treatment in adolescents.
A photograph showing the tongue side or ‘Lingual’ braces
On the other hand, adults are more likely to comply with the instructions of the doctors since they made the decision to have the treatment and were not forced into braces.
This is not the case in some of our adolescent patients because of the facts that their parents “wanted” them to have braces against their will.
In these circumstances, the treatment of such patients is extremely difficult for both the treating doctor and the patient and sometimes the treatment outcome is not optimal because of the lack of compliance.
Finally, any adult seeking braces treatment should be aware of the new developments in more “Esthetic” braces options than having the traditional “train-track” metal braces.
The clear or ceramic brackets is one option where the braces parts will move teeth in the same way as the train-track braces but they are not showing clearly and are almost invisible.
In addition, people may choose to have the “Lingual” or tongue side braces ie braces components are placed on the teeth from the inside or the tongue side. That way they are completely invisible.
Lastly, if the set up of the teeth is not too bad and only small amount of correction is required, clear or invisible aligners can be used. The idea of this option is that people wear clear gum-shield type aligners which are pre-programmed and that will move the teeth incrementally.