Belmont Orthodontic Centre has long had a leading reputation in the orthodontic treatment of children. The thousands of treated children and young adults in Shropshire, Wales and far beyond bear testimony to this. Less well known is that we treat many adults (indeed Dr Barton treats more private adult patients than children). Because we are a specialist orthodontic centre we are asked to treat a whole range of patients from the mild to the very complex. Therefore treatment lengths vary from 2 months to 24 months. Whilst we always strive for perfection, we understand that short treatment times are of prime importance, particularly for our adult patients. Therefore we can frequently use our wealth of experience to treat patients to better results and in much shorter time frames than those achieved by the relatively inexperienced local general dental practitioners offering ‘6 month smiles’.
Below are only a few examples of recently treated adult patients. Many more have volunteered to have their pictures shown on the TV display in our waiting room which will be up and running in the near future.:
Case Study 1
This patient had crooked teeth and an open bite so their teeth did not close properly. It was also apparent that the patient’s upper right incisor was dark in appearance. The overall colour was improved and the teeth now appear even. The bite was corrected so that the patient can bite foods such as spaghetti with the front teeth. To achieve this result fixed appliances were worn for less than 14 months.
Case Study 2
This patient’s front incisors were protruding giving an uneven smile. The upper left lateral incisor was also slightly inward facing. Both of these were corrected to give a wider, level smile with the teeth no longer ‘sticking out’. To achieve this result fixed appliances were worn for less than 14 months.
Case Study 3
This patient had an underbite with the upper teeth inside the lower set. They also all looked very discoloured. The underbite has now been corrected so the upper teeth are overlapping the bottom pair, the smile widened and the teeth have been cleaned. This was achieved with the wear of a removable appliance for 4 months followed by tooth coloured fixed appliances for 6 months.
Case Study 4
This patient had crowded teeth and a deep, traumatic bite associated with the jaw locking shut in the morning and headaches. The previous loss of adult teeth has resulted in the tipping together of neighbouring teeth worsening the bite and causing food trapping. The treatment was undertaken without the extraction of teeth using upper and lower fixed appliances and took less than 13 months. Tooth coloured ‘ceramic’ brackets were fitted on the upper teeth to minimise the visibility of the ‘Brace’. The teeth were aligned, the smile improved and the headaches and jaw locking resolved.
Case Study 5
This patient presented with very crowded upper and lower front teeth. The upper lateral incisors were set back and bit behind the lower teeth. The treatment required the extraction of 4 teeth and 15 months wear of fixed appliances.