“Straightening one tooth?”
I had braces for over five years. I have one tooth on the bottom that is pressed in front of the two teeth beside it. I do have a fairly narrow jaw. Would I be able to get my tooth realigned without braces? Would I need to get an expanding appliance again? (I had one maybe 8 years ago)
Female | 19 years old
Conditions: Ehlers Danlos Syndrome / temporal mandibular joint dysfunction
4 Answers
By definition, orthodontics is moving teeth, so, unfortunately, no. But you can get a retainer to hold it in place and prevent it from getting worse.
You can use clear aligner (Invisalign) to express your realign your tooth.
Hello,
People tend to look at orthodontics differently when it is their second time around. This time it is important to consider where the teeth are and where we want them to go; as there are always a few different ways to treat the same case. It is often the case that it is only one or a few teeth the second time around. However, even if it is one tooth, something is going to have to go on the teeth to align them. This would normally be a good situation for Invisalign or some other clear aligner system.
In this case, we are looking at just the lower (mandibular) teeth, but the upper (maxillary) teeth need some consideration as well. If the upper teeth are aligned we generally want to leave them alone and only worry about the bottom. In this case, interproximal reduction (IPR) would be considered so that way only the lower front teeth would be straightened and treatment time would be 6 months or less.
At age 19 most would not consider an expander as this would mostly tip the teeth and it does not seem necessary. Lastly it is important to have a full orthodontic consultation especially with a connective tissue disease like Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. This will also check for any issues that might have arisen from the first round of orthodontics. I hope this helps.
My best to you,
William F. Scott IV, DMD
Deluxe Dental Group
People tend to look at orthodontics differently when it is their second time around. This time it is important to consider where the teeth are and where we want them to go; as there are always a few different ways to treat the same case. It is often the case that it is only one or a few teeth the second time around. However, even if it is one tooth, something is going to have to go on the teeth to align them. This would normally be a good situation for Invisalign or some other clear aligner system.
In this case, we are looking at just the lower (mandibular) teeth, but the upper (maxillary) teeth need some consideration as well. If the upper teeth are aligned we generally want to leave them alone and only worry about the bottom. In this case, interproximal reduction (IPR) would be considered so that way only the lower front teeth would be straightened and treatment time would be 6 months or less.
At age 19 most would not consider an expander as this would mostly tip the teeth and it does not seem necessary. Lastly it is important to have a full orthodontic consultation especially with a connective tissue disease like Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. This will also check for any issues that might have arisen from the first round of orthodontics. I hope this helps.
My best to you,
William F. Scott IV, DMD
Deluxe Dental Group
Usually, an orthodontist is able to fix this situation with a retainer. Then he can bond a fixed retainer on the tongue side of the lower front teeth, to minimize this recurring.
