Radio Spot – Orthodontics
Ben Heighes: Thanks for joining us, AM1440, KUHL. It is Thursday and time once again for Dr. Dino’s Cool Truths About the Tooth. Today we’ve got some good information here on orthodontics and braces. First of all, Doctor, welcome to the program.
Dr.Dino Bonyadi: Thank you very much, Ben.
Ben Heighes: We have Dr. Dino Bonyadii with us here. We’re going to be talking about orthodontics. I guess the first question here, at what age should you take your child in for treatment for orthodontics or braces?
Dr.Dino Bonyadi: That’s a good question for any patient to ask their general dentist because after all, they’re the ones who are monitoring the progression of teeth, eruption, and how they come together. I would say depending on age and the case at hand, I would say about age 12 would be a good age for the general dentist to start looking at a patient’s bite, the relation of the upper and lower jaw, and how upper and lower jaw are growing as to meet and come together.
Ben Heighes: Is it important for parents maybe to look at their children’s teeth to see if there’s any problems?
Dr.Dino Bonyadi: Absolutely. I mean if you’re noticing your child’s lower jaw is way further back, if you look at their profile, than their upper jaw or upper teeth, that is a very good indication that your child has what we call a class two bite. So, their lower jaw is further back than the upper. Or the other way around is where their lower jaw, their chin, is progressed far more forward than their upper teeth. That’s what we call a class three. Any of those two conditions should be addressed as early of an age as possible. The reason is what we want to do in cases like that is we want to intervene as the child is growing, and perhaps maybe holding the upper jaw back until the lower one catches up or vice versa.
Ben Heighes: Well maybe some of us had braces while we were growing up. In the case that someone does need braces, how long would you have to wear those?
Dr.Dino Bonyadi: It all depends on the case, depending on how much movement we’re doing and what we are doing. Again, that’s when it’s important to intervene at an early age if we are seeing a very big discrepancy or crowding of the teeth. Because at an early age as we are growing, our bones are growing and they have the ability to grow, and we can kind of direct the growth of the bone. I think the general dentist is the best person to advise the patient’s parents as to when they should seek orthodontic help.
Ben Heighes: All right. We are speaking to Dr.Dino Bonyadii. Dr. Dino’s Cool Truths About the Tooth. We’re talking about orthodontics and braces today. I guess another question here that kind of comes to mind, Doctor, is orthodontics something for just children or is it for adults too?
Dr.Dino Bonyadi: Well, in the past we concentrated mainly on children. Of course, everybody loves their child and they want the best for it. But as we’re progressing in our knowledge of dentistry, we’re realizing that orthodontics is not just for cosmetic reasons. Therefore, it’s not just for children. It’s for functional reasons also. Teeth can wear, even adult teeth can wear in a fashion where it can be dangerous. You can break teeth, you can chip teeth if your bite, which we call occlusion, your bite doesn’t come together in a balanced manner.
Dr.Dino Bonyadi: All teeth were created to handle a certain function. Front teeth are for cutting. Back teeth are for chewing. Now if your front teeth are coming end to end or your back teeth are coming edge to edge, this is going to put abnormal wear and tear on your teeth. Nowadays orthodontics is not just for children, it’s for adults. It’s not just for cosmetics, it’s functional also. But the cosmetic aspect of it is another bonus that you get while you’re trying to fix the functional part of it.
Ben Heighes: Right. Well Doctor, we’ve mentioned Invisalign here on this program before. Can Invisalign help in these areas where we’re dealing with a balanced bite?
Dr.Dino Bonyadi: Absolutely. Invisalign, the nice thing about it is that it’s not braces, it’s aligners. They’re clear trays. Actually, I have them on right now because I’m trying to improve on my smile because I noticed functionally, some of my teeth were taking more of a beating than the others. The nice thing about Invisalign is you can practically not see. I mean you’re sitting across the table from me-
Ben Heighes: I didn’t notice, yeah.
Dr.Dino Bonyadi: Yeah. The nice thing about it is you can take it off, you can eat, you can brush, you can floss, and put it back on. That’s the beauty of it. But you have to wear it. You have to comply with wearing it at least 22 hours a day. Invisalign has come very far with what they can do. What we couldn’t do five years ago, now we can do with Invisalign.
Dr.Dino Bonyadi: Invisalign is a great option for adults who don’t want to wear braces. Also, we have Invisalign Teen for teenagers, which is another great option for teenagers who don’t want to wear brackets and wires, and all that. Now, that being said, certain cases may not be able to be treated by Invisalign and they will need braces.
Ben Heighes: Got it. So, we can see you for Invisalign. What about orthodontics? Is that something you do?
Dr.Dino Bonyadi: Well, Invisalign, you can see any dentist that is certified in the process, which my office, me and my staff are. If a general dentist has had adequate training in orthodontia, then I think they’re qualified to handle it. If not, then it’s best handled by a specialist.
Dr.Dino Bonyadi: As a general rule of thumb in my practice, I refer any patient 16 and under to an orthodontist because I think they are far more qualified than most general dentists to give great results. Because after all, that’s what we’re looking for, we’re looking for good results. That’s the time where everything is growing and the orthodontist can do a lot of changes and a lot of improvements, not just to the teeth but to the way the bone is progressing and growing.
Ben Heighes: All right. Very good. Well our time has run out. But again, if people have a question or a topic they want covered here on the radio we can take care of that for them. All they have to do is get ahold of you by e-mail.
Dr.Dino Bonyadi: Yeah. They can go on our website, DrDinoB.com. There is a lot of information about Invisalign and there’s another procedure that I am certified in called Six Month Smiles. That’s another orthodontic treatment for adults. Or they can call the office at 925-7343.
Ben Heighes: And we can like you on Facebook.
Dr.Dino Bonyadi: Please do. Thank you.
Ben Heighes: That’ll take care of things here for this time around for Dr. Dino’s Cool Truths About the Tooth with Dr. Dino Bonyadii. Doctor, we’ll see you next time.
Dr.Dino Bonyadi: Thank you, Ben. Have a wonderful day.