Century Newsletter

  On Mondays we like to educate. Did you know that not all wisdom teeth need to be pulled?  Wisdom teeth typically start erupting when you are 18-24 years old.   Dentists and Orthodontists check on the amount of room needed for the wisdom teeth to come in and usually tend to refer to an oral surgeon if there is not enough room for them to fully erupt or if the don't have an opposing tooth to bite on.  Normally people get a new molar tooth every 3-6 years until they reach maturity.  The most common missing teeth are wisdom teeth and are also most likely to be pulled. If you still have all of your teeth including wisdom teeth you need to make sure you are keeping them clean and healthy and see your dentist every 6 months for a cleaning.

Teeth can move at any age or anytime if you let them!!!  Unfortunately, the reality is that even after orthodontic treatment is complete, your teeth are still likely to move. Unless however, you are to wear a retention appliances for 6-12 hours nightly for as long as you'd like to keep them where they are. Why does this happen? There are a few ways to think about it:    ·          Changes in the mouth reset the balance   – Suppose you lose a tooth or have one extracted. Your other teeth are going to notice they have room to move and may drift over into the gap. Not all changes to your mouth are as dramatic as a lost tooth, but growth and age-related changes to your mouth will also change how your teeth relate to one another.  ·          Ligaments are not fixed   – The periodontal ligament is the name of the connector that attaches each tooth to a jawbone. Ligaments are ela...