Rumor 1: Orthodontic treatment should be done as early as possible, and the earlier the correction, the better the result.
✔/✗: Partially correct, partially incorrect.
Orthodontic treatment should indeed be initiated early, but not necessarily as soon as possible. The period from 7 to 12 years old is a crucial stage for early intervention, during which the growth potential of teeth and jaws can be fully utilized to correct dental and jaw malformations.
Therefore, all children should undergo an initial consultation with an orthodontist at age 7 to check for dental anomalies such as impacted teeth, supernumerary teeth, and congenitally missing teeth. For certain specific malformations, such as skeletal Class III malocclusion (anterior crossbite) and mesio-inclined lingual occlusion, orthodontic treatment may begin as early as age 5.
However, in clinical practice, it is often observed that some 2-year-olds undergo orthodontic treatment, which falls into the category of overcorrection. The true golden period for orthodontic treatment is from 12 to 18 years old, during which almost all dental malformations can be comprehensively corrected.
At this stage, the side effects of orthodontic treatment are minimal, the treatment duration is shortest, and the results are optimal.
Rumor 2: Orthodontic treatment easily leads to tooth mobility, and teeth are more likely to fall out when one ages.
✔/✗: Incorrect statement.
The principle of tooth movement is analogous to tree transplantation, where transplanted trees gradually take root and become more stable, similarly, teeth stabilize in their new positions after orthodontic treatment.
During treatment, to ensure tooth stability, orthodontists typically apply appropriate force over a suitable duration to facilitate the adaptation of teeth and periodontal tissues to their new positions.
Temporary tooth mobility may occur during this process, which is a natural phenomenon. Under the supervision of a professional dentist, this mobility is controllable and does not compromise the long-term stability of the teeth.
Tooth loss in old age is usually associated with long-term neglect of oral hygiene, such as irregular tooth brushing, infrequent dental scaling, and untreated periodontal diseases. These factors are the underlying causes leading to the deterioration of periodontal diseases and eventual tooth loss.
Rumor 3: During tooth correction, doctors usually require tooth extraction, otherwise it will delay the orthodontic process.
✔/✗: Incorrect statement.
The issue of whether or not to extract teeth during orthodontic treatment has been debated in the orthodontic community for over 100 years. In reality, the extraction of teeth is not the primary concern; rather, the primary consideration should be the objectives of the orthodontic treatment.
These objectives include the desired positions of the teeth, the anticipated changes in facial appearance, the shape of the tooth arrangement, the degree of gingival exposure, and so forth. These objectives dictate the design of the orthodontic treatment plan. Some less specialized practitioners may opt against tooth extraction based on the wishes of the patient or their parents.
However, the correct approach is to determine whether or not to extract teeth based on the specific condition of the patient’s dentofacial deformity and the design of the orthodontic treatment plan.
Rumor 4: Invisalign can only treat mild cases and is prone to relapse.
✔/✗: Incorrect statement.
Initially, invisible aligner therapy was primarily applied to simple cases, such as aligning teeth and closing diastema. As people’s aesthetic demands for facial appearance have increased over the years, research and practice have significantly expanded the indications of invisible aligner therapy, making it capable of correcting most dentofacial deformities.
Furthermore, the efficacy of invisible aligner therapy has surpassed traditional wire-based orthodontics in many aspects, with shorter treatment durations.
However, invisible aligner therapy demands high levels of professional skill and experience from practitioners; only skilled orthodontists can fully leverage the advantages of invisible aligners to provide patients with high-quality correctional outcomes.
