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Five Health Benefits of Straight Teeth

April 11, 2023/in Uncategorized /by Feil Orthodontics

At Feil Orthodontics, we hear from people every day concerned about the appearance of their smiles. However, more damage can lie below the surface of a crooked smile than misaligned teeth. Poor tooth alignment and oral malocclusions can cause other issues with your health that can impact your life. Thankfully, orthodontic treatment can move your teeth into alignment and give you results you’ll love.

Orthodontic treatment can help correct oral issues, including crooked teeth, overbites, and underbites. Although the most obvious benefit of treatment is a beautifully straight smile, there are many lesser-known advantages to adult braces in our office. We’ll explore some of these below, so keep reading to learn more!

Improved Chewing & Digestion

It can be difficult to bite and chew your food effectively when your teeth and jaws are out of alignment. If left untreated over time, poor alignment can contribute to excessive wear and tear on your teeth and may weaken the muscles of the jaws. This can cause painful chewing, which has the potential to exacerbate any issues you’re already having.

You may be surprised to find there’s a connection between your stomach and your smile, but it’s an important one. Your teeth are a crucial component of the digestive process, and chewing your food is the first step.

Your whole digestive system can suffer if you can’t chew properly because of misaligned teeth. When your teeth can’t properly break down food, it will pass through the digestive system much more slowly.

A Smile That Lasts for Life

Your teeth deal with a lot of pressure between biting and chewing. If your teeth aren’t correctly aligned, they’ll be impacted differently than a straight smile. Bite issues put excessive stress on sensitive areas, causing premature wear and tear on the teeth.

Over time, this pressure can lead to chipping, notching at the gum line, flattening of the biting surfaces, and cracks along your teeth. This damage is often unsightly, but it can also require expensive dental treatments.

The results of orthodontic treatment are long-lasting, especially with the proper maintenance. If you take the time to care for your teeth and orthodontic appliance and wear a retainer as directed by Dr. Feil, your newly-straightened smile will last a lifetime.

Improved Jaw Function

A bad bite doesn’t just affect your teeth—your jaw joint can also pay the price! The hinged temporomandibular joints connect the jaw to your skull close to your ears. When these joints and muscles have excessive strain from misaligned teeth, you can deal with jaw pain, dizziness, earaches, ear ringing, and headaches.

Orthodontic treatment will align your teeth, relieve you from the painful symptoms of TMD, and help you get your life back.

Improved Oral Health

Brushing and flossing are essential for maintaining oral health, but when your teeth are crooked or crowded, they can be difficult to clean. This can cause a build-up of plaque and bacteria, increasing the risk of tooth decay, gum disease, cavities, and gingivitis.

While these are common dental ailments, they’re also preventable! Orthodontic treatment at Feil Orthodontics can move the teeth into better positions, making it much easier to maintain an effective oral hygiene routine.

Better Speech

The alignment of your teeth and jaws can affect your speech. Misaligned teeth can influence the placement of the tip of the tongue, which is essential to properly form certain sounds, including ‘t,’ ‘n,’ and ‘d.’

As an experienced orthodontist, Dr. Feil can identify speech issues related to misaligned teeth. He’ll also assess the severity of these issues and create an effective treatment plan based on your specific needs and goals.

Transform Your Smile with Metal Braces

Metal braces are one of the most recognizable symbols of orthodontics and the most common type of treatment. The brackets are made of a mix of stainless steel, nickel, and other high-quality metals, making them durable and long-lasting.

Modern metal braces are much more comfortable and lighter than they used to be, and they’re also customizable, thanks to a variety of fun colored bands to choose from! These braces deliver excellent results and are especially useful in cases that are more severe or complicated.

Since they don’t require some of the more complex technology or expensive equipment that newer treatments do, metal braces also tend to be a slightly more affordable option. The overall strength, durability, and cost-effectiveness of traditional braces keep them the top treatment for orthodontics, year after year.

Improve Your Smile & Oral Health with Feil Orthodontics

Feil Orthodontics is proud to offer patients of all ages the full package: expert care, clear communication, a rewarding orthodontic experience, and exceptional results. If you’d like to learn more about how an aligned bite can benefit your overall health, contact us today to schedule a FREE consultation with our office.

The Role of Orthodontics In Speech Therapy

March 17, 2023/in Uncategorized /by Feil Orthodontics

Here at Feil Orthodontics, we see patients daily who want straighter smiles. Whether it’s an overbite or crowded teeth, most people’s primary concern is the appearance of their teeth. However, as a trained orthodontist, Dr. Blake Feil knows more serious side effects can result from a crooked smile, including certain speech disorders.

In many cases, treating oral malocclusions can help correct issues with speaking in addition to the benefits of a beautiful new smile. But what exactly is the role of orthodontics in speech therapy, and how can it correct speech disorders? Let’s take a look!

What causes speech problems?

First, it helps to understand the role your teeth play in speaking. The tongue touches your teeth to produce certain sounds and requires space to move to produce others. Your teeth also control the airflow in your mouth, another essential element in creating speech.

There are several causes of speech impediments, including genetic conditions like cleft lip and palate, hearing deficits, and brain damage. Speaking requires a balance between the mouth, teeth, tongue, and jaw, so when these parts are out of alignment, it makes it difficult to talk clearly.

Types of speech problems

Bruxism

Bruxism is the act of grinding your teeth while you sleep. This condition can cause a sore jaw and, left untreated, can result in jaw disorders that affect speech.

Open bite

When the upper and lower teeth extend forward from the jaw and do not fit together optimally when the mouth is closed, the problem is rooted in early childhood habits (thumb sucking). Open bite is a common cause of speech impediments and uneven tooth wear and can interfere with proper oral hygiene.

Tooth gaps

When there is significant space between two teeth, or a tooth is missing, it can be difficult to pronounce certain words or “ess” sounds.

Lisp or whistling

If you have a lisp, it’s difficult to pronounce the “s” and “z” sounds. Whistling sometimes accompanies a lisp, but not necessarily. Lisps are typically caused by an overbite when the teeth don’t touch correctly and allow in too much air.

Trouble pronouncing consonants

Certain malocclusions like crossbite or crowding can make it challenging to pronounce consonants or strings of consonants, like “t,” “n,” and “d.”

Slurring

Crowded teeth can cause slurred speech since there isn’t room for proper tooth eruption or tongue movement.

Orthodontic treatment to correct speech issues

Dental malocclusions don’t go away on their own. If you suffer from these oral issues, you will need orthodontic treatment to align your teeth. We offer the following treatment options at our Bismarck, Mandan, and Beulah offices:

Metal braces

Metal braces can correct any misalignment at the root of your speech problems. The brackets Dr. Feil uses are made of stainless steel, nickel, and other high-quality metals, making them strong and effective.

Modern metal braces are much more comfortable and lighter than they used to be and work more quickly to align your teeth. These braces deliver excellent results and are especially useful in more severe or complicated cases.

Speech therapy paired with orthodontic treatment can help train your mouth and tongue to work together in harmony during and after treatment. Working with a speech therapist can help you adjust to your braces as they work to give you a straighter smile and improve your speaking ability.

Clear braces

Also known as ceramic braces, translucent braces, or aesthetic braces, clear braces work like metal braces with the added benefit of semi-translucent or tooth-colored ceramic brackets. Clear braces can better blend in with your natural smile for a more subtle treatment option.

Clear braces are slightly more fragile than traditional metal ones, so we may not recommend them for more severe cases or younger patients. However, they can still be a great option to correct oral issues and improve your speech.

Clear aligners

Our in-house aligner system consists of clear, removable aligners customized to fit over your teeth. Like traditional braces, clear aligners apply gentle pressure to move your teeth into proper alignment and make it easier to speak, swallow, and clean your teeth.

Clear aligners give you more freedom and flexibility than other treatment options. There are no food restrictions since aligners are removed when eating or drinking, and it’s easy to keep your teeth and gums clean and healthy since you don’t have to work around wires and brackets.

Schedule a free consultation with Feil Orthodontics

Difficulty speaking can seriously affect your quality of life, and our team wants to help you overcome that barrier! If you have crowding, overbite, underbite, crossbite, or other oral issues affecting your speech, contact our office to schedule a free consultation. Dr. Feil will evaluate your bite and create a customized treatment plan to meet your needs.

Tune-Up Your Smile with Clear Aligners

February 14, 2023/in Uncategorized /by Feil Orthodontics

As our most popular alternative to traditional braces, our custom clear aligners can give you the same beautiful results as braces without metal brackets or wires. If you want a more discrete treatment, aligners could be your perfect fit! The removable aligners are also an excellent choice for athletes and musicians who play specific instruments. We at Feil Orthodontics will help you get your dream smile with clear aligners without disrupting your life!

What are clear aligners?

Clear aligners straighten your teeth without any brackets, bands, or wires. Instead, they use a series of removable clear aligners to move your teeth gently and comfortably. We customize each set of aligners in our office specifically for you with the help of 3-D computer imaging that gives us a detailed look at where the teeth are and where we want them to be.

If you spend time watching tv or online, you probably know a little about clear aligners. While the design looks simple, a lot goes into those trays! Clear aligners at Feil Orthodontics are made of a unique thermoplastic material that’s smooth enough to be comfortable but strong enough to move your teeth into alignment. When you wear your clear aligners according to the guidelines from Dr. Feil, they can be just as effective as traditional braces at treating many of the most common orthodontic issues.

How do clear aligners work?

The first step in your orthodontic journey is a free consultation with Dr. Feil in our Bismarck, Mandan, or Beulah office. During your visit, Dr. Feil will thoroughly examine your teeth and bite. If you’re a good candidate for clear aligners, we’ll create a personalized treatment plan considering your specific needs, preferences, and goals.

Your treatment plan will include all the movements we want your teeth to make and an estimate of how long we expect treatment to take. We’ll start designing your aligners in our office using the 3D scan of your teeth and gums as our guide. That means you’ll never have any uncomfortable, messy impressions, and with the next-day turn-around, you’ll start straightening your smile immediately!

Because they’re custom-designed, the aligners will fit firmly but comfortably over your teeth. For them to work correctly, you must wear your aligners for at least 20-22 hours daily throughout treatment. You should only remove your aligners to eat, drink anything other than water, and brush and floss. You may experience longer treatment times and subpar results if you don’t follow these recommendations.

You’ll need to switch your aligners out for the next in the series every one to two weeks to keep your teeth moving in the right direction. We’ll schedule follow-up visits for you every 6 to 10 weeks to check that everything is progressing as it should be.

Every case is unique, and everyone responds to treatment differently, so there’s no one-size-fits-all answer as to how long treatment will take. On average, treatment with clear aligners requires between 24 and 36 aligners over a 9 to 15-month timeframe.

Benefits of clear aligners over braces

It’s not surprising that what patients love most about our in-house clear aligners is that they are discreet and removable. However, there are many other benefits to this innovative system, including:

No food restrictions

The food restrictions that come with braces can be one of the most challenging parts of treatment. Crunchy or chewy foods can damage the wires and brackets, so avoid them until you finish treatment. The final result is worth it, but it can be frustrating to go without some of your favorite foods for months. Unlike braces, which are fixed appliances, clear aligners are designed to be removed every time you eat. That means you’re free to enjoy all the treats you love as long as you brush and floss when you’re done.

Easy to maintain a good oral hygiene routine

We should all do our best to keep our teeth and gums healthy and clean, but it’s even more important during orthodontic treatment. It can be tough to brush with braces, and the nooks and crannies make it easy for bacteria to hide and multiply. With clear aligners, keeping your teeth free of food particles and harmful plaque is a cinch! Clear aligners make it easier to maintain an oral hygiene routine since you remove them to brush and floss. There are also special kits for cleaning clear aligners, or you can brush them with a soft toothbrush and denture crystals.

Convenience and flexibility

For athletic patients who regularly participate in sports, clear aligners can be a game-changer! You can take your aligners out before practice and games and replace them with a mouthguard to protect your mouth. They’re also great for musicians who play certain instruments since they can be taken out for short periods, like practice or concerts. And when it comes to special occasions like weddings, prom, and senior pictures, you can remove clear aligners to allow nothing but your natural smile to shine through!

Straighten your smile with clear aligners from Feil Orthodontics

Dr. Feil is an experienced orthodontic expert who creates beautiful smiles for patients of all ages using various treatment options. Our team is committed to treating every patient with compassion, kindness, and respect. We want you to feel like family from the moment you make your first appointment!

If you’re looking for a clear aligner provider you can trust, Feil Orthodontics is here for you. Dr. Feil and the rest of our talented team have the education, training, and skill to give you a rewarding orthodontic experience from start to finish. To learn more about how clear aligners can transform your smile, get in touch with us today to schedule a FREE consultation.