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You have a lot going on. School. Sports. Activities. Family. Friends. Teens lead busy lives and have busy schedules, so you need to budget your time and energy. One thing you don’t want to spend any of your time and energy on? Dealing with gum disease.

Gum disease most often begins as a reaction to plaque and tartar. The bacteria in plaque produce acids which irritate gum tissue, causing inflammation, swelling, and bleeding. This is gingivitis, the early stage of gum disease.

Left untreated, early gum disease can become periodontitis. Periodontitis is a serious gum infection which can cause receding gums, loose teeth, and even tooth and bone loss.

We usually think about gum disease as something that only older adults worry about. But the unfortunate fact is that children and teens are also at risk for gum disease—and the teen years bring special risks. Why?

• Braces

The teen years are the most common years for orthodontic treatment. Wearing traditional or lingual braces can make removing plaque from around brackets and wires, between the teeth, and near the gum line more challenging, and gum disease can be the result. When you’ve been working so hard to create a healthy attractive smile, you don’t want to delay your orthodontic progress to treat gum disease.

• Less-than-Nutritious Snacking

When you have after school commitments like sports practices, play rehearsals, or work, you probably carry a snack to give you the energy you need until dinner. Popular snacks like energy drinks, chips, or candy bars are common go-to choices, but they contain acids, simple carbs, and sugars which are bad for both gums and tooth enamel.

• Hormones

Increased hormone levels during puberty can make the gums more sensitive and more easily irritated.

• Your Busy Life

Maybe you’re not getting enough sleep. Or eating as well as you could. Or you’re feeling anxious. Lack of sleep, poor nutrition, and stress can affect your body’s immune system and your ability to fight off infection. And if you’re also not brushing and flossing regularly, your gum health can really suffer.

How do you know if you have gum disease? Good question! Sometimes the early stages of gum disease aren’t obvious. Perhaps you’ve noticed changes in your gums, such as:

• Redness
• Swelling
• Soreness
• Bleeding
• Bad breath even after brushing

Any of these changes can be symptoms of gum disease and are a good reason to give our Edwardsville office a call, since time is important when treating gum disease.

Caught early, gingivitis is usually very treatable—in fact, you can often reverse early gingivitis by paying more attention to your daily dental hygiene. If gingivitis is more advanced, or if periodontitis develops, you need professional dental care to prevent serious damage to your gums, teeth, and bone.

Preventing gum disease from ever developing is always best, though, so let’s look at what you can do to keep gum disease from becoming a problem.

• Keep Up with Healthy Dental Habits

Even though you’re leading a busy life, take time for your dental care. Brushing twice a day for at least two minutes per session and flossing once a day take just a bit of your time and are the best way to keep your gums healthy. If you wear braces or have a tendency toward cavities and gum disease, Dr. Elizabeth Hite, DMD, MS might recommend brushing or flossing more often.

• Use the Right Tools

Using the right tools makes a big difference. You should always choose a toothbrush with soft bristles to protect your delicate gum tissue—especially if it’s extra sensitive. Too-harsh brushing can damage even your super-hard tooth enamel, so you can imagine what it can do to your gums! Change out your brush every three to four months when it starts to get frayed and worn.

If you wear braces, ask Dr. Elizabeth Hite, DMD, MS to recommend the best kind of floss to clean between your teeth and around your brackets and wires. The right tools will make flossing a lot easier, and will help you keep your gums healthy and your orthodontic treatment on track.

• No Matter How Busy You Are, Treat Yourself Well

Watch your diet. Drinking water to hydrate is a healthy (and inexpensive) alternative to sugary and acidic drinks. When you know you have after-school commitments, pack yourself a healthy snack. After snacking, it’s a good idea to rinse with water when you can’t brush to remove any food particles sticking around your teeth and gums.

And even though your schedule is demanding, caring for your mind and body should be a priority. If you have difficulties with sleep or stress, or questions about a nutritious diet, talk to your doctor for some valuable tips to make your daily life healthier and more enjoyable.

With so much going on in your active life, gum problems are problems you really don’t need. Make room in your schedule now for careful daily brushing and flossing, a healthy lifestyle, and regular visits to Bauer Hite Orthodontic Specialists, and you’ll be living that active life with a beautiful, healthy smile!

Orthodontic treatment traditionally begins somewhere between the ages of 10 and 14—but there’s no need to stand on tradition where your family’s dental health is concerned! An orthodontic evaluation will let you know each family member’s best options for healthier, more confident smiles even before the tween years and even after reaching adulthood.

First Visit—By Age 7

Dentists recommend that you schedule a first orthodontic evaluation for your child by age seven (or earlier if any bite problems or jaw asymmetry are apparent). By this age, most children have a mix of both adult and baby teeth, and orthodontists can determine whether the position and development of the teeth and jaws are on track.

During this visit, Dr. Elizabeth Hite, DMD, MS will also carefully assess how your child’s teeth and jaws fit together when biting down. Healthy occlusion, or bite, means that the teeth and jaws are aligned and work together comfortably. A malocclusion, or bad bite, means that there is a problem with this alignment.

Dr. Elizabeth Hite, DMD, MS might discover:

• No issues for concern.
• A possibility for future orthodontic problems. In this case, follow-up appointments might be scheduled to determine whether and when treatment should occur.
• Orthodontic problems which are already evident, with a recommendation for early intervention.

Early Orthodontic Intervention—Ages 6-9

Some children can benefit from “interceptive orthodontics,” first stage orthodontic treatment begun around the ages of six to nine.

Early intervention can help prevent crowded teeth, protect protruding teeth, and correct jaw alignment problems.

• If a child has a small upper dental arch, palatal expanders can gently enlarge the arch to make room for the adult teeth to arrive without crowding.
• When a baby tooth is lost too soon, space maintainers save room for the adult tooth beneath it to erupt in just the right spot.
• Protruding front teeth have a higher risk of injury from falls or collisions, and treatment will help protect them.
• Treatment for malocclusions like overbites, underbites, and open bites helps create a more comfortable, symmetrical, and healthy bite while young bones are growing, and may prevent the necessity for more complicated treatment in the teen years.

Tween and Teen Years—Ages 10-14

It’s common to treat malocclusions during the tween/teen years. During this stage of development, it’s easier for teeth to move to their ideal positions, because most of the adult teeth have arrived and the jawbones haven’t completed their growth.

Today’s orthodontics offers teens a number of treatment options:

• Braces are smaller and more comfortable, and brackets come in a variety of colors and materials to blend in or stand out.
• Clear aligners are almost invisible, and can treat many types of mild to moderate malocclusions.
• Functional appliances like the Herbst® appliance, the Forsus™ device, the twin-block appliance, and headgear work with braces or aligners to help correct more complex malocclusions.

And there’s more—modern orthodontic options are more effective, taking less time to create a beautiful, healthy smile.

Older Patients of Any Age

As you’ve grown older, you may have noticed that your once-straight teeth are becoming a bit crowded. You may be suffering dental pain and injured teeth because of a long-term bite problem. You may have always wanted a more attractive, comfortable smile, but weren’t able to access treatment when you were younger.

Good news! As long as your teeth and gums are healthy, orthodontic treatment can be a great way to keep them healthy. And today’s orthodontics offer a much wider and less noticeable variety of treatment options than the larger metal braces you might remember from decades ago. Depending on your needs, the team at Bauer Hite Orthodontic Specialists could recommend:

• Traditional braces—brackets are smaller than ever and come in a choice of several materials and colors, including ceramic, tooth-colored, and clear brackets.
• Clear aligners—an almost invisible way to straighten teeth, and removeable when necessary (as long as they’re worn 20-22 hours each day).
• Lingual braces—the least visible treatment, because brackets and wires are attached behind the teeth.

Crowded teeth and malocclusions often lead to lifelong problems, including worn or cracked enamel, headaches, jaw problems, increased risk of tooth decay and periodontal disease, and decreased self-confidence. Whether you’re graduating high school or getting ready for your golden reunion, it’s not too late for an orthodontic assessment.

If you’re concerned about your own or your child’s orthodontic health, problems with alignment and bite are best treated as early as possible to prevent dental damage, improve self-confidence, and avoid more complicated treatment in the future. So, when’s the best time to schedule an orthodontic assessment in Edwardsville? There’s no better time than today!

The goal of orthodontic treatment at Bauer Hite Orthodontic Specialists, which may include the use of braces, retainers, and aligners, is to straighten your teeth. Treatment often starts in the pre-teen or teenage years, but adults may also need orthodontic treatment. The treatment can feel like a chore that lasts for several months or a couple of years, but it can fix important problems. These include:

• Crowded teeth spaced too close together
• Gaps between your teeth
• Crooked teeth
• Overbite or underbite
• Upper and lower teeth that do not meet

Straight Teeth are More Attractive

You are more likely to be proud of your smile when your teeth are straight and evenly spaced. Pride in your appearance can give you more confidence and encourage you to try new things. This can be particularly important for adolescents. In addition, people often judge others based on first impressions. A smile that shows straight teeth is more attractive.

Better Oral Health is Easier

Brushing and flossing your teeth are two basic components of an oral health routine to protect your teeth from conditions such as tooth decay, gingivitis, and plaque build-up. As Dr. Elizabeth Hite, DMD, MS and our staff know, caring for your mouth is easier when your teeth are straight. The American Dental Association says the following conditions are less likely to occur if you have the proper orthodontic treatment.

• Dental caries
• Gum disease or gingivitis
• Tooth loss
• Impaired speech
• Worn tooth enamel

Orthodontic Treatment Improves Nutrition

Poorly aligned teeth can reduce your ability to chew properly or make certain foods more difficult to eat. Many of these more challenging foods are healthy, and avoiding them can cause you to limit your diet to softer, often less-nutritious foods, such as ice cream and canned soup. Straighter teeth and a better ability to chew let you eat crunchy foods, such as apples and carrots; stringy foods, such as asparagus and chicken; and chewy foods, such as raisins.

Orthodontists and dentists both help patients improve their oral health, but in different ways. Dentistry is a broad medical specialty that deals with the teeth, gum, nerves, and jaw, while orthodontics is a specialty within dentistry that focuses on correcting bites, occlusion, and the straightness of teeth. One important difference is that all orthodontists like Dr. Elizabeth Hite, DMD, MS are dentists, but not all dentists are licensed orthodontists.

How are they similar?

The main similarity between a dentist and orthodontist is that they both focus on oral care. An orthodontist can work in a dental office and provide the same care as a dentist. So in this respect, they are quite similar. They are both considered doctors, and deal with the teeth and gums.

How are they different?

There are more differences than similarities. An orthodontist requires additional schooling as a dental specialty; the situation is similar to a doctor who obtains additional schooling to become a surgeon. Another difference is that orthodontists specialize in helping patients with the alignment of their teeth, improving their bite, or fitting them for corrective braces and devices. If a patient has an overbite, a dentist will refer him or her to an orthodontist.

Dentists typically encourage good oral hygiene and provide services related to:

• Tooth decay
• Root canals
• Gum disease
• Crowns
• Bridges
• Veneers
• Teeth whitening

Orthodontists are dentists that specialize in the alignment of teeth, and provide services related to:

• Misaligned teeth
• Crowded teeth
• Overbite
• Underbite

What an orthodontist can help with

Orthodontists help with crooked teeth, but they assist patients with other issues as well. These include overbites and underbites, crossbites, spaces between teeth, overcrowding of teeth, and the treatment of temporomandibular disorders (TMD). Additional problems with the jaw also need to be treated by an orthodontist.

While a dentist may be trained to provide orthodontic care in addition to extractions, TMJ treatments, and fillings, trusting your smile to an orthodontist can better balance the different procedures you require.

To learn more about the difference between dentists and orthodontists, or to schedule an initial consultation with Dr. Elizabeth Hite, DMD, MS, please give our team at Bauer Hite Orthodontic Specialists a call at our convenient Edwardsville office.