Dr. Martinez and his friendly staff are proud to offer exceptional orthodontic care to kids, teens and adults in Mack and Cincinnati, OH. Orthodontic treatment doesn’t provide results overnight, so we do our best to make sure our patients feel like they're a part of our family on their journey to perfect teeth!
Without question, treatment with braces will dramatically improve the function and aesthetics of your smile. However, there are some cases where braces might not be enough, and this is where temporary anchorage devices (TADs) come into play.
TADs combine the tremendous benefits of implant technology with orthodontics. They’re specialized metallic pins that look like mini screws, which are placed in the jawbone, allowing an orthodontist to control the movement of teeth. TADs are often used for treating challenging orthodontic problems, which often eliminates the need for bulky and uncomfortable headgear.
Benefits of Temporary Anchorage Devices
Using TADs in tandem with other orthodontic treatments provide many advantages, which include:
- Allowing an orthodontist to move just one or several teeth, to avoid the need for full braces in some patients.
- Saving the patient money by closing the spaces left after teeth are lost or extracted wherein expensive dental implants won't be necessary.
- Helping the patient avoid jaw surgery.
- Shortening the time a patient spends wearing braces.
What TADs Have Done For Our Previous Patients
Patient 1
Before: This photo shows a patient’s bite before beginning orthodontic treatment, with the arrow indicating the only point where the teeth are touching. Normally, fixing this bite would require jaw surgery.
Treatment: To treat this patient’s bite, Dr. Martinez placed a TAD on the roof of the mouth. This allowed his to control the movement of certain teeth to bring the patient’s jaw into proper alignment. You can see the TAD is working in tandem with braces, to ensure that both the teeth and jaw move together to create a beautiful smile.
After: You can see the patient achieved a perfect bite, without surgical intervention!
Patient 2
Before: This patient received orthodontic treatment about 20 years ago, and the previous orthodontist was unable to properly position the roots of the lower front teeth. The result was severe recession.
Treatment: A TAD was placed in the roots of the lower front teeth, and worked in tandem with partial braces to provide an efficient and aesthetically pleasing treatment option for the patient.
After: There was a complete regeneration of the gum tissue, following proper root alignment and gum grafting.
Other Successful Examples
In this patient, a temporary anchorage device was used to close the gap where a tooth was missing. Dr. Martinez was able to save this patient upwards of $3,000 dollars.
This patient was missing three baby teeth, as the black and white X-ray indicates. TADs were used to close these spaces, saving this patient nearly $10,000 dollars on a potential dental procedure.
How TADs are Placed
While having TADs placed may seem like an uncomfortable process, it’s actually a pain-free. Once the area is numbed, the patient only feels some gentle pressure as the TAD is inserted.
While most patients do not have any problems with discomfort in the days following the procedure, some patients may feel some minor aching and/or pressure for a short period. If this happens to you, contact our office to let us know. We may suggest that you take an over-the-counter pain medication, like Ibuprofen.
Keeping Your TADs Clean
Cleaning your TADs is easy, as you simply brush your teeth as you normally would when wearing braces. On the day your TADs are placed, we will provide you with a special anti-bacterial mouthwash, with instructions on how to use it to prevent infection.
Contact Your Premier Cincinnati & Mack, OH Orthodontist!
If you have any questions about TADs, please don't hesitate to contact us. We want the time you spend improving your smile to be as comfortable as possible. At our Cincinnati orthodontics practice, we enjoy watching our patients' smiles transform into healthy and beautiful smiles! We look forward to seeing you in our office soon!