PreTreatment
Imagine for a moment what the orthodontist faces when a person arrives for orthodontic treatment. The teeth may be misaligned, there may be crowding between some teeth and gaps between other teeth, and the patient may have one of a number of possible malocclusions. In order to change your smile from its crooked state to a thing of beauty, your orthodontist will need to perform a detailed investigation of your mouth and figure out how to make the teeth and jaws move into the most pleasing and functional position. Orthodontic treatment begins with X-rays and molds of the patient’s teeth and progresses to a detailed treatment plan.
Records appointment
After you have made the decision to have dental braces and, importantly, your orthodontist feels that dental braces are necessary, you will have a records appointment. A diagnostic records appointment is basically a dental visit in which you have all of the studies performed so that the orthodontist can determine the best orthodontic treatment plan for you.
Dental X-rays
A records appointment includes specific X-ray studies including panoramic and cephalometric X-rays. Just like other X-rays, these orthodontic treatment X-rays are not painful but they do provide a wealth of information for the orthodontist. Panoramic X-rays take a single image of both rows of teeth while cephalometric X-rays give the orthodontist a picture of the roots and the jaws. These X-rays can indicate if there are any areas in which the tooth roots are fused to bone. If this occurs, orthodontic treatment is much more difficult and additional procedures may be needed. Also, dental disease may be treated before orthodontic treatment begins since it will be easier and more effective to do so beforehand—dental disease can be detected by these X-rays.
Dental Photographs
Your orthodontist will often take several pictures during the pretreatment phase of orthodontic treatment. These will include detailed images of the face with the mouth open and closed. These dental photographs will include intraoral (inside the mouth) and profile photographs as well. These photographs will be used to document orthodontic treatment progress and may be used as “before and after” photos if you agree to allow them to be used in that way.
Molds and impressions