Easy treatment with quick recovery time
We do less surgical orthodontics today than I did in the 80s because we now have things like Herbst appliances and certain orthopedic jaw adapting and growing appliances that have helped minimize this tremendously when we’re able to treat the kids when they’re younger and growing. But there’s still a large faction of people who did not avail themselves to orthodontics as a kid and now that they’re fully grown they may have a strong jaw or a deficient jaw or a very gummy smile. Jaws overgrowth and undergrowth development where it involves the orthodontist fixing the jaw components and then the teeth that sit within those jaws to make those teeth fit after fixing the jaws.
They’re usually put under light sedation like they are when you have wisdom teeth removed. It’s done in the hospital environment not necessarily in the oral surgeon’s office, usually have you at the hospital. Most of them are released within 24 hours.
I know in the past they’ve kept some people overnight just for for one day but most released within 24 hours. Very simple post-op these days. Most people don’t have the kind of pain that you would imagine and it’s primarily because this is not like a jaw fracture or someone breaking your jaw.
We’ve worked with specific teams of oral surgeons now and post-op therapy people. Now we have a whole group together that we coordinate that with us and those specific people. You’re in good hands once we’ve made that decision this is what we’re going to do.
We just got to follow the steps and get it done. There are different types of modalities, different ways orthodontics is done these days. Predominantly we are a non-extraction orthodontic practice.
There’s a high percentage of orthodontists who are still taught the old school way. New modalities, expansion, getting wider forward smiles, opening up airways for future airway problems for people who have sleep apnea and airways issues. We’re very cognizant of because we don’t pull teeth we do expand to get people wide smiles not narrow diminutive smiles by pulling teeth.
So I would say that’s the other care and comfort thing that people are surprised and very happy when we’re a second or third opinion and they’re saying well the other orthodontist wants to take out teeth and I just kind of chuckle say no you don’t want to remove body parts there’s no reason for that. Here’s how we do that and you’ll benefit from this not just from a bigger wider broader smile but your child will benefit having an airway more open as time life goes on that’s very important for overall physiology not just a beautiful smile.