According to the statistics of the World Health Organization (WHO), 7 out of every 10 people in the world have dentition problems, and 1 out of every 3-5 people in Europe and America have received orthodontic treatment. In Taiwan Province Province, with people's increasing attention to dental beauty and health, "wearing braces" has become a national sport. Chen, director of the Department of Psychology and Oral Health of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, pointed out that apart from traffic accidents or congenital diseases, orthodontics is mostly self-funded medical treatment, and doctors' different practices often lead to a gap between patients' expectations of fees and treatment results, which is controversial.
Zheng Xinzhong, dean of the School of Stomatology, Taipei Medical College, who is the convener of the compilation team of Dental Health Manual, said that orthodontics will be carried out for three reasons: beauty, health and function. According to the age of orthodontics, 80% of them are patients with complete permanent teeth over 65,438+02 years old, but about 20% of them are children with positive mixed dentition between 7 and 65,438+02 years old. (See more >> When is the best time to treat children's tooth eruption and fighting? )
Does the child's crooked teeth need to be corrected? A comprehensive evaluation can be made at the age of 7. The so-called "mixed dentition" means that there are both deciduous teeth and permanent teeth in the mouth. Since deciduous teeth will be replaced, is it a good time to correct them? Zheng Xinzhong explained that in addition to neat and beautiful teeth, for school-age children, if it is serious enough to affect chewing function, pronunciation learning, cleaning difficulties and tooth decay, it is necessary to intervene as soon as possible and start correcting. Poor chewing will affect the nutritional absorption function of the stomach, and pronunciation must also establish correct oral movements at school age. For developing children, these things should not be missed. "If the child's teeth are not correct in appearance, such as obvious multi-teeth, protruding teeth, or bad habits such as sucking fingers, biting pens, breathing through the mouth, it is recommended to make an assessment to a professional orthodontist at the age of 7, whether early intervention is needed." (See more >> Get rid of these bad oral habits and make children's teeth more tidy)
Zheng Xinzhong believes that if the child has bite back (left) and serious eruption (right), the tooth function will be seriously affected, and it is recommended to start corrective treatment as soon as possible. Provided by Zheng Xinzhong
Orthodontics is actually quite complicated. There are many kinds of orthodontics, fixed and movable, which are installed on the outside or inside of teeth. Do you want to pull a rubber band and choose transparent or stainless steel orthodontics? There are many ways to treat it. In some cases, it is necessary to drill bones, extract teeth, and even move the upper and lower jaws. Is not a solvable principle. Chen said that correction cannot be completed in a short time, and parents must discuss a complete treatment plan with doctors to reduce future disputes. "According to the complaints and complaints we received, the cost is the most different from the expected treatment effect. 」
To achieve the best results and avoid disputes, there must be a complete evaluation before treatment, and doctors should also let patients fully understand the risks. It is mentioned in the Manual of Orthodontic Care for Teeth and Jaws that relevant examinations must be done before orthodontics, such as X-ray and dental plaster model, and then the doctor will make an analysis report to judge the orthodontic instruments to be used, and fully inform the patients of the relevant risks, and follow-up oral care health education, etc.
The manual also provides three versions of the "treatment consent" for reference, especially mentioning the correction process, complete scheme, cost, types of orthotics, treatment effect, possible risks and so on. Chen stressed that parents must read this part carefully. Many problems that I haven't thought about before correction are listed here, so as to avoid paying for tooth extraction without the doctor's clear explanation. In addition, there are also matters that should be paid attention to when correcting, such as: avoid eating foods that are too hard, too sticky and too sweet; Or the thread exposed by the appliance, how to care for the broken oral skin at home, and so on. , all have very practical illustrations.
As for the cost and expected effect, Zheng Xinzhong believes that if it is not too complicated to correct, the cost will be about10 ~ 200,000; The expected effect of correction needs the cooperation of patients. For example, after the appliance is removed, the repairman should wear it for at least one year, and he can't be lazy when he goes once every six months. If you don't do this, you will come back and complain that your teeth are bent and ineffective. I'm afraid no matter how powerful the doctor is, "God will help you correct it, and it won't work," Zheng Xinzhong said helplessly.
Children's orthodontics 2 points: see a doctor on time, pay attention to prevent tooth decay, do orthodontics when you are young, will the teeth grow out of chaos? This is a concern of many parents. Zheng Xinzhong said that the key is whether the jaw problem is serious enough to affect children's development and learning. If the child can't bite, eat badly, have unbalanced nutrition, have cavities all over his mouth, or have interpersonal problems because of the appearance of teeth and slurred speech. At this time, the corrective treatment is to solve the urgent task, and we can't just consider what will happen when the child grows up. As for wisdom teeth, after they grow out, will they push the teeth into chaos? Zheng Xinzhong pointed out that there is no * * * knowledge in the medical field at present, and there is no necessary connection. If you are worried, it is recommended that orthodontists evaluate whether it is necessary to maintain wisdom teeth early.
Zheng Xinzhong observed that children's teeth move fast and change greatly during the growing period. In order to achieve the expected correction effect, they must return to the clinic on time and cooperate with the treatment suggestions. "Children's correction is different from that of adults, and parents usually feel it is necessary. Children's own motivation is not strong, and sometimes the coordination of treatment is poor, which will affect the effect. On the other hand, school-age children are unfamiliar with their brushing skills. Zheng Xinzhong emphasized that after installing the appliance, you can't just rely on the toothbrush. You must use tools such as interdental brush and dental floss to help you clean your teeth, or use an electric toothbrush to help you clean your teeth. Parents need to pay special attention to this so as not to get clean teeth.
During orthodontics, you need to brush your teeth after every meal and clean the gap between the appliance and the teeth with an interdental brush. Photo by Li Peijun
Orthodontists have an obligation to remind patients that parents often feel unreasonable after other oral problems enter corrective treatment: "They are all dentists, why can't they help their children fill their teeth and apply fluoride during correction?" Chen explained that due to the detailed classification of dental care, there are currently more than 65,438+04,000 general dentists in Taiwan Province Province, of which 673 belong to orthodontists. For the sake of equipment and cost, some dentists only do corrective treatment. If they have other oral needs, they should find another general dentist to deal with them. "Some orthodontists only provide services at their own expense, but fluoride coating is a subsidy scheme, or there is no tool for filling teeth and extracting teeth at all. Chen said to:
However, Chen Ye reminded that orthodontists must explain these details to parents before treatment, which is also the patient's right. During the period of correction, if the doctor finds that the child needs filling, tooth extraction or other oral problems, the orthodontist has the obligation to inform the parents to seek the assistance of other dentists, instead of seeing the child's problems but not dealing with them. Parents can take the initiative to remind and ask the orthodontist if the child has other oral problems.
The handbook of orthodontics written by professional doctors entrusted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare has been published in "popular edition" and "professional edition" to remind people of matters needing attention in orthodontics and reduce the communication gap with doctors. The manual can be obtained from the local health center or downloaded from the website of the Department of Stomatology of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (click here to download).