Before	After
Fig.1	Fig.2
Fig.3	Fig.4
Fig.5	Fig.6

Dental Education Lecture: Braces for Adult

In today's lecture, we are going to show you the benefits an adult can get from braces.

The photos on the left and right columns show the teeth of an adult before and after braces. After brace treatment, the teeth are aligned better in the front and in the back.  This enhances appearance and chewing efficiency.  For example, the tooth #2 is changed to a normal position after braces (compare Fig.1 and 3 vs. Fig.2 and 4).  So that the patient can chew better and reduce chance of food impaction. We are usually not concerned about the position of back teeth.  But the latter is commonly associated with food impaction.  With improvement of back tooth position, it is easier to keep the area clean. This is an important step to prevent cavity and gum disease.

Improvement of the alignment of the bottom teeth is demonstrated as we compare Fig.5 vs. 6.  

Xin Wei, DDS, PhD, MS 1st edition 05/10/2009, last revision 05/10/2009