About Orthodontics

John Colson is a professor emeritus of music at South Dakota State University John Colson and he’s written a book. “So what’s new?” You ask. Well, the music professor’s cutting-edge, “Braces & Brass” is a how-to on playing the trumpet and the French horn— but these time for those who have the most difficulty doing it because their orthodontic braces get in the way of making music!

Colson’s book gives a step-by-step guide on helping the student get through practice procedures with special study materials and assignment guides.

According to Colson, who gives private music lessons on the two instruments, “When you first start playing with braces on, it’s very difficult.” He added that because of braces, the tone gets very fuzzy on the instrument, which makes “the high range drops a good deal and the flexibility is also very difficult.”

“Braces & Brass” is available online from RBC Music, at www.rbcmusic.com. Click on “RBC Publications” and then on “Instrumental Solos & Ensembles.”

SOURCE: Rapid City Journal

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These teeth attachments may seem like old technology but they have evolved to become smaller and more effective int he way they re-shape the teeth to attain the best possible alignment. From old obtrusive ones, they have evolved into smaller and have even been made smarter with the use of space age wires and metals that have properties not available to previous dentists. Memory metals, tough ceramics and better understanding of the processes and forces involved as a treatment progresses has resulted in better and shorter treatment times. The problems that result from such treatments (gaps in teeth and above the gum line are now easily fixable with veneers that makes teeth look similar in size and shape as if they were the real thing. Even the arena of nano-technology has had an impact on the orthodontics arena with better adhesives and materials that mimic real bone enough to fool the body it was part of natural bone.

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Current orthodontics rely heavily on advanced imaging technology that allows the proper planning of treatment way before the dentist touches the patient’s gums. The field of orthodontics is concerned mainly with the correction of dental as well as facial abnormalities. The face is composed by compact bones including the jaw which for many reasons such as inherited traits, due to some illnesses that can impact the formation of bones during the early years of life or due to trauma which can leave a peron disfigured for life. Orthodontics has the ability to correct these facial defects to allow normal life but previous protocol made it more an art and depended heavily on a dentist’s ability. Imaging technology such as current cone beam 3-D Dental imaging systems allows historic documentation as well as planning that allows the selection of the best proper steps to take to correct a defect in the jaw. There are even systems that compares the current scan to a database of thousands of case studies giving comparative results as well as recommendations for treatment steps to take. This revolution in imaging technology can only be dreamed of a few years back and it is allowing the restoration of jaws and smiles to their full potential.

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The value of dental exams is quite accepted but repetitive exposure to dental x-rays has been getting a bad rap in terms of risks. New technologies such as DIAGNOdent have revolutionized the diagnosis phase of the treatment with the use of a laser and sensor to check for the density of the tooth enamel. Using light eliminates the radiation exposure and it is also faster with the display readout showing immediate results. The density of the enamel is quite predictable and based on a fixed set of parameters, The system uses the laser to check if the density of the enamel has degraded or can still be corrected with some filling thus making treatment faster and less painful.

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