Many people are afraid to resort to drastic measures and install expensive braces to straighten their teeth and correct their bite. Sometimes braces are the only possible way to give your smile the right shape, but you can often do without them. As a more convenient, less expensive and quite effective alternative, special orthodontic caps can be used.
What it is?
An orthodontic cap is a product made of bioplastic and worn over the dentition. Unlike metal braces, caps are transparent and light, they do not spoil the aesthetics of a smile and do not touch the soft tissues in the mouth. You don’t have to wear them 24/7. Enough 10-18 hours depending on the clinical picture.
Immediately, we note that the caps are only suitable for minimal correction. If you have serious problems with your teeth, this method will not work for you. The pressure exerted by the bioplastic on the teeth is simply not enough to noticeably change their position. And even if you succeed, after removing the cap, in just a few hours, the teeth will return to their original position.
So an orthodontic cap is a micro-correction method and a good support tool after removing braces.
Benefits of using cap
First of all, if you want to use mouthguards to correct your bite, you need to make an appointment with an orthodontist. Only the results of the examination will show whether it is advisable to use such products in your case. If the doctor decides that the use of orthodontic aligners makes sense, he will make an impression and send a 3D design of your jaw to the laboratory to make custom aligners. They are usually issued in a whole set – for the entire course of correction.
Important! Before putting a cap, you need to completely cure caries and visit the enamel remineralization procedure. If the teeth are sick or weak, a mouthguard can only aggravate the situation.
The course of correction itself lasts a long time – from eight months to several years. But, given the comfort of caps, this period does not seem so long.
That is, orthodontic caps help, and they are really prescribed for the correction of the dentition. But they are effective only with minor defects, while serious problems can only be solved with the help of braces. Combined treatment may be the best solution, when braces are prescribed at first, and then, after they are removed, you need to wear a cap for some time to consolidate the result.