A place of beauty
In the south east of England, far from the madness and congestion of the capital where the air is crisp and clear, lies the village of West Malling in the district of Kent. Surrounded on all sides by immense natural beauty and splendour, it is an area of great historical significance and many places of interest and excitement. The area also includes all of the more contemporary amenities that one may expect to find in the 21st century – including many award winning restaurants, cafes and boutiques and some of the nation’s most respected dental practices. For any person seeking braces in Kings Hill or the surrounding area, they may do so safe in the knowledge that they will be seen to in the most professional, caring and respectful manner.
Braces through the ages
Braces, as a means of aligning teeth into their correct specifications, have existed in some form or other since around the time of the Egyptians, however they only began to emerge in the form they are now recognised today around the turn of the millennium. This is when NASA replaced commonplace steel wire braces – which were notorious throughout the 1960s and 1970s, with an innovative new form of heath-activated nickel alloy metal. This ushered in a new transitional era in the progression of braces as it allowed for teeth to move around by the brace, without causing any great discomfort to the user. Today, science and innovation have taken conventional braces to new heights, with numerous methods of discreet orthodontics being made readily available and an increasing focus on making conventional braces less visible, thus minimising the effect they have on the outward appearance of their users.
Contemporary braces
Braces, as we know them today, consist of two main components – sockets, which are attached to the front of a patient’s teeth, and the wire which connects them. When worn throughout the course of treatment, pressure from the wire gradually pulls the patient’s teeth into their correct specifications – which would be thoroughly explained by a practitioner of the patient’s choosing, prior to beginning treatment.
Treatment from braces can be massively beneficial in restoring the self-confidence of those who seek it, as they are used to address severely misaligned teeth, or teeth that are overlapping which can often result in the patients suffering from embarrassment or anxiety. However, the one major shortfall of conventional braces is that they are clearly visible from the outside, and therefore affect the outward appearance of those involved for the duration of the treatment, which varies from case to case, but typically lasts around twelve months.
Discreetly designed
As an alternative to this, in response to an increasing focus on minimising the visible nature of braces, there have been numerous cosmetic alternatives that have come about in recent years. One such cosmetic alternative are lingual braces. These are similar to conventional braces in that they utilise brackets which are fused to a patient’s teeth and a wire gradually aligns them. The primary difference, however, is that lingual braces are fused to the backs of a patient’s teeth, and thus are practically invisible from the outside. This method of treatment is particularly popular amongst young adults and teenagers as it affords them the ability to undergo essential dental realignment, without attracting any unwanted scrutiny from their peers or colleagues.
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