by James Abbott

Created on: January 15, 2009

Accelerated orthodontics is becoming ever more popular in the treatment of adult dental patients who display crooked teeth or less than flattering smiles. The name alone is appealing to patients 'Accelerated Orthodontics' already suggests to the patient that they will be guaranteed a speedier course of treatment, but is that a good enough reason to take up this particular treatment option? Let's consider the pros and cons.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /

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PROS

Indeed, as the name suggests 'Accelerated Orthodontics' delivers just that. With regular orthodontic treatment as in those that involve the wear of fixed brackets on the front of the teeth, the orthodontist hopes to achieve favourable movement of the teeth. On occasion though this movement is not possible since the teeth in question may be too numerous or too wide to comfortably exist in their desired position. With regular orthodontics this would leave the orthodontist no choice but to extract one or a number of teeth to make room. The manoeuvring of the remaining teeth to fill the gap left behind is what takes up a considerable portion of time. 'Accelerated Orthodontics' cuts corners (so to speak) by having the dentist gently shave away tooth material form the edges of all the teeth in the arch creating a total space equivalent or close to that of a single tooth extraction. This allows for an 'Accelerated Orthodontic' treatment time of six to eight months, rather than the two years or more that the average adult orthodontic patient may have to endure

The 'Accelerated' procedure also gives the added advantage of going relatively unnoticed by friends and co-workers as there are no unsightly gaps and any fixed orthodontic wear (such as the small metal brackets) can be fitted to the backs of the teeth rather than to the front.

CONS

Firstly, there is the issue of expense. The professionals capable of providing this service are not located within every dental practice - they are specially trained and will charge accordingly. Also, since they are specialists it is more likely that will be located at practices and surgeries based in the larger cities (also leading to an increased cost in treatment through additional fuel costs and in some cases time off from work).

Some patients may complain of a mild itching or in some cases a burning sensation - this is not uncommon. The teeth are being moved at a far faster rate than normal and it is not just a process of moving a

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