At Choonara Orthodontics, we're proud to help patients throughout Johannesburg and surrounding areas achieve healthy, beautiful smiles through quality orthodontic treatment. Often, we opt to treat our patients with braces during their teenage years, as this presents an ideal time to create a healthy smile. But there's one common issue that can impact your smile either during or after treatment with braces: the wisdom teeth.
Wisdom Teeth vs. Braces
Wisdom teeth are actually the 3rd molars, a set of back teeth that grow in towards the end of adolescence around ages 18-20. Unfortunately, though, most people don't actually have enough room in their mouths to accommodate all of those teeth, causing them to grow in crooked, or impacted. And even if we've created a beautiful smile with braces, the growing in of the wisdom teeth can cause new problems to emerge with tooth alignment.
So does that mean you have to have your wisdom teeth taken out before getting braces? Thankfully, the answer is no. Wisdom teeth don't really cause a problem with braces for most people, and in most cases we are able to use braces to create a healthy smile in early adolescence, then the patient can have their wisdom teeth removed a number of years later. In some cases, the wisdom teeth can be taken out while you're wearing braces, and some patients won't even need their wisdom teeth removed at all. No matter what the specifics, our Johannesburg orthodontist will be careful to construct a treatment plan that ensures you get the best smile possible, wisdom teeth or no!
Contact Your Johannesburg Orthodontist
Wisdom teeth can cause smile problems for many patients, but they're usually very easy to treat. Want to learn more about wisdom teeth or start your journey towards a new smile? Take the first step and schedule a consultation online today. We can't wait to help you achieve your dream smile!