At Liverpool Smile Studio, our orthodontist Liverpool sees many misalignments, but a crossbite can present an interesting problem. Let’s see how it can be treated by the use of an Inman aligner, what it’s like to use this aligner and how long treatment is likely to last.
What is a crossbite?
The crossbite is a misalignment where the predominant front-facing teeth are both in front of and behind the dental arch, requiring force to be applied in both directions. Often as part of a crossbite, several other teeth are twisted from the appropriate orientations, so this requires forces to be applied to them as well. They can range from severe and complex to simple and aesthetic, but always involve multiple combinations of often using counter opposing forces.
Crossbites may also be partially open, affecting the way the patient eats and often having an impact on their speech, creating a whistle or other impediment.
The Inman aligner
The Inman aligner is a hybrid form of treatment that our orthodontist Liverpool can provide. It combines some of the features of the traditional brace with those of the clear aligner. It is removable, allowing patients to remove them before eating, which simplifies maintenance and cleaning. But the Inman aligner is far bulkier than the Invisalign style of clear aligners. It has several metal components, including a pair of metal bars that follow the arch and a pair of springs to add tension to them to move the teeth.
The Inman aligner does not prioritise subtlety but rather utility. It is particularly skilled at complicated cases, requiring forces to be applied in multiple directions. It doesn’t require as much customisation as Invisalign to work, and it can be significantly economical at the point of use.
Arch bows
Arch bows should not be confused with the archwires of normal braces. Archwires do not make direct contact with the teeth, instead, they simply store the tension and are anchored to the teeth via a set of brackets adhered to the tooth surface.
Arch bows are solid rods that make contact with the teeth, pushing them forwards if it is an internal bow or inwards if the bow is external. Lining up all of the teeth simultaneously, the force required behind the arch bow is substantial and stored in a set of springs at the edges of the aligner. This allows the force to be consistent from when they are at their greatest extent all the way to the final few millimetres as the teeth take on their correct positions.
Treatment times
Our orthodontist Liverpool practices treatments that are both effective and thorough, computed in the shortest possible timescale. Due to variation between patients, we can only give a broad range of possible treatment times. Most cases that involve the Inman aligners take between 6 and 18 weeks, and you will be expected to wear the aligner for up to 20 hours a day.
There is a need for regular checkups, which are often 2 to 3 weeks when considering the complexity of most crossbites.