A Santa Clarita orthodontist is talking about how the appearance of wisdom teeth in adolescents affects the rest of the teeth, and whether or not it always causes crowding.
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While wisdom teeth can certainly cause crowding — especially in the lower jaw — Dr. Megan LeCornu from Gilbertson and LeCornu Orthodontics noted that wisdom teeth typically only account for .17 mm of crowding, on average.
“It’s not a tremendous amount of crowding that the wisdom teeth cause,” she said. “It really depends on how those wisdom teeth are coming in and their angle. If they’re kind of angled forward towards the rest of the teeth, then they put more pressure.”
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Rather than the appearance of the wisdom teeth alone, LeCornu noted that what is actually causing the crowding is usually what’s called late mandibular growth, particularly in the lower teeth.
“It’s a combination of when the wisdom teeth are erupting (and) how your jaw is growing at that time that contributes to lower incisor crowding,” she explained.
To correct any crowding that occurs, a number of different orthodontic treatment options are available, including a variety of metal braces, clear braces and clear liners like Invisalign that weren’t an option years ago.
“Nowadays we have metal braces that are lower friction, so that … allows treatment time to be a little bit more efficient,” LeCornu said. “The clear braces that are being designed actually have the same or less friction levels as some of the metal braces, so that’s really beneficial.”
In addition, recent improvements to the wires used in braces result in lower force levels during treatment.
“That’s really good because that has a biologic advantage to the teeth,” LeCornu said. “It allows us also to see our patients less frequently… Everyone’s so busy; nobody wants to go see the orthodontist every four weeks, so this allows us to extend the appointment duration so that maybe we only see you every six or eight weeks instead.”
Ed. Note: This article is a KHTS Community Spotlight based on a recent radio interview with Gilbertson and LeCornu Orthodontics.Dr. Steven Gilbertson and Dr. Megan LeCornu have a solid reputation in the community as the premiere Santa Clarita orthodontists for children, teenagers and adults using Invisalign and traditional braces. Together, they strive to provide orthodontic excellence and five-star customer service in a friendly, caring environment that makes each patient feel like a member of their family. Each a trusted orthodontist, Santa Clarita residents have voted Gilbertson and LeCornu Orthodontics “best orthodontist” for eight years.
Gilbertson and LeCornu Orthodontics
23206 Lyons Avenue, Suite 206
Santa Clarita, CA 91321
(661) 259-2388