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What is propel in dentistry?

If you are looking for a quick, easy way to straighten your teeth and enhance your smile, you’re in luck. At M. Scott Runnels Orthodontics in Destin, FL, we can use a special treatment called PROPEL to help us achieve these goals. This treatment can decrease the length of time that you spend using braces or Invisalign.

What Is PROPEL in Dentistry?

PROPEL is an innovative treatment that uses sophisticated techniques to move your teeth into better places in your mouth. We typically use this treatment in connection with braces or Invisalign. Combining this advanced technique with other tooth-straightening methods will dramatically decrease the amount of time that it takes us to improve your smile.

Moving Your Teeth

In order to understand the benefits of this special treatment, you need to learn about the techniques that braces use to improve your teeth. When you get braces, we will attach brackets to your teeth and put special wires between your brackets. We will also use ligatures to connect your wires and brackets. This sophisticated structure improves your smile by using gentle pressure to move your teeth into new places in your mouth.

As we tighten your wires, we will put additional pressure onto each of your teeth. This pressure will cause the bones in one side of your tooth to become loose. When this side of your tooth loosens, your body will slowly reabsorb some of the bone material in your tooth. The other side of your tooth will create additional bone material.

A Slow Process

It usually takes your body a while to change the structure of your teeth and grow new bone material. As a result, you might have to spend a fairly long time wearing braces or using Invisalign to change your smile.

A New Technique

Fortunately, our PROPEL device can dramatically shorten the length of your treatment. We will use this device to make very small perforations into the bones around your teeth. These tiny injuries will encourage your body to send special cells called osteoclasts and osteoblasts into your treatment area. These cells will enable your body to grow new bone material in a quick, efficient manner.

This accelerated growth will allow your teeth to quickly become straighter and more attractive. This technique is very effective. In fact, in a scientific study, this device was able to reduce some people’s treatment times by up to 62%. As a result, these people didn’t need to spend as much time or energy using other orthodontic techniques to straighten their teeth.

Can I Combine This Treatment With Different Orthodontic Techniques?

This tooth straightening treatment can be combined with many different orthodontic techniques. After we use this device to begin the process of improving your smile, you can receive traditional metal braces, lingual braces, or ceramic braces.

Alternatively, you could continue straightening your teeth with Invisalign. This innovative technology doesn’t require you to wear metal brackets on your teeth. Instead, you will wear specialized sets of customized aligners over your teeth. These plastic aligners will give you a straight, beautiful smile.

What Will This Treatment Feel Like?

This is a quick treatment that is very gentle on your mouth. Before we use the device to begin improving your teeth, we will numb your target area. Once these tissues are numb, we will use this device to make tiny injuries in your mouth.

This process usually takes a couple of moments to complete. You will probably notice a gentle sensation of pressure as we use this device.

How Should I Care for My Teeth After I Get This Orthodontic Treatment?

It’s important to take very good care of your mouth for the next several days. To help your teeth and gums stay healthy and clean, we may tell you to swish your mouth with a special solution.

In addition to using a special solution to clean your mouth, you should avoid eating foods that contain spices or acids for the next three days. In particular, you should not eat citrus fruits or spicy foods. Further, you should not use anti-inflammatory medications like aspirin or ibuprofen. Taking these substances will alter your body’s healing process and decrease the effectiveness of this orthodontic treatment.

What Is the Difference Between an Orthodontist and a Dentist?

It’s normal to feel confused about the difference between an orthodontist and a dentist. Learning about the differences between these medical professionals can help you understand how an orthodontist improves the quality of your oral health and the appearance of your smile.

Dentists treat many different teeth issues. In contrast, orthodontists specialize in improving bite problems. These issues can be caused by crowded teeth, jaw issues, and other problems. Orthodontists use braces, retainers, and many other techniques to straighten teeth and fix bite problems. In order to learn about these innovative methods, orthodontists receive additional education in specialized training programs.

Do I Need a Dental Referral to Visit Your Office?

Many people think that they must receive a dental referral in order to get orthodontic treatment. This belief is not correct. Although many people receive a referral to our office, this extra step is not necessary.

If you are interested in getting orthodontic treatment, you do not need a referral from your family dentist in order to schedule your initial meeting with us. If we need to obtain X-rays or other medical data in order to treat you, we can get this information from your dentist after we have our first consultation with you.

Should I Use Braces or Invisalign to Continue Straightening My Teeth?

After you finish receiving our PROPEL treatment, you will need to use another orthodontic technique to continue straightening your teeth. Braces and Invisalign are both excellent ways to finish your treatment and achieve a wonderful smile. Each of these orthodontic techniques will provide you with many unique benefits.

Braces

If you are a forgetful person who would have difficulty remembering to wear an aligner every day, you might benefit from using braces to improve your teeth. When you chose this tooth-straightening method, we will attach brackets and wires to your teeth. Your braces will remain in your mouth for the duration of your treatment.

Receiving braces can also be a good way to improve your teeth in a discreet manner. Today, there are a wide variety of specialized braces that are small and unobtrusive. For example, ceramic braces use clear brackets to improve your teeth. These braces are much less noticeable than metal brackets.

Invisalign

When you use Invisalign to improve your teeth, you will be able to remove your aligner when you are eating and drinking. You can also take off your aligner when you floss and brush your teeth. Removing your aligner during these events will make it easier for you to continue enjoying crunchy snacks and meals. You also won’t have to worry about brackets or wires when you are cleaning your teeth.

Since our aligners are made of clear plastic, your friends, co-workers, and family members will not notice that you are using this technique to improve your smile. Further, if you wear your aligners as instructed, you will probably need to attend fewer appointments at our office. For example, it’s common to visit our office every 10 to 12 weeks during the treatment process.

Choosing a Technique

Ultimately, the orthodontic treatment that is best for you will depend on your preferences, the condition of your teeth, and other factors. For example, if your primary goal is to improve your teeth in a discreet fashion, you might prefer to use Invisalign. If you don’t want to worry about keeping track of your aligners, you should think about getting braces.

During your first meeting with us, we can tell you more about the anticipated length and cost of each of these treatment options. We can also discuss the different types of braces that we offer. Together, we will determine an ideal orthodontic technique for you.

Will I Need to Stay Home From Work After I Get My Aligners or Braces?

You don’t need to use up vacation days while you are recovering from your orthodontic treatment. After you get your braces or begin wearing new aligners, you might notice some gentle pressure in your mouth while you are adjusting to your new device.

This sensation should not prevent you from performing your usual duties at your job. You also shouldn’t need to take a break from your exercise routine or other activities.

Can I Stop Visiting My Dentist While I Am Receiving Orthodontic Treatment?

You will need to continue visiting your family dentist while you are getting orthodontic treatments. Your dentist will be able to clean your teeth and address any dental issues that occur during your treatment process. To help you maintain good oral hygiene, we can work with your dentist to set up a suitable schedule for your teeth-cleaning appointments.

Will I Be Able to Play Sports While I Am Receiving Orthodontic Treatment?

If you are an avid athlete, don’t worry. Orthodontic treatment will not prevent you from enjoying baseball, soccer, and other sports. That said, it’s important to protect your teeth during your sporting activities. To help you achieve this goal, we will give you a mouth guard to wear while you are playing sports. Wearing a mouthguard can prevent your braces from becoming damaged.

Can I Straighten My Teeth if I Have Crowns or Other Dental Issues?

It’s common to have missing teeth, crowns, and other tooth issues. Under most circumstances, these problems will not prevent you from receiving orthodontic treatments. In fact, braces can be a great way to improve the position of your crowns. We can also use braces to improve the alignment of the teeth that are located around your missing tooth.

Do Braces and Invisalign Work on Adults?

Braces and Invisalign aren’t just for teenagers. These techniques are very good at treating adults who have crooked teeth, crowded teeth, and other orthodontic issues. In fact, about 25% of all people who get orthodontic treatments are adults.

If you are an adult with teeth issues, you shouldn’t let fear or worry prevent you from receiving treatment. Invisalign, ceramic braces, and other techniques can be used to correct your orthodontic problems. We can also use special treatments like PROPEL to reduce the amount of time that you spend wearing your braces or aligners.

Straighten Your Teeth

You shouldn’t have to spend a large portion of your time and energy going to orthodontic appointments and using braces, Invisalign, or other techniques to improve your teeth. PROPEL is an innovative treatment that will allow us to quickly and efficiently straighten your teeth. To learn more about the benefits of using this treatment to achieve an attractive, beautiful smile, contact us today at M. Scott Runnels Orthodontics in Destin, FL.

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