One of the most common requests we get here at The Dental Suite from patients is:

“I’ve only got a problem with my bottom teeth. I just want my lower jaw treated. Is that cheaper?”

Some dentists may agree to this. BUT NOT US.

Our Principal Dentist Dr Raha Sepehrara, who has had experience of over one thousand brace cases, explains:

“It is very unlikely that I would be able to just straighten one jaw and not the other. What we do for the majority of patients, I would say probably 90% of them, is to treat both the upper and lower jaw.

Patients will need both their top and bottom jaw treating at the same time because if you think about it, you want to achieve the perfect smile where your teeth are interlinked when you bite together. This is almost impossible to achieve by just moving one jaw or one set of teeth.”

This is why the majority of the time we offer a dual jaw treatment here at The Dental Suite. It is very unlikely that we may do just one jaw. On the occasion we do only treat one set of teeth, this is usually for somebody who has had braces in the past and has only got a very minor movement and that needs correcting now.

Key reasons you should have upper and lower braces

A perfect smile isn’t just determined by the position of your teeth. The way your bite looks is ultimately based on the location of your jaws. If one jaw is larger than the other or is of a different shape then this will massively impact how well your teeth will fit together.

A single arch treatment may leave you with a worse bite than before. This can lead to your teeth chipping or putting excess pressure on the bone and gums which could result in tooth loss. The purpose of an even bite is to prevent any wear of the teeth or unnecessary trauma.

Another factor to consider is the way teeth move depending on their position. Crowded teeth will move forward when straightened and teeth with spaces between them will move backwards. If you’re suffering from an underbite and you just straighten crooked bottom teeth, it will make it worse. Teeth could appear straighter but the bite will be off. If your top teeth are crowded and you already have an overbite, addressing them alone will cause the overbite to grow larger throughout treatment.

Book your completely FREE consultation

We hope this article has helped you understand why in most cases we would always recommend upper and lower brace treatment. If braces are something that you are considering then we invite you to book in for your totally FREE consultation with one of our friendly and vastly experienced dentists.

All you have to do is give us a call on 01509 231 144 and we will get you booked in at a time and date that is convenient to you.