How To Survive — and Thrive — With Braces This Summer

The orthodontist at West Islip Orthodontics is all about making sure that your teeth are working together like an all-star team to efficiently chew and digest your food, all the while providing a dazzling smile. Today we’d like to spend a few minutes exploring the role each of the 32 members of this all-star team plays, and how they work together to deliver optimal oral health.

• Those flat, sharp teeth in the front of your mouth, both upper and lower, are known as the incisors. You can think of them as miniature scissors, ripping and biting off pieces of food. The incisors are especially helpful for foods like fruits and veggies.
• The pointed teeth next-door to your incisors are the canines, aka the cuspids. Shaped like sharp picks, the canines specialize in shedding and tearing apart tough foods like meat.
• Right behind the canines are the premolars, sometimes referred to as bicuspids. Their combination of a pointed cusp and flat surface does double-duty, piercing and grinding food. 
• Way in the back of your mouth is where you’ll find the molars, with their broad, flat surfaces and raised cusps that are perfect for crushing and grinding food that’s ready to be swallowed and digested. Wisdom teeth, the last molars to erupt, sometimes need to be removed because of space.

As you can see, each one of these little wonders has its role to play, which is why ensuring that each tooth is properly aligned and spaced is so crucial to the way we chew and digest our food, speak, and of course, smile. 

Our orthodontist at West Islip Orthodontics has more options than ever for achieving results that will look, feel, and function on an all-star level! Whatever your age, lifestyle, or budget, our state-of-the-art practice will customize a treatment plan that’ll make you smile for years to come! Please contact us today to schedule a consultation.