Taking better care of adult pearly whites

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More U.S. adults are wearing braces and using other oral remedies to not only straighten their smiles but to avoid dentures later in life.

Dental practitioners credit wealthy baby boomers, reality television makeover shows and new dental technology for the surge in demand.

"It's not like they have to show a metal-face smile anymore," Washington orthodontist Dr. Nahid Maleki said of her adult patients.

An estimated 1 million adults in the U.S. and Canada get braces and other treatments from orthodontists, according to the American Association of Orthodontists, a St. Louis trade group.

The number of American adults being treated rose 14 percent from 1989 to 2000, according to the most recent data available from the trade group. About 70 percent of those patients were women.

Although children are still their main business, Washington-area dentists and orthodontists said adults are requesting more procedures beyond regular checkups.

Popular services include teeth whitening; veneers or custom-made shells that cover the front sides of teeth; bonding; crowns; treatment for periodontal disease; teeth implants; and braces.

Dr. Maleki, who practices in Northwest, said 25 percent to 30 percent of her clients are adults. She said the percentage has spiked in the past decade, as more adults become comfortable with trying newer braces that are less noticeable and painful.

In addition, adults with a severe overbite or underbite risk losing teeth and bone density in their jaw, she said.

Most of Dr. Maleki's patients older than 18 wear see-through porcelain braces or lingual braces, which are attached to the backs of teeth.