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orthodontia
[ awr-thuh-don-shuh, -shee-uh ]
noun
- treatment for the correction of irregularly aligned teeth, usually involving braces and sometimes oral surgery.
Word History and Origins
Origin of orthodontia1
Compare Meanings
How does orthodontia compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
For example, the two of us just spent a good part of a day online and on the phone submitting claims for our daughter’s orthodontia bill and some mundane prescriptions.
I didn’t know there’d be a full decade in which the same fight would recur over whose genes were responsible for three-phase orthodontia — for each of our three children.
I had adult orthodontia, but I never made that connection of, "Why don't my stupid teeth fit in my stupid mouth?"
My little brother needed orthodontia more than I did, objectively, but we could afford only one set of braces.
In the rush to fix people’s smiles, however, troublesome facts about straightening teeth were minimized or ignored — most significant, orthodontia’s astounding rate of relapse.
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More About Orthodontia
What is orthodontia?
Orthodontia is a dental treatment to align teeth, as in My teeth were so crooked that I needed orthodontia to straighten them out.
In dentistry, orthodontia is any treatment designed to straighten misaligned teeth. This most commonly involves using dental braces to slowly move teeth into a desired position. It may also involve surgery to remove problematic teeth as well as the use of other dental appliances such as biteplates and retainers.
Orthodontia is also the branch of dentistry concerned with correcting misaligned teeth. The branch is also called orthodontics.
Orthodontia is normally applied to children and young adults because bone growth and structure are more easily manipulated before adulthood. Adults can also have orthodontic work done, although it may take longer and cost more.
Example: Both of my kids needed orthodontia to straighten their teeth.
Where does orthodontia come from?
The first records of the term orthodontia come from around the 1840s. It combines the combining form orth-, meaning “straight” or “upright,” the combining form -odont, meaning “having teeth,” and the suffix -ia, which is used to create nouns that denote a certain quality. These terms literally combine to mean “The quality of having straight teeth,” but it is normally used in reference to the treatment of the teeth.
Did you know ... ?
What are some other forms related to orthodontia?
- orthodonture (noun)
What are some synonyms for orthodontia?
What are some words that share a root or word element with orthodontia?
What are some words that often get used in discussing orthodontia?
How is orthodontia used in real life?
Orthodontia and orthodontics are for all intents and purposes synonyms. However, orthodontia is usually used to specifically refer to the treatment itself while orthodontics usually refers to the field, study, and practice of performing the treatment.
Modern special effects can do just about anything, but one incredibly distracting uncanny valley remains: the row upon row of straight, bright, white, heavily orthodontia'd teeth in TV and movie characters who'd *never* have been able to afford or maintain them.
— Stephen Thompson (@idislikestephen) October 20, 2019
Can’t believe I’m 30 years old and I have to pay someone $100 to remove a piece of my childhood orthodontia….braces never stop being a racket
— Rebecca Baird-Remba (@thecitywanderer) September 7, 2020
The 7yo is in the early stages of orthodontia and can't have certain candies right now, so obviously I am doing her an enormous favor if I simply eat all the Starburst out of her easter basket so it doesn't tempt her. Definitely lunch of champions.
— Kate Cox (@KCoxDC) May 4, 2021
Try using orthodontia!
True or False?
Dental braces are used in orthodontia.
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