If your child needs orthodontic treatment, it’s important to start it as early as possible.
Treat Gaps and Crowding Before They Become Too Visible
Issues such as gaps, crowding, and crooked teeth can affect the look of their smile, as well as their confidence, and also pose issues to their overall health. The best time to start correcting these issues is before your child’s adult teeth start to grow in.
You may wonder if it’s even worth addressing issues with your child’s baby teeth, since they are going to fall out as they get older. The answer is yes! Problems with the baby teeth can prevent the adult teeth from growing in at all. If they do grow in, they will erupt in the same places as the primary teeth and be subject to the same issues.
Early orthodontics treatment options
At the stage when your child still has their primary teeth, your orthodontist has three treatment options to prevent any issues with their permanent teeth growing in:
- Palatal expander: Creates space in the mouth by widening the jaw
- Partial braces: Corrects crooked teeth by affixing brackets to the top and bottom front teeth, with back brackets on the molars to pull the front teeth into alignment
- Retainer: Holds the teeth in place and maintains the changes achieved by braces
An underbite, overbite, or crossbite can affect your child’s life in several major ways, from making them self-conscious to causing them pain. The right early orthodontic treatment can significantly reduce the impact of these conditions and set your child up for greater comfort and confidence.
Early orthodontic treatment has several other key benefits, including:
- Helps with Speaking
- Certain speech difficulties, such as lisping and slurring, are related to tooth alignment.
- Lowers Risk of Tooth Decay
- Crooked teeth are harder to clean than straight ones, which can allow bacteria to build up and cause more serious health complications.
- Improves Digestion
- An aligned bite makes it easier to chew food and supports healthy digestion.
Catching problems with the jawbone and biting early saves a lot of pain, expense, and stress from having to address issues with adult teeth, which are much harder to correct, later on.
At I Song Orthodontics, we can fix an overbite, open bite, or underbite, as well as address other orthodontic issues. Contact us to get started.
