One of the greatest gifts a parent can give to a child is a healthy and confident smile.
A critical orthodontic time point is at age 11, before all of the permanent teeth have erupted. An evaluation at age 11 allows for early diagnosis of growth discrepancies and potential problems with erupting teeth.
Benefits of Preventive Orthodontic Treatment
- Correct and guide the growth of your child’s jaw to minimize jaw discrepancies
- Prevent problems with erupting teeth that could lead to tooth and gum damage
- Regulate the width of the upper and lower arches
- Create more space for crowded teeth
- Avoid the need for permanent tooth extractions later in life
- Reduce the risk of trauma to protruding front teeth
- Correct thumb-sucking and help improve minor speech problems
- Improve self-esteem during the impressionable years of childhood
Signs Your Child May Need To See An Orthodontist
- Early or late loss of baby teeth
- Difficulty chewing or biting food
- Mouth breathing
- Finger or thumb sucking
- Crowded, misplaced, or blocked teeth
- Jaws that pop or make sounds when opening and closing
- Teeth that come together abnormally, or do not come together at all
- Jaws and teeth that are not proportionate to the rest of the face
- Crowded front teeth around age seven or eight
- Overbite or protruding front teeth
- Underbite
