As a parent, you want the best for your child, especially when it comes to their health. When it comes to their smile, many of us have heard the advice: “Wait until all their adult teeth come in before seeing an orthodontist.” Sounds logical, right? Well, here’s why this outdated advice might end up costing you—and your child—more than you think, in time, money and even pain!
The best time to correct dental issues is actually between the ages of 6 to 9.
Why 6 to 9? The short answer is that this age range is when your child’s jawbone is still very flexible. Once all of the baby teeth fall out and the adult teeth start to grow in, the jawbone hardens, and making adjustments becomes a lot harder (and more painful). That’s why taking action early can prevent many of the problems that could come later on.
If your child’s teeth are misaligned or showing signs of crowding, it’s crucial to address the issue early. Left untreated, these problems can worsen and require more drastic measures. If you still done believe me lets take a look at some actual patients of mine:
Take the example of Kiefer. His parents initially thought his deep bite would resolve on its own, but two years later, there was no change. This delay could have resulted in permanent teeth extractions or severe damage to his teeth later on.
For some children, orthodontic treatment might need to start as early as six years old, before the jawbones are fully developed. At this stage, Dr. J will have the chance to guide development and reduce the time spent wearing braces. It is also an opportunity to correct harmful oral habits that can make orthodontic treatment more complicated.
- Guide jaw growth to a better position
- Improve the way lips meet
- Improve appearance
- Lower the risk of trauma to protruded front teeth
- Correct harmful oral habits
- Space Maintainers
- Lower Lingual Arch Appliances
- Mouth Guards and Night Guards
- Retention Appliances
- Jaw Growth Correction Therapy
- Wideners/ Expanders
- Bite Plates
Traditional braces are highly effective for treating moderate to severe malocclusions (bad bites) for children six and older. Overbites, underbites, crossbites (also called x-bites), overcrowding and spacing can be corrected successfully. Treatment can take six to eighteetn months and requires regular visits to our office for adjustments. We will check to see that adequate pressure is applied to specific teeth, and all wires and brackets are in good condition. Developmentally, your child’s permanent teeth and jaw bones are ready to be aligned for optimal dental function and appearance.
We will determine if traditional braces are your child’s best option and will create your treatment plan. Dr. J will thoroughly explain all the necessary steps to help get you started. Some patients may require specific procedures before we start treatment, such as tooth extractions or other dental work. We will of course let you know to help you plan.
Technology braces (iBraces), sometimes called self-ligating or intelligent braces, use unique and advanced technology to get results more quickly than traditional braces. The wires are lighter and use shape memory, so they don’t need tightening. With no elastics, this system reduces friction by using a sliding mechanism. Similar to traditional braces, technology braces still require you to come in for periodic adjustments. During these appointments, Dr. J will evaluate your progress, making necessary changes to ensure your teeth continue to move to their new positions.
Although technology braces are very similar to traditional braces, they do offer some advantages that their traditional counterparts don’t, such as:
- Easier to clean, brush, and floss teeth
- Less pain as the bracket is constantly supplying gentle force
- Smaller brackets tend to be more comfortable
- Shorter overall treatment time
- Avoid eating hard, chewy or sticky foods
- Avoid crunchy foods that require a lot of front-facing biting, like apples.
- Brush and floss more often than usual -every time you eat or snack.
- Purchase a mouthguard if you play sports. It should fit over the braces and they are called horseshoe shaped or u-shaped mouthguards.
- Step 1: Spacers are inserted between the back molars to create enough space for the bands. These spacers are blue in color and our made of medical grade rubber. These are left in for about 2-3 weeks. Then you return and you have space for us to fit the metal bands around your molars. The metal bands will hold the expander in place.
- Step 2: With a digital scanner using a small wand we scan the inside of the whole mouth so we can get the best fitting expander. This digital technique causes no gagging or discomfort for kids. The expander is custom made to fit your child’s teeth exactly.
- Step 3: Once we glue the expanders in place, parents are instructed on how to use the key to continue expansion at home. The key is a small metal device that allows you to make the turns in the expander to make it work. Each turn widens the expander a little bit. Palate movement will continue in small intervals. It can be daily turns or weekly turns. Dr. J will advise you on the exact pace of treatment using the child expanders.
- Step 4: Once the palate is in the optimal position, the expander is left in place for an additional six months to secure the new position. The potential for relapse is high – so you don’t want to miss this part.
At Stellar Smiles Ortho, we use the latest treatment methods with the most comfortable options available to help your child achieve excellent results with great comfort. You will discover that our prices and interest free payment plans are very reasonable, while adding the advantage of having your child treated under the excellent supervision of an experienced orthodontist.
We have office location in Grapevine. We are well-known across the Dallas/Fort Worth Area, including Tarrant County, Colleyville, Irving, North Richland Hills, Hurst, Euless, Coppell, and Bedford.
We are looking forward to meeting you and have you experience our relaxing, warm environment. You don’t have to choose only one of our locations for all your visits. Since our top-notch practice has all patient information on a shared server, all your treatment information will follow you to the location of your choice.
Boost your child’s confidence and give them the gift of an appealing symmetrical smile. Call our practice today and schedule your free consult.
