It’s time for the school holidays soon. Have you started noticing that kids are getting braces and plates younger and younger than when you were at school. Why is this?
There is a big push towards early intervention orthodontic treatment. Lots of fancy words but it essentially means that when kids have problems with crowding/bite that they can be seen earlier and hopefully get the problems corrected earlier too.
As with all things, it’s not suitable for every cases and needs to assessed by the dentist.
The most common problem is crowding of the teeth where it looks like there are too many teeth for such a little mouth! In cases like these, sometimes a plate is fixed to open up the mouth and slowly expand to make room for the teeth.
Another problem is when a bottom tooth bites on the outside of the top tooth! This can create a lot of permanent damage on the top tooth so early treatment moves the tooth back where it is meant to be!
Why do early treatment?
- When kids are growing, teeth move a lot quicker
- Early treatment with plates can avoid braces later on (but not in all cases!) or even if they need braces later on, it will create a quicker and better end result for your child.
- Cheaper! Having a plate or limited braces when young is a lot cheaper than getting full braces when older.
- Everyone would like to get their teeth fixed when they are younger so by the time they are in high school, it’s easy to keep teeth clean and healthy and also to show off your smile!
- Kids adjust and tolerate things in their mouth a lot better when they are younger!
- Crowding can affect how well the teeth are cleaned and result in problems later on. Some deep bites or cross-bites can damage teeth if not corrected early.
If you’re not sure about your kid’s teeth and have any questions, let us know.
Dr Bruno does early intervention orthodontics at Dental at Keys so he can do a consult for you!