Explore some of the frequently asked questions regarding pediatric orthodontic treatment for children. Please give us a call for any further questions!
The American Academy of Orthodontists recommends that children visit an orthodontist for the first time no later than 7 years old.
At Bubble Children’s Dentistry and Orthodontics our orthodontist will evaluate your child’s airway, bite and oral habits. By having this early appointment we may identify a developing problem and recommend monitoring the child’s growth and development, and then if indicated, begin treatment at the appropriate time for the child. In other cases, our orthodontist might find a problem that can benefit from early treatment. Early treatment may prevent more severe problems from developing and may make treatment at a later age shorter and less complicated.
Below are six signs that your child should see our orthodontist at Bubble Children’s Dentistry and Orthodontics.
1) If Your Child Has Crooked Teeth
The most common reason parents seek orthodontic treatment for their child is correcting crooked teeth.
Crooked teeth can lead to dental pain and more dental problems down the road.
2) Thumb Sucking After the Age of Four
Thumb-sucking can cause your child’s upper front teeth to protrude forward.
3) Prolonged Mouth-Breathing After a Certain Age
If your child breathes with their mouth open, it might affect the appearance of their face and the growth of their teeth.. A habit like this can cause your child to develop a longer face. This means narrower jaws and less space for adult teeth, which indicates a need for orthodontic services.
4) Irregular Loss of Baby Teeth
When your child is losing their baby teeth before proper time or because of tooth decay, it might be an indication that your child needs orthodontic services.
5) Missing Teeth or Teeth That Don’t Descend On Time
If your child has teeth that are not descending on their own, it might cause a gap where the new tooth should be, or the baby tooth might still be intact. Dental braces can help in this case by holding their other teeth in place till the missing tooth grows into its position.
6) If Your Child has Malocclusion
Malocclusion means that there is a misalignment between the upper and lower teeth when the mouth closes. There are different types of misalignment, like crowding, where there’s no proper room for your teeth to fit in your mouth. Misaligned teeth can cause various other problems like an overbite (when teeth don’t match up properly). Or it can cause a deep bite (upper teeth overlapping lower teeth), or an underbite (lower teeth overlapping upper teeth.)
As a Bubble Children’s Dentistry and Orthodontics patient, you can have traditional braces or Invisalign clear aligners.
Traditional metal braces are the most common type of braces when people talk about orthodontics. Made of high-grade stainless steel, metal braces straighten your teeth using metal brackets and arch wires.
Newer technology and gaining popularity is The Invisalign Teen system. Invisalign straightens your teeth with custom-made, clear aligners that are comfortable and practically invisible. Invisalign Teen can be used to correct many common orthodontic conditions without wires or metal braces. These conditions include crowding, spacing, crossbites, overbites, and underbites.
At Bubble Children’s Dentistry and Orthodontics, we believe that there is no single treatment that corrects every smile. By approaching orthodontics as an art as well as a science, we examine each person’s unique structure during an initial consultation before deciding with the patient the best course of orthodontic treatment.
As important as appearance can be, the benefit of braces goes beyond just esthetics. Straighter teeth are easier to brush, clean, and floss! Below are the most common orthodontic issues we have treated:
CROOKED TEETH
Crooked teeth often occur when the jaw is not wide enough to fit all your teeth comfortably. The teeth end up misaligned because too many teeth are trying to fit into too small of a space.
SPACES BETWEEN TEETH
Diastema, the dental term for when a smile has gaps, can occur when teeth are too small for the jaw bone. It can also happen when teeth are missing, and the other teeth can’t fill in the missing space. Other habits like thumb sucking can cause diastema.
OVERBITE
A bite in which the upper jaw noticeably protrudes beyond the lower jaw is an overbite. Overbites can cause speech impediments such as lisps, difficulty eating, and jaw pain.
UNDERBITE
The opposite of the overbite, an underbite, is when the lower jaw protrudes beyond the upper jaw. It can also cause speech impediments, difficulty eating, jaw pain, and teeth to wear unevenly.
CROSSBITES
Crossbites are when the upper teeth on one side end up on the inside of the lower teeth when the jaw is closed. Crossbites can cause teeth to wear down unevenly and can also lead to gum disease and bone loss.
One of the most frequent concerns a patient asks when it comes to orthodontics is, “How long is this going to take?”
On average, it takes about 24 months to complete an orthodontic treatment.
Orthodontics is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and each patient’s mouth is unique. Several factors influence the amount of time of your orthodontic treatment.
- Type of Treatment
Patients requiring orthodontic treatment now have several options. There are conventional metal braces and aligner therapy.
- Age
Young patients (teens and children) tend to get results faster than adults because their jaws are still growing, making the teeth easier to manipulate.
- The severity of the Case
Another crucial factor is the severity of your orthodontic issue. Mild spacing/crowding can be fixed in a year or less, while severe cases could take much longer.
- Patient Compliance
An orthodontic patient needs to follow all instructions provided by his or her orthodontist to ensure a successful treatment. That includes maintaining proper oral hygiene, keeping your dental appointments, and use your orthodontic appliance as directed.
However, at Bubble Children’s Dentistry and Orthodontics, we offer accelerated orthodontics using an OrthoPulse® device. OrthoPulse® is an FDA-approved device that uses low levels of light energy to stimulate the bone surrounding the roots of your teeth and facilitate tooth movement in conjunction with clear aligner therapy, such as Invisalign, which may reduce treatment time to as little as 4 months.