Nothing brightens your day like seeing your child’s happy, beautiful smile. Yet, without proper orthodontic treatment, many children hide their smiles to avoid showing crooked teeth or bite issues. Even worse, poorly aligned teeth could make chewing and speaking difficult and embarrassing. Here’s why early orthodontic treatment can make a positive difference and how it works.
Schedule your child’s early orthodontic evaluation today at Health Centered Dentistry!
What Is Early Orthodontic Evaluation?
You might already suspect that your child’s teeth are causing them problems. However, it’s hard to know the extent and severity of bite issues and crooked teeth. In some cases, you might not even be aware that they have problems you need to address. That’s why it’s important to choose an exceptional family dentist, such as the team at Health Centered Dentistry in Anchorage.
The purpose of an early orthodontic evaluation is to uncover hidden problems and assess what needs to be corrected as early as possible. The dentist will examine your child’s mouth and teeth, asking questions about problems you or your child has noticed, such as difficulty chewing, cleaning their teeth, or speaking. The dentist can use dental technology to see what is happening at and below the gumline. At the end of the evaluation, the dentist explains their findings and suggests options for treatment.
If your child is seven years old or older and hasn’t had an orthodontic evaluation yet, now is the time! While there are orthodontic procedures for baby teeth, once they have their permanent teeth, they need an evaluation as soon as possible. Remember, the sooner you find out about misalignment and malocclusion issues, the less damage they will cause and the sooner your child will greet the world with a brand-new smile!
Benefits of Early Treatment
You might wonder, why now? Couldn’t this wait until later? Of course, we do provide orthodontic treatment for older children and even adults. However, early orthodontic treatment benefits your child in many ways.
- Prevent tooth decay, gum disease, and tooth loss by making cleaning easier.
- Children develop the habit of smiling confidently when they have straighter teeth.
- Speech could improve, making classroom participation more enjoyable.
- Children can eat healthier foods when chewing is no longer a problem.
- Self-esteem increases when children feel good about the appearance of their smile.
- You avoid the costs of fixing cavities and other dental issues that arise from misaligned teeth.
- Prevent your child from losing teeth related to poor nutrition or an inability to clean the teeth properly.
- Identifies jaw growth problems related to orthodontic issues.
Preventative care is always better than fixing problems after they happen. If your child is beginning to feel uncomfortable with the appearance of their smile, leaving that issue unaddressed could affect their self-esteem now and in the future. Children who can’t bite into an apple or crunch a carrot could develop nutritional deficiencies quickly. For every benefit of early treatment, there is a problem that could be avoided with early orthodontic care.
6 Common Tooth Misalignment Issues
Your child’s orthodontic evaluation is unique to them. Yet, some misalignment issues are more common than others. The misalignment issues we find most often include the following:
1. Crowded teeth
If your child has crowded teeth, it’s easy to think that the problem will be resolved automatically as the child gets bigger.
Bigger mouth, more room for teeth, right? Unfortunately, if you delay treatment, your child’s oral health could deteriorate quickly. With crowded teeth, it’s next to impossible to thoroughly clean all the surfaces and get between the teeth with floss. That could lead to tooth loss and gum disease.
2. Crooked teeth
Crooked teeth, similar to crowded teeth, prevent thorough cleaning. What’s more, children with crooked teeth often feel self-conscious about their appearance. By getting orthodontic treatment for crooked teeth, you give your child the gift of a confident smile.
3. Overbite
An overbite is a misalignment of teeth characterized by upper teeth overlapping lower teeth too much. A child with an exaggerated overbite could experience jaw pain, pain while chewing, and trouble speaking, along with poor oral health.
4. Underbite
An underbite is the opposite of an overbite. The lower teeth protrude in front of the upper teeth. However, an underbite causes similar problems as an overbite. It can also lead to jaw pain, headaches, TMJ syndrome, and even ear pain. Add to that the child’s embarrassment from looking different than other children.
5. Crossbite
A crossbite is a type of underbite where only a group of teeth are involved. It can cause the same problems as an underbite.
6. Open bite
If your child’s upper and lower teeth don’t meet when they try to chew, they might have an open bite. This can make chewing painful and difficult.
Benefits of a Healthy, Beautiful Smile
When you ask a parent what their child’s smile means to them, they may say that it’s a sign that the child is happy. It’s wonderful to see your child smile whenever it happens. A smile is a sign of pleasure or contentment, but it means so much more than that.
- Social Self-Confidence: Being able to smile without embarrassment puts your child on a better track to making and interacting with school friends.
- Academic Improvement: Some children feel so much confidence with their brand-new smile that they engage more in classroom discussions and begin to think of themselves as winners. This puts them on a positive path to academic achievement.
- A Habit of Smiling: People begin to develop life-long habits at an early age. If your child gets into the habit of hiding their smile, that could affect them throughout life. A habit of smiling will improve outcomes from success in their future occupation to developing relationships with friends and partners.
- Better Physical Health: Eating the right amount of nutritious foods gives your child better overall health now and as they grow up. They develop a liking for the foods that improve their health, too, so their long-term health outcomes may be significantly better. Better nutrition can also prevent some childhood diseases.
- Better Mental Health: Because having attractive teeth can improve self-esteem, it can prevent some emotional problems. When your child feels good about their appearance, the world looks like a more accepting place, and the child feels more at home in it. Health Centered Dentistry in Anchorage offers clear aligners, so your child can feel confident even during treatment.
The Role of Parents
As a parent, you can help make orthodontic treatment easier and more successful. Following your dentist’s recommendations is critical. Here are some of the things you can do to help:
- Encourage your child by reminding them of their ultimate goal – a healthy, beautiful smile.
- Make sure they attend all their checkups and adjustments.
- Listen to the dentist’s instructions and remind your child as needed.
- Stay focused on the positive.
- Celebrate milestones with your child along the way.
Children’s Orthodontics Services at Health Centered Dentistry
Children and their parents in Anchorage have an excellent opportunity to resolve orthodontic issues early at Health Centered Dentistry. Our holistic dentistry practice is patient-centered, tailoring our services to meet each individual’s dental and orthodontic needs. We look at and beyond your child’s teeth to improve their overall health and wellness. Our dental care experts provide top-notch orthodontic care for children across the Anchorage area. From the treatment itself to patient and parent education, we help parents give their children the gift of a winning smile!
Gift your child with a gorgeous smile! Make their evaluation appointment today to get started!
