As a parent, you always want to look out for the best interests of your children. This includes dental care to ensure that they have healthy teeth and gums and a smile that they can feel confident about. Braces offer numerous benefits for your teen.
Benefits of Orthodontic Visits
A visit to the orthodontist at an early age once the majority of your child’s baby teeth have fallen out in the front is ideal for keeping positive dental health. An orthodontist can reduce the risk of having displaced or blocked permanent teeth and help them get into the correct position, aid in dental arches and make a treatment plan more customized to your teen’s individual oral situation. Options such as Invisalign or braces that include unique colors make the process more appealing.
Signs to Look For
Certain signs can indicate that your child might need to see an orthodontist sooner rather than later. These include early or late loss of baby teeth, concerns with biting and chewing, biting the cheek or roof of the mouth, thumb sucking or when the jaw and teeth don’t line up correctly. Identifying and correcting these concerns is easier if detected earlier before more adult teeth come in.
Treatment Plans
An early treatment plan can be ideal for children as young as seven depending on the individual oral situation. Seeking treatment from clinics like Cobbe Dental & Orthodontics can help align the front teeth and allow more room for adult teeth to surface and come in straight and to correct cross bites and overbites. An early treatment program typically lasts 12-14 months and can eliminate the need for a full treatment later on as more teeth come in.
Typical Treatment
A full treatment plan doesn’t begin until your child has lost all or the majority of their baby teeth. This generally happens earlier for girls than for boys, but each child varies. The time period can range anywhere from 10 years old to 14 years old. A full treatment plan requires braces for a period of 24-30 months on average from start to finish.
Orthodontic treatment can be incredibly beneficial for your child’s future oral health. Detecting and eliminating problems early on makes them easier to tackle and leads to fewer complications in the future. Seek out treatment for your teen if you feel that a treatment plan could give them the smile they want to have for years to come.
