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A regular visit to orthodontic clinics at the early stage of your child’s life is a good idea. With respect to that, ideally before being 10-year-old your child should get evaluated by their dentist. This evaluation should be done on the basis of oral hygiene and dental health. Now if you wonder whether your child needs dental braces or not, and what is the best time for that? Well, all the questions will be answered here talking about the right age to avoid braces before your child gets 8-year-old. You might consider a pediatric dentist in Columbus Ohio to get braces for your child, for they are the professionals who are great with kids.
The Right Age
There is not any specific age for children to get the braces but for the best interest, it is not advised for a child to get braces or dental evaluation for it before the age of 7 years. However, people prefer to wait for a couple of years in order to make sure that the process of getting braces is done right. The braces are actually an orthodontic bracket that guides teeth to get in the right position. Conventionally, the treatment for getting braces could only start after a child loses their primary or baby teeth and most of the permanent teeth have made their way to the jaw. To get your kid done with the brace treatment in a better and quicker way, you could consult a dental clinic for emergencies.
Determining If Your Child Needs the Braces
The most obvious reason is an unaligned set of teeth but there are several other reasons as well. It is quite difficult to tell whether a child needs braces or not if the baby's teeth are crowded or crooked. But, this might be an early sign. Along with that, there are several more symptoms that determine the need for braces-
- Breathing from mouth
- If jaws click or make some other sound
- Developing the habit of biting tongue, mouth’s roof, or inner cheek by mistake
- Using a pacifier or sucking the thumb even after they are 2-year-old
- Losing baby teeth early or quite late
- When teeth are not together even if the mouth is completely closed
Along with that, poor dental hygiene and oral care with genetic reasons can also be the cause due to which a child might need braces. Here are some of the other reasons that determine if a child needs to see a pediatric dentist or not.
Overcrowding & Gaps
A very common condition of seeing a dentist for getting braces is overcrowding in teeth set. It is experienced when a child doesn’t have proper space in their jaw for all the teeth. However, it could be cured by getting the braces treatment from a good dentist at an early age. This might get worse when a child grows and he or she has to floss or brush in that area. If teeth are not clean, they might accumulate plaque and lead to decaying teeth, bad breath, gum disease, and losing bone around the teeth. Nevertheless, it could be fixed with braces. The next thing is an excessive gap amongst the set of teeth; it is just opposite of overcrowding and could be fixed with braces.
Overbite & Underbite
When front teeth on the upper jaw overlap the front teeth on the lower jaw, it causes an overbite. This condition is noticeable as well, as it accompanies several other oral and other health issues. Overbite might increase the risk of affecting the front teeth and might also fracture the front one if an injury occurs. The opposite of the overbite condition is underbite, it occurs if all the teeth on the upper front are behind the teeth of the lower front. This condition might occur in case of irregular jaw size and it also creates difficulty in biting and chewing. People with underbite might also accelerate facial imbalance and facial aging. However, both of these conditions could be managed after getting the braces.
How Long One Has to Wear the Braces?
It mostly depends on the need of an individual and the treatment plan. Usually, a child, as well as an adult, is required to wear braces for about 18 to 32 months. Older people have a complicated issue of spacing and they are required to wear braces for a longer period of time. That’s why dentists suggest that it is better for a child to get braces at a younger age. Children are afraid of braces as they think it might hurt but it’s nothing like that most of the time people get their braces very gracefully.
In order to move the teeth in the desired direction, it is important that braces are tightened properly by the dentist.
