As your child becomes a teenager, you might find that your child needs braces to correct crooked teeth and other alignment issues. The discomfort, cost, and self-conscious aspects of traditional braces can be quite the deterrent for young adults and their parents. So, is there anything you can do to prevent your child from needing them?
Luckily, braces do not need to be a rite of passage for every teenager. Although each individuals dental health and mouth is different, visiting a dentist at a young age can prevent the need for your child to need traditional braces or extensive orthodontic work later on in life.
The Importance of Dental Visits to Prevent Braces
Around the age of 7, your child’s baby teeth will start to fall out or shift in preparation for their permanent teeth to break through the gum line in the future. Therefore, it’s vital for your child at this age to see the dentist every six months to have their oral progress monitored.
During these early dentist visits, your dentist will be able to identify if your child will need alignment co rrection for an overbite, underbite, or misaligned teeth, among others in the future. Finding out this information is very beneficial because steps can then be taken early to fix these future alignment issues so that they never occur. These preventative steps will not include braces of any kind as it is extremely rare for a child to have braces at such a young age.
What Kind of Steps can Prevent Your Child from Wearing Braces?
Each situation is specific and requires the expertise of a dental professional to determine the best course of action. However, an example of what your dentist could do if they identify your child’s adult teeth need more room to grow, is they may remove a few baby teeth to give the permanent teeth the space they need.
Without visiting the dentist, the child’s permanent teeth would not have had the space to grow and develop correctly, which could cause crowding and misalignment that would increasingly worsen and need to be corrected by braces later in life.
Are Braces the Only Option?
There are some cases where the child will not be able to avoid help from a dental appliance. However, traditional braces are not the only appliances that fix common orthodontic conditions, such as overbites or misaligned teeth. Dental appliances, such as translucent, plastic teeth straightening trays, and lingual braces that are attached to the back of teeth, may be an option for your child.
At Zurcher Orthodontics, we will be able to offer you the best advice for your child’s individual situation. Remember to let our dental staff know your concerns and preference to avoiding braces, and we will provide you with the best available options. Schedule your consultation today!