Every parent wants to give their child the best, which extends to their oral health and smile. Dental health is a primary component of your child’s well-being. Eating a balanced diet will be problematic if your child develops misaligned teeth, which could hurt their overall health. Also, crooked or crowded teeth can lead to other oral conditions like decay, adversely impacting your child’s health. Dental braces can fix misaligned teeth, enhancing your child’s quality of life. However, how do you know that your child requires dental braces?
Early detection of signs of oral concerns can help determine whether the child requires braces to prevent the condition from advancing. So, you should introduce the children to a family dentist as early as their first birthday to identify orthodontic problems and address them before progressing to major oral issues. Even without a dentist, there are symptoms you can focus on to know that your child is a candidate for braces. If you are unsure, below are some ways you can tell your child requires braces.
Understanding Braces in Children
The age at which children begin wearing braces varies from one person to another. However, you can introduce braces to your children between seven and fourteen because this is when they lose their baby teeth and develop permanent ones. Orthodontic issues are easier to address at this age, making early detection and treatment of these concerns crucial.
Wearing dental braces is the best way to correct orthodontic concerns like crowded, misaligned, or crooked teeth. Dental braces fix orthodontic concerns by putting gradual and constant pressure on the teeth and jaws to move them to the desired position. This gives you a flawless smile and prevents oral problems associated with misaligned or crowded teeth, like decay.
When you want to give your children the best dental care, it is crucial to have the ability to identify signs of orthodontic problems and take your child to the dentist for evaluation to determine their candidacy for braces.
Losing Baby Teeth Irregularly
You should carefully observe your children when they lose their baby teeth. Normally, children begin losing their teeth from age six and stop at age 12. This is the average age gap for the baby teeth that fall out. So, even if each child has their own unique needs and that loss of baby teeth could begin at different ages, the age gap should not significantly divert from the average age as it could be an indication of an underlying orthodontic condition and could benefit from talking to an orthodontist for an oral examination.
When your child’s teeth fall prematurely, the remaining ones could shift towards the open sockets left by the lost teeth, blocking or trapping permanent teeth below the gums. Besides, when the loss is delayed for the past twelve years, it could interfere with the growth of the permanent teeth, causing teeth alignment issues or crowding.
The primary concern with losing baby teeth irregularly is that your child’s teeth and jaw become misaligned. Thankfully, with the help of an orthodontist, you can correct the child’s misaligned teeth through dental braces.
Crowded Teeth
Another common indication that your child requires braces is dental crowding. One of the main reasons your child could experience dental crowding is the insufficient room in the mouth to allow permanent teeth eruption. The inadequate space in the mouth could be caused by the late loss of baby teeth, leaving adult teeth with no space to erupt.
Genetics can also cause tooth crowding. Some children are born with small jaws due to genetics, and this causes their teeth to be crowded. Other reasons for dental crowding are:
- Growth of extra adult teeth
- Premature loss of baby teeth
- Abnormally large teeth
Mouth breathing can also cause teeth to crowd. It happens when your child uses their mouth instead of their nose to breathe. Mouth breathing causes dry mouth and sleep disorders that affect the child’s facial structure. Mouth breathing is beneficial, particularly if your child has nasal congestion or a deviated septum.
However, when mouth breathing becomes a habit for a prolonged period, it causes the child’s jawbone to narrow because of the long hours of keeping the mouth open. With a narrower jawbone, your child becomes highly susceptible to dental crowding on the lower jaw., causing jaw pain and oral issues related to poor oral hygiene. The child could also develop a long face, affecting their facial structure. Luckily, wearing dental braces can assist in mitigating the harmful effects of habitual mouth breathing.
You can tell that your child has crowded teeth if you observe the following symptoms:
- Jaw pain
- Problems chewing or biting
- Challenges brushing and flossing teeth
- Overlapping teeth
- Tooth discomfort or pain when biting
- Bleeding of the soft tissue when brushing
- Crooked teeth
When your child cannot brush their teeth properly, it becomes difficult to observe oral hygiene, making them self-conscious of their smile. The child’s confidence could be significantly dented, too, when in social places. Some children end up developing social anxiety if the problem continues for too long.
Luckily, when you use braces to correct the dental crowding problem, your child’s teeth move to the desired position, giving them a confident smile. If the child’s teeth are not overcrowded, it becomes easier to observe proper oral hygiene, removing plaque and calculus accumulation. With your teeth sparkling clean and catchy, your child regains their confident smile. When you observe signs of crowded or crooked teeth, you should visit an orthodontist immediately for an early examination to prevent the issue from advancing into serious dental health issues.
Extended Thumbsucking
Infants, babies, and even school going-children sometimes suck their thumbs for comfort or to fall asleep. However, when the child sucks their finger or thumb for too long, it causes the front teeth in the upper jaw to shift forward. The constant pressure on the lower teeth can also cause them to move forward. The protruded teeth cause an overbite that affects the shape of the jaws, eventually changing your child’s facial structure.
A thumb crib can stop the child from sucking their thumb, but the problem is that it causes oral development problems. The most effective treatment is dental braces, which minimize bite problems and help the adult teeth develop properly. Besides, your child’s orthodontist will give a few pointers to help pause the thumbsucking habit, including:
- Utilizing positive reinforcement
- Keeping your children’s hands occupied through art, craft, and writing
- Utilizing bitter nail polishes
Misaligned Jaw
A child’s teeth are more robust when straight than crooked. Properly aligned teeth apply equal pressure when chewing and biting, simplifying chewing and digestion. Misaligned teeth or bite problems cause uneven pressure when biting, resulting in chipped or cracked teeth.
When your child has a misaligned jaw or bite issue, the teeth contact correctly when resting. Luckily, with dental braces, you can correct most of your child’s bite problems, including:
- Crossbite
- Underbite
- Overbite
- Open bite
Because a child’s teeth and jaw are in the developmental stage, fixing these bite issues is normally straightforward. First, the orthodontist takes a mold of the child’s teeth and an x-ray to obtain a clear picture of the source of the bite problem. After that, they will recommend the most appropriate treatment, usually wearing braces.
One common sign of bite problems or misaligned jaws is a crooked smile. Therefore, you must focus on the child’s smile, and if you notice the smile is crooked, you must talk to an orthodontist to recommend the most appropriate treatment, which includes braces.
Problems Biting or Chewing
When a child’s teeth and jaw are aligned, they enjoy chewing and biting. However, when there is a misalignment of teeth or jaw, the child finds eating difficult, adversely affecting their overall well-being and growth. If your child has these problems, you will notice they avoid food because of the pain they experience when chewing.
Also, they complain a lot about stomach pain and indigestion because they have chewing problems, and the food is not broken down properly before swallowing, causing digestive issues. Again, the child can complain of pain or discomfort around the facial area during chewing. Talk to an orthodontist immediately to have the child examined and determine if they require braces to fix the bite problems.
Having Extreme Gaps in the Teeth
When your teeth are misaligned or are not developed properly, they cause many gaps or extreme spaces in the mouth. Ideally, teeth should touch each other and leave sufficient space for rotation. However, the teeth should not be significantly spaced without any contact. Gaps in the mouth stem from multiple causes, including:
- Missing teeth
- Periodontal disease
- Premature loss of baby teeth
- Skeletal development
- Extra adult teeth that push others from their rightful positions
- An extremely large tongue causes the teeth to widen, creating gaps in the teeth
- Small teeth that do not occupy the required space in the mouth
Properly aligned teeth have no gaps, and if they exist, they are subtle and not visible through the mouth. Therefore, when you look at your child’s dental formula and notice extreme gaps or multiple spaces, it is an indication the child has crooked teeth and requires braces. The effects of these spaces can take a toll on your child because they lower their self-esteem. Besides, when the tooth gaps are extreme, they can trap food debris, causing bacteria accumulation in the mouth. If these spaces are not fixed early, the child could develop cavities, tooth decay, and periodontitis.
Several spaces in the mouth also cause jaw pain and chewing, swallowing, and biting problems. Thankfully, by wearing braces, these problems can be fixed.
Speech Problems
Teeth are not only essential for chewing. They help with word pronunciation and talking. When you notice your child having speech difficulties, it could be a sign they need braces, and you should take them for an oral exam immediately. One of the causes of speech difficulties is bite problems, which make it problematic for them to pronounce the letters “S” or ‘’R’’. Word slurring also indicates the child lacks sufficient space in the mouth.
Thankfully, when the child wears dental braces, the teeth regain their original positions, giving them good speech, which boosts their confidence.
Biting the Tongue Often
If your child bites their tongue very often, you should speak to an orthodontist to establish the cause of the oral problem and whether they are a candidate for braces.
Mouth Pain
Not all orthodontic concerns have clear symptoms. Therefore, when your child complains of mouth discomfort, it could be a sign they have an orthodontic problem. However, it is best to take them to a dental expert for an accurate diagnosis using an X-ray. Once the cause of the facial pain has been identified, the dentist can recommend braces to fix the problem.
Habitual Teeth Grinding
Otherwise called bruxism, grinding teeth could also be an indicator that your child is a candidate for braces. Grinding is normal and does not hurt the teeth. However, when it becomes habitual, it eats away at the child’s tooth enamel, causing significant damage and altering their facial structure. Luckily, wearing dental braces can help fix the issue.
Advantages of Dental Braces
Wearing braces offers several benefits, including:
- Prevents cavities, tooth decay, and periodontal disease
- Boosts good digestion
- Deters bone erosion
- Enhances speech
For maximum benefits, braces are ideal for ages nine to 14, when the bone is malleable and developing. Also, for children, it takes a shorter time for teeth to move to the desired position, unlike adults, who have to wear braces longer.
As a parent, you should know that there is no definite age at which a child should begin wearing braces. All you need to do is focus on the child’s oral health and watch out for signs of orthodontic problems to seek treatment early.
Find a Reputable Dental Practice Near Me
When you see any sign or indication that your child requires braces, do not hesitate to consult experienced and family-friendly orthodontists at Lasting Impressions Dental Spa. We will thoroughly evaluate your child’s mouth and determine if they qualify for dental braces. If they require the treatment, we will develop a plan that addresses their unique needs. Therefore, if you believe your child can benefit from braces, contact us at 818-751-5100 to arrange a zero-obligation consultation in Encino, CA.
