How Preventative Orthodontics for Kids Leads to Healthier Smiles
As parents, we do everything we can to ensure our kids are healthy. We look after their nutrition. We make sure they get enough rest, and give them opportunities for activity and play. We encourage their learning. We promote their social-emotional resilience. And at the end of the day, nothing comes close to the joy of seeing our children smiling and secure.
In light of this, did you know that addressing your child’s orthodontic care early can have a significant positive impact on their overall well-being? In fact, preventative orthodontics for kids can contribute to better eating habits and nutrition, prevent or minimize tooth decay, alleviate jaw pain, and help them breathe better.
At Foundation Orthodontics, we specialize in early orthodontics for kids and agree with the American Association of Orthodontists that a first orthodontic visit should happen no later than seven years old. We’re also experienced in treating children younger than this, especially those with airway concerns.
Why age seven? By that time, your child has lost a few baby teeth already and their adult counterparts are emerging. Typically, adult back molars have erupted, and your child’s general jaw shape is revealed. It’s an optimal transition time for your orthodontist to spot any potential bite or alignment issues and assess the severity of any issues identified.
An early initial visit doesn’t necessarily mean your child will need interceptive orthodontic treatment right away. Dr. Renee Moran is conservative with early orthodontics for kids, only suggesting it when there are clear, health-based reasons or if early orthodontic treatment will prevent issues from becoming severe later on.
In most cases, we opt to delay any comprehensive treatment — like full braces for kids — if issues are mild. Moving forward, we’ll simply monitor your child’s oral development through free, once- or twice-a-year visits and let you know when it’s time to discuss treatment.
So when would Dr. Moran recommend orthodontics for kids? As an orthodontist with a unique holistic approach, Dr. Moran understands how preventative orthodontics can make a positive impact on a child’s overall quality of life. Early orthodontics could prevent issues from getting worse and results in a healthier, happier smile. It’s also usually easier and faster to correct orthodontic issues in kids since their bones are more malleable than when they are older or adults.
Is your child beginning to show any of the following difficulties? If so, an initial visit to Foundations Orthodontics will reveal how early orthodontic treatment might help.
Difficulties Chewing Their Food
Does your child avoid certain foods because they’re hard to eat? A severe overbite, underbite, open bite or crossbite can make eating a frustrating task for a child. Hard, crunchy foods — like raw carrots, or foods that you tear with your teeth — like bread, might be challenging if your child’s jaws are misaligned, or if teeth are crowding, gapping, or missing.
As a parent of three young boys, Dr. Moran understands firsthand that encouraging kids with healthy eating isn’t always an easy task. And if your child has trouble chewing, this could affect what they can eat and which foods they enjoy.
Mouth Breathing, Snoring, and Sleep Apnea
Think of mouth breathing and orthodontic issues like the chicken and the egg. Whatever the reason for its beginnings — allergies, persistent toddler habits like thumbsucking — chronic mouth breathing and/or a compromised airway can negatively affect your child’s orthodontic development. The resulting bite and misalignment issues like a deep bite then worsen your child’s mouth breathing by narrowing their airway and moving your child’s tongue position.
Chronic mouth breathing in children is shown to have a negative impact on their quality of life. In fact, one study by the International Journal of Pediatrics found that persistent mouth breathing can contribute to poor sleep, which can result in less-than-optimal cognitive and behavioral functioning.It also can promote cavities: a drier mouth can lead to changes in the natural “good” bacteria in your child’s mouth that normally helps against tooth decay.
Issues with your child’s airway can cause conditions such as sleep apnea. Other signs that your child’s breathing is compromised include snoring, teeth grinding, sleep talking, and sleepwalking. Since problems like sleep apnea have similar symptoms to ADHD — including restlessness, hyperactivity, low reading scores, and an inability to focus — kids are often misdiagnosed.
That’s why we screen each child for airway issues and check for tongue ties that could be obstructing the airway. If needed, preventative orthodontics can nip your child’s mouth breathing or airway issues in the bud, giving them the vitality and health they deserve.
Difficulties with Speech
Mispronouncing letters is a normal — and endearing — part of early childhood development. But if your school-aged child whistles when they talk, slurs words together, lisps, or has a hard time pronouncing consonants like “d” or “t”, these speaking issues might be related to misaligned teeth or bite issues. Straight teeth and a more open mouth can help alleviate their speech problems. And once children start early orthodontic treatment, it’s not uncommon for parents to pair orthodontics with speech therapy as well.
Painful Jaws or Headaches
It’s understandable that, as parents, we want to relieve our children’s aches and pains the best we can. As your Denver, Granby, and Winter Park orthodontist, we’ve seen jaw pain in kids, facial pain, or headaches, all of which can point to temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction. If you’re not familiar with it, the TMJ is what connects your child’s jaw to their skull and is activated when they open and close their mouth, talk, and chew.
Other signs your child might have TMJ dysfunction include:
Limited movement of their jaw
Locking of the joint where they’re unable to open or close their mouth
Pain while chewing
Clicking and popping noises when they open their mouth or chew
A change in the way the upper and lower teeth fit together
As a board-certified orthodontist and bite correction expert, Dr. Moran knows how to best treat a child with TMJ dysfunction through early orthodontic treatment. Typically, she will recommend TMJ splint therapy for her young patients. Splint therapy may sound daunting, but, in fact, it is a simple mouthguard-like appliance that is typically worn over the teeth full-time for a specified period. Your child’s custom appliance allows rest and healing for their sore TMJ and surrounding facial muscles.
Tooth Decay and Gum Disease
We mentioned earlier that mouth breathing can contribute to tooth decay. So can orthodontic issues like severe crowding, which make it hard for kids to brush and floss properly. And as we all know, lackluster oral care can end up as cavities and gum disease.
Crowding is typically the result of a narrow dental arch and can worsen as your child grows and more adult teeth erupt. An orthodontic appliance like a palatal expander is a treatment that Dr. Moran might recommend to expand the mouth and make more room for teeth. In fact, palatal expanders are the most common early orthodontic treatment we prescribe at Foundations Orthodontics. Well-spaced teeth equals easier, more effective oral care for your kids, and, ideally, dental check ups that end with a proud, “No cavities!”
Teeth Grinding
You’ve probably heard about adults grinding their teeth, maybe you yourself have suffered from this problem. But did you know that it happens to kids, too? Bruxism, as it’s officially called, affects 2-3 children out of 10 and is an oral health concern we see pretty regularly at Foundations Orthodontics. One of the main reasons children grind their teeth is misalignment — your child subconsciously grinds their teeth in an effort to line them up into a comfortable resting jaw position. Teeth grinding can cause soreness in your child’s jaw and face, and, over time, wear down their tooth enamel, chip their teeth, or increase their sensitivity to extreme hot and cold foods.
Interceptive orthodontic treatment addresses teeth grinding by bringing your child’s jaws into alignment. You’ll see an incredible difference in how your child’s top and bottom teeth stack together comfortably.
Facial Asymmetry
It goes without saying that, to you, your child’s face is always perfect. But if you notice that their lower jaw is asymmetrical or they have difficulty chewing effectively, you might want to bring your child to your Denver orthodontist for an early orthodontic assessment. Doing so can reveal issues that could benefit from early interceptive treatment. Through early orthodontics, Dr. Moran can begin guiding your child’s facial development into a harmonious balance of esthetics and function.
On the other hand, if we see that your child’s facial asymmetry is mild, we’ll keep tabs on how their face develops through complimentary yearly- or twice-yearly check-ins and let you know when treatment should begin.
What Does Orthodontics for Kids Look Like?
Early orthodontics is typically a two-phase process. Phase 1 orthodontics is the treatment period we’ve been discussing — addressing misalignment and bad bites that cause health issues like mouth breathing, difficulties speaking, or TMJ dysfunction. Your child will still be losing their baby teeth and gaining adult teeth during this time.
Phase 2 happens when children — now preteens or teens — have all their adult teeth and it’s time to use full braces, Invisalign®, or 3M™ Clarity™ Aligners to straighten teeth, and jaws into their final positions.
Phase 1:
Phase 1 orthodontics does a lot of the foundational heavy lifting in creating healthy, happy smiles for your kids. Depending on your child’s orthodontic issues, phase 1 orthodontics might involve braces for kids, custom retainers, orthodontic expanders, or space maintainers. Phase 1 braces are typically individual braces that target specific teeth, not a full set on the upper or lower teeth.
At Foundations Orthodontics, we understand how overwhelming orthodontics can feel for young kids, so we focus on making the phase 1 process as effective, comfortable, and efficient as possible. It’s typically short: lasting only 9 to 12 months at most.
Phase 2:
In Phase 2, after a resting period, we continue your child’s orthodontic progress when all their adult teeth have erupted, usually in their preteen or teen years. Phase 2 is about ensuring your child’s bite is aligned and overall facial harmony is achieved.
At Foundation Orthodontics, we offer clear ceramic braces, streamlined metal braces, Invisalign Teen, or Clarity Aligners to move your teen’s teeth into a straight, well-functioning position that remains stable for the rest of their life! Palatal expanders are sometimes used, and retainers are a given when your teen’s braces or clear aligners finally come off!
The Pros and Cons of Early Orthodontic Treatment
Perhaps you and your child have already had an initial early assessment with us and Dr. Moran has recommended interceptive treatment. Now that you’re well-versed in orthodontics for kids, here are some early orthodontic treatment pros and cons to consider:
Pros:
Improves your child’s chewing, speaking, or breathing
Promotes a healthier oral environment
Makes room for emerging adult teeth or impacted teeth
Alleviates face and jaw pain
Creates facial symmetry
Lessens the need for future surgery or tooth removal
Reduces the severity of phase 2 orthodontic treatment
Cons:
Kids will have more appointments if two-phase treatment is necessary
Some orthodontic treatments — like braces and palatal expanders — cause mild tenderness, though this goes away quickly when kids get used to wearing their appliance
Schedule An Early Orthodontic Assessment
With our holistic and conservative approach to orthodontics for kids, Dr. Moran and the team at Foundations Orthodontics are your Denver orthodontist for early orthodontics.
We provide complimentary consultations and free check-ups for kids every 6 or 12 months as they’re growing and their adult teeth are coming in. Your child’s orthodontics records are free — a $350 value — up to age 13, before they get full braces or clear aligners. Records typically include photos, scans of their teeth, and 3D x-rays that showed us their facial joints and airway.
At Foundations Orthodontics, our goal for preventative orthodontics is happier smiles and healthier kids. Contact our Denver, Granby, or Winter Park office today for a complimentary initial consultation.