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The Benefits of Early Orthodontic Intervention for Children

Posted on June 7, 2023

orthodontist

Any concerned parent needs to understand that they don’t have to wait until their children reach their teenage years to start their orthodontic treatment. It’s essential to begin as early as possible, mainly if you see something wrong with your kid’s teeth growth, jaw alignment, or other dental issues. Let’s learn the benefits of taking your children to the orthodontist sooner rather than later.

1. Early Diagnosis

A parent can detect if there’s something odd-looking with their kid’s teeth or how they bite food. However, only an orthodontist can give a proper diagnosis and start treatment to prevent a bigger problem later. They may recommend braces as soon as their adult teeth start emerging and they’ll do follow-ups through the years.

2. Improving Their Speech

Difficult speaking is one of the many consequences of crooked teeth and jaw problems. A child could develop a lisp or have issues saying certain words due to their mouth and jaw alignment, which could become a severe speech problem later. Their issues could worsen at school, where they meet with their peers and see how they speak.

3. Raising Their Self-Esteem

Dealing with speech problems and having crooked teeth can hurt a child’s confidence, especially because school-aged children can be cruel to those who are a little different. Therefore, ensuring your child has straight teeth and can speak adequately will save them from scrutiny. They won’t be afraid to smile and have fun talking to others.

4. Maintaining Their Oral Health

It’s hard for parents to get their kids to brush and floss daily. However, crooked teeth or jaw issues can promote tooth decay because a toothbrush may not be able to reach certain places. This doesn’t only apply to children but to all people. Approximately 50 to 75% of people could use orthodontic treatment, according to the American Association of Orthodontists.

5. Correct Possible Malformations

One of the problems of ignoring or waiting to visit an orthodontist is that your children could start developing an overbite, crossbite, underbite, and similar problems. It’s better to start treatment early to prevent that from happening than to deal with it later when it could be painful and expensive.

It’s easy to develop cavities and more issues when regular oral cleaning tools can’t reach some areas, so visiting the orthodontist is necessary. You must pay attention to how your kid’s teeth grow, so you can start finding solutions as early as possible. Call us today and schedule your child’s first appointment!