Plenty of kids get anxious about going back to school every fall. If they have braces or a palatal expander or any sort of orthodontics, things can feel even more tricky. Here are just some of the methods you can employ to help your child adjust to their developing smile as they move around their peers, teachers, classes, and activities.
Braces straighten crooked teeth, align smiles, close gaps. However, there are various circumstances that cause teeth to go crooked again. Quite often it’s non-compliance (hello, retainer) and sometimes it’s the age and stage of life. Find out what can be done to fix crooked teeth after braces, even if it’s long after you’ve worn them.
Kids can’t get braces until all their baby teeth fall out. If they’re lucky, their adult teeth have erupted in a perfectly aligned position and delivered a healthy, pain-free smile for life. Most kids, though, need some sort of orthodontic intervention. If baby teeth are hanging tight, that journey to an aligned smile will take longer than anticipated and likely involve braces.
While orthodontic treatment may seem daunting at first, most patients get used to their braces quickly. The appointment when brackets are secured to teeth and initial archwires are put in place is the lengthiest visit you will have – and this visit also starts your relationship with your developing smile and orthodontic team. You’ll be proud of your braces before you know it, for many reasons.
Every child is different. Their baby teeth erupt and are lost at different times. Some children have all adult teeth by age 10, others take longer. What matters first, though, is whether there is enough room for their teeth, now and later. If space needs to be made, a palatal expander may be necessary.
Dentists typically recommend an orthodontic evaluation for children by age 7 or 8. This is a best practice for every child and parent, but if your dentist firmly encourages you to seek an orthodontic opinion, listen to them. They’ve seen something that isn’t quite right and could benefit from customized braces for kids.
If you have your heart set on Invisalign treatment to correct problems with the alignment of your teeth, be aware of circumstances that impact whether you are a good candidate for this treatment. While many orthodontic patients can select from Invisalign or conventional braces, there are some who are limited in what’s available to fix misalignment. If you’re determined to wear clear aligners, the following complications could impact whether this treatment is right for you.
People who wear braces sometimes need their teeth turned or rotated. After all, brackets and wires are not only designed to straighten teeth or close gaps. Your orthodontist may even need to extrude a tooth or two to achieve ideal alignment. What does that mean? If you don’t know, you’re in the majority. “Extrusion” isn’t all that common for someone who is new to the world of orthodontia.
The palatal expander journey is brief, but it can be inconvenient for the patient at first, as is the case with most orthodontic interventions. The appliance, though, is a common treatment and used when it’s necessary to widen a child’s upper jaw and create room for crowded teeth. While every patient is different and their treatment trajectory will vary, there are typical steps that occur for most expander wearers, including what happens after wear time is complete.
Invisalign treatment can be customized for kids who are in Phase 1 of orthodontic treatment, which usually occurs between ages 6 to 10. While it may be hard to wrap your head around the idea of your child in any kind of braces at such a young age, early orthodontics like Invisalign can save them from lengthy treatment later and give them a great boost of confidence.
