How your child feels, you probably have some questions and concerns of your own (not the least of which may be how you’re going to pay for them!). Here’s the lowdown on kids and braces.

Kids can need braces for any number of reasons, including crooked, overlapping, or overcrowded teeth, or a “bad bite” (known as malocclusion). Malocclusion is a discrepancy in the sizes of the top and bottom jaws. When the upper jaw is bigger than the lower jaw, it’s called an overbite. When the lower jaw is bigger, it’s called an underbite.

Sometimes tooth and jaw problems can be caused by tooth decay, losing baby teeth too soon, accidents, or habits like thumb sucking. But often they’re inherited, so if you or someone in your family needed braces, it’s likely that your kids will, too.

Early intervention can also prevent crowding down the road. For example, a six-year adult molar normally erupts right behind a baby second molar. If your child loses that baby molar early (perhaps due to decay), the adult molar may drift forward, severely crowding adult teeth that emerge. By moving that adult molar back into its ideal position early, you can avoid having to pull it out it later on and possibly avoid further orthodontic work.

While the teeth-straightening process is a long, costly and often uncomfortable one, people are going to their orthodontists in droves in a quest to get the perfectly shaped grin. Everybody’s doing it, especially the kids. In North America, roughly 4 million people younger than 18 are wearing braces, and four out of every five people in braces are minors. While most kids get braces between the ages of 11 and 14, the American Association of Orthodontists recommends a checkup with an orthodontist by no later than age 7, when most children still have some of their baby teeth and their adult teeth have begun to come in

Starting the process early doesn’t mean a child will get braces right away. It just means the orthodontist will be able to determine which problems exist and assess the best time to start treatment.

Orthodontics

East Office:

Drs. Griffiths and Truman
4240 E. Charleston Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89104

702.924.1526

West Office:

Drs. Griffiths and Simister
8710 W. Charleston Blvd. Suite 150
Las Vegas, NV 89117

702.924.1527