At Dallas Children’s Dental Network, we understand the importance of your child’s first orthodontic exam! Orthodontics play a huge role in your child’s appearance and health, even before adult teeth begin to form. According to the American Association of Orthodontics’ recommendation, a certified orthodontist should examine your child’s teeth by age seven!
Although your child’s teeth may look straight, there could be underlying issues with the way their adult teeth will erupt that are not immediately visible to your child’s pediatric dentist. Our expert orthodontists are trained to accurately identify bite issues in children at an early age, minimizing the risk of misaligned teeth later in life. A misaligned bite, a bad relationship between the upper and lower jaw, tooth crowding, or problems caused by non-nutritive habits can lead to major orthodontic issues after your child’s baby teeth are replaced by their adult teeth. Dallas Children’s Dental Network is proud to offer families in Arlington, Colleyville, Dallas, Hurst, and Saginaw the support of orthodontic specialists that are highly-trained to identify these issues right off the bat, ensuring that they will be corrected by the time your child’s teeth are fully developed.
Orthodontic Exam At Age 7 With Your Kid’s Orthodontist
The transition from your child’s baby teeth to their permanent teeth is extremely important. Baby teeth establish the foundation for your child’s adult teeth, guiding them into their proper positions. As baby teeth are the building blocks for a healthy smile, it’s important for your child’s orthodontist to examine your child’s mouth while they still have their initial baby teeth in place. Their baby teeth may look perfectly fine, but there could be underlying structural problems waiting to show. With the help of one panoramic x-ray, our team can identify if your child is naturally missing any adult teeth, as well as identify deviations from normal tooth eruption, which may lead to complications down the road.
The primary goal of early orthodontic treatment is to correct the issue at hand in the shortest amount of time possible, periodically evaluating the need for braces later in the early teen years. The most common types of early orthodontic treatment involve braces on the front teeth, a palatal expander, retainer, or a combination of one or more of these.
Symptoms Of Underlying Issues
Oftentimes, a child’s behavior may indicate that an orthodontic examination with a DCDN-certified orthodontist is in order. Here is a list of major symptoms that may occur, signaling that it’s time to schedule a visit with a Dallas Children’s Dental Network orthodontist:
- The loss of baby teeth too early, or too late;
- Difficulty chewing or biting;
- Breathing primarily through their mouth;
- Sucking their thumb too long;
- Has crowded, misplaced, or blocked-out teeth;
- Has a jaw that shifts, or makes noises while moving;
- Difficulty speaking;
- Frequent biting of the cheeks;
- Facial imbalances;
- Grinds or clenches teeth;
- Large, or uneven spaces between teeth.
Contact Your DCDN Orthodontist Today!
Early orthodontic consultations can determine the extent of your child’s orthodontic needs, allowing an orthodontist from our team to identify problems that can affect ideal dental health, and pinpoint structural issues that may lead to aesthetic discrepancies. Your child’s smile is critically important to their confidence, and to all of our staff here at Dallas Children’s Dental Network. If your child is experiencing symptoms of underlying orthodontic issues, please don’t hesitate to contact an office near you today!