When you’re a parent, you’re responsible for overseeing your children’s dental health. After your child’s annual dental visit, their dentist may refer your child to an orthodontist for braces. If you had to use braces when you were a teen, your memories of braces may cause you concern about how your child will fare as they wear braces.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, the side effects of braces can include jaw discomfort or irritation of the inner cheeks and tongue. Have patience with your child as they adjust to the feeling of wearing braces, and help them remember how to brush their teeth while they wear them. You can keep reminding them they’ll feel better when their use of braces results in a more attractive smile.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, other benefits of dental braces include a lower frequency of cavities or gum disease. If appearance is a major concern for your teens, ask the orthodontist if your teen can get Invisalign aligners rather than metal braces. If you’re looking for affordable dental and orthodontics options, you should ask the orthodontist which options are available. You can also try going to a dental school clinic to save money.
There are a multitude of reasons why your child could now require wearing braces. Believe it or not, you can spot the signs earlier. Maybe your child is having a hard time chewing their food or they’re complaining about toothaches.
Some signs are noticeable, but there are other signs that your child may have to be fitted with braces that you may not be able to detect at first but could present themselves down the line. Here are the ways you can tell if your child needs braces and how you can prevent that outcome.
What Are Braces?
Braces are a tool dentists use to fix problematic teeth. Some of the causes for getting braces include crooked teeth or if teeth are out of alignment and need to be corrected.
Taking your kids to a childrens dentist for routine dental care will be a major step in preventing the need for braces. Nearly 17 million children in this country go without dental services in America, and that can lead to some pretty serious dental problems if issues go unchecked. This is where braces come into play, the device that can give your child straight teeth.
How Often Do a Child’s Teeth Need to Be Checked?
One of the best ways to prevent your child from needing braces is to get them regular checkups with an orthodontist or family dentistry professional that specializes in kids dental care. The earliest you should start doing this is when your child turns seven-years-old. Early orthodontic treatment can help to prevent small problems from becoming larger issues.
Not-So-Subtle Signs Your Child May Need Braces
Pay very close attention to how your child breathes. Mouth breathing can be a not-so-telling sign that there may be something wrong with your kid’s teeth. Notice if your child continues to suck their finger or thumb. While it may be the cutest sight ever, it could also be a sign that their teeth aren’t growing the way they should, and that braces could be the solution to the issue.
See if your child’s jaw and teeth don’t match the rest of their face alignment. That could also be a sign that their teeth are out-of-alignment and that braces could help straighten them back out. If you notice these things, then you must get your child to the dentist as soon as you can.
Early Treatment Makes Happy Smiles
Once you notice the signs that there is something wrong with your child’s teeth, that is the time to switch to prevention and treatment mode. The earlier you can get your child early orthodontic treatment, the better chances your child’s teeth and face will with have a chance to grow healthier, making for happy smiles! Early treatment can also greatly avoid any serious issues that could happy in the future.
This is where the power of braces comes into play. Introducing your child to braces early on will certainly help in making sure their little teeth can have a chance to grow healthy. At a child’s early age, their mouths are still malleable and the introduction of braces (if they’re needed) can allow for the expansion of the jaw to make the room needed for their permanent teeth.
Early treatment will also prevent the child from having the type of issues that could require surgery, such as cavities. The number one most preventable disease in children is tooth decay and failing to get a child regular checkups are an orthodontic care clinic can increase the likelihood that, if something does go wrong, surgery would be needed to fix the problem, which will cause you to miss even more days at work and will be expensive. There is nothing worse in a child’s life than having their teeth removed, and early treatment can prevent that trauma from occurring.
Other Reasons Why Your Child Should Get Braces
Getting your child braces if it’s needed can be beneficial in other ways. If you have a child with protruding teeth, braces can help in a lot of ways. It can keep your child’s teeth from falls or knocks. Those falls can seriously do damage to a child’s front teeth; but with braces, your child’s teeth can be protected from those unexpected falls and knocks.
Another great benefit of braces can be to correct an overbite. Overbites are when upper teeth overlap with the bottom teeth, which can allow air to escape while talking, creating a whistling sound that will also be an annoyance to the tongue. Outfitting your child with braces will correct overbites and will also fill in those gaps to keep air from escaping. As we mentioned earlier, early treatment and introduction to braces can prevent that most traumatic of dental experiences for your child.
This, in the dental world, is called “Phase 2 Treatment,” which is the part where more painful operations are needed to fix a child’s mouth is done, such as teeth removal. Braces are part of “Phase 1 Treatment,” which are less painful treatments that are designed for the prevention of further damage to a child’s teeth. To prevent your child from having “Phase 2” treatments done to their teeth, early prevention is the key.
Don’t Ignore Decay
Extensive decay can be a very serious issue for children. If decay is found within a child’s tooth, then it should be taken care of as soon as possible. While decay can be treated if detected early, it could lead to a loss of the tooth. This is another reason as to why your child must have regular checkups at their dental clinic.
Adults Need to See the Dentist, Too
It’s important in the development of children to have great dental hygiene. However, it’s also deeply important for adults to see if they need braces as well. Everything outlined here pertains to adults as well. Over 99% of adults in America believe that a nice smile is a very important factor in their social lives, and 75% believe that a great smile is one of the key ingredients to attracting a significant other.
How can you attract the love of your life with cavities and tooth decay? It certainly doesn’t add to the attractiveness of a smile. Adults must see their dentist see if there’s anything wrong with their teeth. The same serious ailments that can affect children can be just as bad for adults.
Consider having your teeth sealed by your local dentist so that cavities won’t have the room to develop and grow. Seeling up your teeth can also put a stop to pre-existing cavities from becoming a serious issue down the road. For your child, consider this option as well if cavities and decay are detected so it won’t grow into something far worse.
Get Dental Insurance If You Don’t Have It
One of the major barriers for children and adults getting proper dental care is insurance. Over half of all Americans have had a problem at some point affording dental insurance, which has only gotten worse in recent times.
Most Americans have dental insurance through their employer, and with COVID-19 wreaking havoc on the country’s economy and many employees getting laid off, those same folks are losing dental insurance as well, for both them and their children.
This matters the most in the pocketbook, as a typical non-insured dental checkup can cost as much as $300 in the United States. Thankfully, there are low-cost options out there for people to obtain affordable dental insurance so that they can keep their kid’s teeth cavity and decay-free. Along with health insurance, dental insurance is very important to have so that you and your child can have a healthy smile. In conclusion, making sure your child’s teeth is growing and developing at a healthy pace is critical.
If you see the signs that your child may need braces, then make the appointment needed to get your child those braces as early as possible. Introducing your child to braces at an early age will prevent the worse of cavities and tooth decay from forming, and will also prevent impacted teeth removal that will not only be painful for the child but also painful for your wallet from being a reality in the future.
Make sure that you notice the signs early, such as toothaches, trouble chewing, and discomfort, to know if your kid will need to be fitted with braces. At the utmost importance is making sure your dental insurance current so that it will cover your basic needs and whatever surprises your teeth may throw at you. Dental care is just as important as your overall health care. It’s critically important that the teeth receive equal tender, love, and care so that the smiles can last long and be impactful. It’s always great to have a healthy and vibrant smile.