Does My Child Actually Need Dental Braces

The awareness and need for braces in Nigeria amongst school children is on the rise. Parents now realize that it’s better to start early to correct problems with their children’s teeth than wait until it becomes more complex. So there comes a point when concerned parents ask themselves: Does my child really need braces? How much would it cost and the time to achieve the correction? So it’s important to know a few basic facts.

Most orthodontic associations around the world agree that Children should get orthodontic evaluation no later than age 7. This is because earlier treatment can prevent more serious problems from developing in the future and can make the treatment time for a child shorter overall. However, every case is different and not every child needs orthodontic intervention.

Here are 5 Cardinal signs parents should look for to make a smart choice for orthodontic treatment

• Your Child Hides Their Smile: A “poor smile” makes a child self-conscious and tends towards low esteem especially at school. If you notice that your child doesn’t like to participate in school activities and begins to have poor social skills, then it’s time to make an appointment to see the dentist and the orthodontist.

• Their bite doesn’t come together correctly (open bite): When a child’s upper and lower front teeth do not come together when the mouth is closed. The result is a gap or opening between the rows of teeth when a person closes the jaw. The upper and lower incisors are unable to connect, so they can’t help with chewing, so all the stress lies on the back teeth.

• Crowded teeth and lots of spacing: About 90 percent of children are affected with overcrowded teeth, often in their bottom teeth therefore early interceptive orthodontic treatment could lead to early corrections of problems among children and which may also mean less treatment later

• Over-bite medically refers to the extent of vertical overlap of the maxillary central incisors over the mandibular central incisors.An overbite or deep bite can come from oral habits like thumb sucking. An overbite can lead to extra problems as an adult, such as extra wear on teeth, Compromised movement of the jaw bone which may result in loss of hearing, headaches, dizziness. So it’s worth going to a general dentist specializing in Orthodontics to check out the issue.

• Over-jet is the extent of horizontal overlap of the maxillary central incisors over the mandibular central incisors