We do not like to think that our children could have oral health issues early in life, but the need for pediatric orthodontics is more common than you may realize. This is because children are more prone to certain orthodontic issues. To make it easier to get your children the help they need from your local pediatric dentistry, we will describe some of the most common orthodontic issues and how they can be fixed.
This can happen to younger children with their baby teeth and older kids as all their adult teeth start to come in. Essentially, a tooth comes in but in the wrong place or does not finish erupting through the gum line. Every tooth has a slot that it fits in, and when a tooth comes in and tries to fit into the wrong spot or does not erupt all the way, the orthodontist has to figure out what to do about it to either preserve the tooth itself or prevent the tooth from causing further issues.
The most common way this is fixed is by surgically exposing the tooth and, if possible, shifting it into the proper position. If not, the tooth must be extracted to avoid causing any more damage.
When your baby or young child starts to get all of their teeth in, they may experience teeth rubbing together due to a lack of space, or they may see gaps and spacing issues in the teeth. In either case, pediatric orthodontics usually has them wear braces to straighten and realign the teeth so that they either have the proper space or are aligned properly.
Bite-related issues can be caused by a few different things, the size and position of the jaw, oral habits like thumb sucking, and the natural resting position of the teeth when the jaw is relaxed. A crossbite occurs when the upper teeth rest inside the lower teeth. This can be fixed with a dental appliance known as a palatal expander.
Underbites and overbites may be corrected by dental appliances that pull the bite back into the proper position or expand a jaw that is too small.
Pediatric orthodontics handles many problems that children can have, but in most cases, they will try the least invasive option to fix the issue. Sometimes, however, there may need surgery or teeth extraction to fix an issue when dental devices and other treatments do not work. Since the goal is to keep all the teeth and the entire mouth healthy, it may be necessary to sacrifice a tooth if it will help improve the health of all the other teeth or if it is causing too much of a problem.
Most importantly, if you notice your child has any of the issues we have discussed here, take them to the dentist immediately and have them checked out to avoid future problems and any existing issues worsening.
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