Braces and Extractions-Are they really required?

When it comes to your child’s dental and jaw development, we provide you with advice and care from a registered specialist orthodontist and a registered specialist pediatric dentist. A Paedodontist who deals with the care of children’s teeth.

Orthodontic treatment for kids is suggested at an age six or seven, as this is when the first adult teeth typically appear and when developmental problems may occur. Treatment for young children is usually aimed at dealing with functional problems that immediately threaten the health of teeth. A proactive approach may eliminate or simplify any later need for orthodontic treatment. The conditions that we treat in early childhood are problems of tooth eruption, cross-bites, severe overcrowding, jaw growth problems, snoring and thumb sucking.

Space Maintainers

When a primary tooth is lost prematurely (usually due to decay), adjacent teeth may drift into space and leave insufficient room for proper alignment of the developing permanent teeth. Our pedodontist will advise you as to whether a space-maintaining device is necessary. Space maintainers can be fixed or removable, depending on the individual case.

Dental Crowding and Early Intervention to Avoid Extractions

If dental crowding is noted in a young child, removable orthopedic plates can be utilized from the age of six to eight years. To expand the arches or maintain premolar spaces and avoid the need for later extractions, orthodontic braces may follow. Early intervention is usually achieved with simple removable appliances, but treatment is often continued until all the teeth have erupted. Fixed braces are then used to complete the alignment.

Snoring and Low Tongue Position Problems

Childhood snoring is a possible sign of partial airway obstruction and is a potentially serious problem that can affect a child’s daytime mood, educational development, and facial development. Occasionally, the problem is due to the narrowness of the upper jaw. Early expansion may help to improve nasal airflow and restore normal sleeping patterns. We work in conjunction with ENT (ear, nose, and throat) specialists and a children’s sleep specialist to provide orthodontic care for children with snoring problems.

Orthodontic Treatment of Jaw Growth Problems in Children

In some children, a growing imbalance between the top and bottom jaws (the maxilla and the mandible) makes it impossible to bite correctly. This is often an inherited problem. To compensate, expansion of either jaw and promoting forward growth can be useful. We suggest that early intervention at the age of six to eight years can be advantageous.