CHILDREN AND TEEN ORTHODONTICS
A young child with an oral habit that is affecting the teeth or has a jaw discrepancy, such as a crossbite, may benefit from early preventive and orthopedic therapy. School age children with permanent anterior teeth erupting out of place or are crowded may improve with interceptive orthodontics and expansion. Some advantages for treatment at this age are correcting the mal- aligned teeth to improve appearance and self-esteem, correcting the arch relationship, and creating room for the crowding which could obviate the need for future extraction. The adolescent and teenagers who exhibit crowding, crooked teeth, or spacing are offered full braces, or in selected cases, Invisalign, to create a beautiful smile for a lifetime.
Problems:
Overbite or "buck teeth"- upper front teeth lie too far forward.
Underbite- lower front teeth are too far forward, or upper front teeth are too far back.
Crossbite- the upper teeth do not come down slightly in front of the lower teeth when biting
together.
Open bite- spaces between the biting surfaces of the teeth when the back teeth bite together.
Spacing- gaps or spaces between the teeth.
Crowding- when there are too many teeth for the dental ridge to accommodate
Deep bite- the upper teeth overlap the lower teeth too much.
Benefits of well-aligned teeth:
Proper fitting teeth reduce uneven wear.
Easy access for cleaning teeth which reduces cavities and promotes health gums/bone.
Nice smile/appearance.
Improvement of speech.
Better function/chewing ability.
Improvement of airways which leads to better breathing.
Reduction or elimination of jaw/joint pain.
Enhancement of confidence and self-esteem.