Orthodontics in Children
The appearance of a big, warm smile on the face of our child is one of the things we parents most desire. However, it is necessary to keep this smile healthy and bright for a lifetime. This requires a good follow-up involving the patient, the patient's family, the family dentist, the orthodontist and other dental specialists.
Your dentist will check your child at an early stage to see how the teeth and jaws are developing and will be able to recognise any changes that may occur as your child grows and inform you. We therefore recommend that your child has regular dental check-ups.
Until the age of 18, orthodontic treatments in childhood can be analysed in two stages.
1. Protective-Preventive Orthodontic Treatment
The first orthodontic examination of your child should be 4-5 years old. The purpose of this first examination;
To detect jaw-related disorders in children and intervene early
Treatment of improper functions that will cause jaw problems in the future, such as incorrect swallowing and mouth breathing
It is to eliminate the possibility of adverse forces on the teeth.
If your child breathes through the mouth and has open lips, the orthodontist and the otolaryngologist should work together in the treatment of these disorders and correct the functions. This type of treatment is a treatment method consisting of different breathing and muscle exercises and apparatus that children of this age can wear.
When your child is 4-5 years old, even if you observe a problem, you should take him/her to an orthodontist.
Because it is easier to solve some orthodontic problems when they are recognised early and it is possible to prevent jaw problems caused by mouth breathing.
Orthodontic treatments in this period are called ‘preventive preventive treatment’.
Even if your child's teeth look straight, there may be some problems that you may not notice and only the orthodontist can determine. Sometimes, a situation that you see as a problem may be completely normal and will correct itself over time.
Not every problem you observe in your child's teeth may require treatment!
For example, at the age of 7-8, the upper middle main teeth are in the mouth. These teeth may seem too big to you after the milk teeth.
Remember that your child's jaw will grow like his/her hand, arm and head, but his/her teeth will not grow. Thus, these front teeth, which seem too big to you, will start to look more normal to you as the other teeth start to take place in the mouth and the face grows.
The four incisors in the lower anterior region may be slightly crowded at the age of 7-8. Usually, the parents of our patients are very worried about this situation and apply to our clinic for treatment.
There is no need to be alarmed, because the slight crowding in the lower anterior region is also physiological and, after a complex series of events, the teeth in this region straighten around the age of 12.
Even if some problems with the teeth are noticed during the orthodontic examination of your child between the ages of 7 and 9, your orthodontist may not recommend immediate treatment. In this case, your doctor may apply a ‘wait and see’ approach and say that treatment will start around the age of 12.
In order to achieve the best result, your orthodontist will declare the best time for you.
Sometimes, children may have bad habits such as swallowing incorrectly or breathing through the mouth, sucking fingers, pens, tongues, etc., which are left over from infancy. Interventions to eliminate these bad habits are called preventive treatment.
