My child’s permanent teeth are coming in crooked. Is now the right time to seek a consultation for braces or plates?
At Gisborne Family Dental, we understand the interest you may have in braces and orthodontics for your young children. Our Gisborne orthodontists are here to help you and your family.
Some factors such as genetic predisposition and early childhood health issues can cause underdevelopment of jaw bones, and hence showing the signs of your child’s permanent teeth coming in crooked at a fairly young age.
Like most conditions, underdeveloped jaws and crooked teeth may not affect function or cause any noticeable problems when it’s early and in milder forms. However, if allowed to progress, they can often lead to much bigger issues such as misalignment of upper and lower jaws, jaw pain, and uneven wear and tear of teeth.
There are some conditions where earlier treatment can prevent much bigger problems down the track, for example, a crossbite. If you suspect your child has jaw underdevelopment or crooked teeth, we encourage you to visit us for an orthodontic screening consultation at our Gisborne clinic.
Our orthodontists in Gisborne will assess and advise accordingly on whether there are reasons for concern, and if any orthodontic treatment such as braces or plates for your child may be required.
How are childhood sleep issues or nasal breathing problems related to crooked teeth?
Nasal breathing disturbance is linked to poor sleep and can happen to adults or children. It is more dangerous in children as their brain development is affected, and it’s harder to detect because children don’t tend to snore audibly.
How can dentists detect it? When nasal breathing is inefficient, the patient becomes a mouth breather. Because of the mouth breathing, jaw bones don’t develop normally and teeth continue to come through into the smaller jaw that lacks space. This is what often creates the appearance of crooked teeth.
Did you have teeth removed and braces as a teenager and now want your child to have a better outcome and less trauma?
Traditional orthodontics sometimes took the “shortcut” of removing healthy adult teeth in order to straighten teeth with braces, leaving a compromised result and more traumatic patient experience.
At Gisborne Family Dental, we avoid this by intervening early enough, when there’s still natural growth potential to harness.
We use devices that gently guide and promote growth of jaw bones, with the help of a compliant patient. This way the jaw bone is grown to accommodate all the teeth, the way nature meant for it to be.
We avoid the need to remove healthy adult teeth, therefore less trauma for you and your children. Other benefits of this orthodontic and braces method include a general health improvement due to a larger jaw, maintaining healthy airways, and better facial features – think nice wide smiles and high cheekbones!
We are all about the best possible orthodontic care for you and your family. It takes a holistic team to do that.
When we’re able to identify underdevelopment issues earlier, we’re not only able to create healthy jaws and straight teeth. You and your family will also benefit from better general health, improved facial features, as well as performing better in everyday activities.
The different parts of the human body work in sync with each other, and therefore we may recommend you to seek care from other health professionals, such as a medical GP, an ENT specialist, a sleep physician, an osteopath or a myotherapist.
At Gisborne Family dental, our experienced orthodontists can advise whether braces or plates are the best option.
