{"id":1058,"date":"2023-04-12T14:51:49","date_gmt":"2023-04-12T18:51:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/warsaworthodontics.com\/?p=1058"},"modified":"2023-04-12T14:53:19","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T18:53:19","slug":"when-should-children-see-an-orthodontist-earlier-than-you-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/warsaworthodontics.com\/when-should-children-see-an-orthodontist-earlier-than-you-think\/","title":{"rendered":"When Should Children See An Orthodontist? Earlier Than You Think"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Dr. Emily Watson<\/strong><\/p>\n If you suggest to parents that their child visit an orthodontist as early as age 2, you\u2019ll likely get a startled reaction. Then come the questions. Or maybe just one question expressed in a single word: Why?<\/p>\n After all, in the view of many parents, the orthodontist is someone a child visits in late elementary school or middle school, when crooked teeth need to be straightened, and the soon-to-be teenager who refuses to smile can finally show their teeth without the self-consciousness that haunts young people at that age.<\/p>\n In contrast, small children still have all their baby teeth, and a full set of permanent teeth is years off. Parents often figure they will wait until the braces are needed \u2014 and then act.<\/p>\n But for so many children, early intervention by an orthodontist serves as a way to avoid problems that will surface later, taking care of them before they have the opportunity to worsen and potentially require more drastic steps.<\/p>\n Why the rush?<\/p>\n It is important to consider that more than half \u2014 60% \u2014 of a child\u2019s facial growth and development is accomplished by age 6. If the orthodontist can spot bad habits or improper growth before that development happens, then some problems may never occur at all.<\/p>\n What might those habits and unwelcome growth trends be? They include: thumb sucking, mouth breathing, tongue thrusting, anterior and posterior crossbites, and severe crowding. All of these can change a child\u2019s growth pattern, whether they have all baby teeth, some baby teeth, and some permanent teeth, or all permanent teeth.<\/p>\n Children experience the best outcomes when the orthodontist can correct bad habits and misaligned teeth early on while the child is still in a phase of rapid growth. It is much easier to influence the more malleable bone in children rather than allow unfavorable growth to continue and try to correct when bones are harder and more \u201cset.\u201d<\/p>\n Believe me, I understand the hesitation about making an orthodontic appointment for children so young. I\u2019m a parent myself who, at the time of my first daughter\u2019s birth, would not have considered this as something to explore. And I\u2019m also an orthodontist who at one time questioned this as well, especially since while in residency, we never saw children when they only had primary (baby) teeth present.<\/p>\n