Preventive Orthodontics

Many parents wonder why some children in Adelaide are getting mini braces or plates as young as the age of 8. After all, won’t your child grow out of their result?

The truth is that preventative orthodontics rarely has anything to do with teeth straightening. The focus is on guiding the width, size and position of the jaws to ensure there is the best platform available for the future teeth to grow into.

A jaw that is too narrow may cause the adult teeth to squish together requiring unnecessary extractions of permanent teeth. A top jaw that is too far forward may put front teeth in danger of being knocked should your child have a facial injury during sport or play.

The position of a young child’s front teeth may affect their confidence in a school or their speech thus negatively affecting their confidence and development. These are just some of the considerations for early treatment. Options of early treatment include things like mini braces, expansion plates, thumb sucking help and jaw growth guidance.

Those children that have early treatment normally need very reduced orthodontic treatment as a teenager, if needed at all. Once your child has finished their rapid growth phase it is not usually possible to guide the growth of their jaws, so make sure you come in for an assessment early to ensure you give them their best possible chance for a beautiful future smile.

The common misconception of waiting to lose all baby teeth before seeing an orthodontist is often too late. The Australian Orthodontic Association guidelines recommend that all children see an orthodontist at age 8.