An Orthodontist Doesn't Just Treat, He Also Prevents Dental Problems

Perhaps you consider medical professionals, like an orthodontist, as people you only visit when you have a medical issue. Hence, you consider it unnecessary to have regular orthodontic visits, unless you actually do have a dental issue.

What you may not realise is the fact that that a seemingly unnecessary orthodontic visitation schedule is actually saving you from future dental issues. Prevention is definitely better than cure.

Prevention is Especially Useful for Children

The Australian Society of Orthodontists recommends orthodontic visitation for young children from as early as 8 to 10 years. This isn't just a frivolous suggestion; rather, it's based on the critical necessity to prevent and curb potential orthodontic problems.

These early years of a child's life are characterised by a phenomenon that's unique to children, known as mixed dentition. It's a stage whereby the child still has many temporary teeth, although some permanent teeth are still erupting. In such a situation various complications are likely to arise; something that you wouldn't find in adults.

There are two scenarios that may arise in these early years:

i. If the baby teeth fall out too early, permanent teeth may end up erupting in wrong positions.

ii. On the other hand, delays in falling out of baby teeth may lead to eruption of permanent teeth behind them.

As you might already visualize, such situations would mean misplaced dentition which would require more extensive orthodontic treatment. Such extensive treatment can be prevented beforehand through early orthodontic care. A qualified medical professional would be able to gauge the appropriate time to extract baby teeth, which would help proper eruption of permanent teeth.

Moreover, if any dental issue arises, it would be combated before it becomes pervasive. You would easily detect certain symptoms which show that your child might need dental care:

a. Mouth breathing

b. Crowded front teeth, typically visible at around age 7 or 8.

c. Thumb sucking in children who are older than 5 years.

d. Protruding teeth, especially the front teeth.

e. Shifting of the jaw as the child opens and closes his/ her mouth.

f. Difficulties in biting and chewing.

g. Speech impediments.

h. The teeth aren't properly aligned, hence they don't meet properly.

Such incidences can be competently managed by a professional before they get out of hand.

Treatment is Most Effective and Efficient During Teenage Years

The ASO notes that orthodontic treatment is usually applied during the teenage years. This is a time when treatment is most efficient and cost effective. If cost is your biggest concern, then you would be wise to seek treatment for your child during such early years; rather than waiting for the dental issue to advance into the adult years, when it would be more costly and less effective.

During a teen's growth and development, it would be much easier to achieve proper re-alignment of dentition. This would produce much faster and better results than applying similar treatment in adulthood. Actually, if dental issues remain untreated, they may further advance and would require much more complex and expensive treatment modalities, including extraction of permanent teeth and jaw surgery.

Article Source: http://www.abcarticledirectory.com

If you need professional, yet family-friendly orthodontic care, you'll find it at Corinna St. Orthodontics. CST Orthodontics is nationally accredited, offering the highest quality medical care, visit us for more information.

Posted on 2016-02-07, By: Sam Whittle *

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