Early Orthodontic Treatment for Kids
Grants Pass, OR
 When you think of someone who needs to see an orthodontist, you probably picture a teenager, or maybe a preteen. While many who are in middle or high school need to change their smiles, issues can start a lot earlier than that.
Here at Robinson Orthodontics, we have some patients who are as young as six or seven years old. If your pediatric dentist has recommended that your young child come to see us for an appointment, remember that it is not uncommon. With some issues, the earlier we start treatment, the better the chance that your child will have a beautiful smile for his or her entire life.
What You Need to Know About Early Orthodontics
A child does not need to have all of his or her adult teeth to need our services. Here is what you should know about early orthodontics.
First, let us take a moment to explain what orthodontics is. Orthodontics is a dental specialty that deals with irregularities in the teeth, jaw, or other facial areas. Yes, we are the ones whom you will see for braces, but there is more to it than that.
By the time a child reaches the age of six or seven, we will have a good idea of what is going on with his or her teeth. We can tell if the child has a bite problem, for example. We will also have an idea of how the teeth are going to come in. This is a case where we would like to treat the problem before it has a chance to get worse.
One of the common things that we will treat a young child is a bite problem. An overbite or an underbite is just going to get worse as he or she grows. That is why it is important to treat the bite problem while your child is still young.
A young child might still be a thumb sucker, which is not good for the teeth. Another habit many young children have is pushing their teeth with their tongues. These will both affect the way that the adult teeth will come in, and these habits need to stop. We can help.
We can also help with a protruding jaw, adult teeth that have not come in properly, crowding in the jaw, and other issues. These things will get worse as your child gets older.
Often orthodontics will take place in two steps. We will start to treat your child at a young age so that the problems do not get worse. When your child is a bit older, and all of the adult teeth are in, we will continue with the second step of the treatment. Traditional braces for teens or Invisalign clear aligners. is not uncommon!
Here at Robinson Orthodontics, we want to make sure that your child will have a healthy mouth and a beautiful smile. Call (541) 441-8288 to make an appointment. We know that you will have questions and that your child might be a little bit scared. We would like to answer your questions and show your child that there is nothing to be afraid of.
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