If you’re a parent, taking your child to his or her first orthodontics appointment can raise a host of questions. You may be questioning whether or not your child truly needs orthodontic treatment, especially at a time when he or she is still growing (at the speed of light, it seems!).
The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that all children have an orthodontic check-up at the age of seven. At this age, their adult teeth have grown in enough for the orthodontist to recognize any potential problems. Orthodontists are specialized dentists who have undergone three additional years of rigorous residency training at an accredited university, making them experts on dental and facial irregularities which can have lasting effects beyond the appearance of your child’s teeth.
Beyond the Smile: Orthodontic Treatment Benefits for Kids
The American Journal of Orthodontics recently published a study* which indicated that as many as one in three young children can benefit from braces or other orthodontic treatments. As their adult teeth begin to grow in, any uncorrected irregularities can have lasting effects on your child’s overall health well into their teenage and adult years.
The study revealed that children who received recommended orthodontic treatment scored high on tests for social and emotional well-being, allowing them to feel better about themselves overall. You may remember the difficulty you experienced during your own pre-teen and teenage years—self-esteem is hard to come by at that age!
Other benefits of recommended orthodontic treatment include better breathing & sleep, a reduction of potential damage to jaw joints, and eliminating the need for even more costly procedures down the road.
An Orthodontist Your Family Can Trust (And Afford)
When your family chooses our family at Molen Orthodontics, we go the extra mile to make sure your kids feel safe and confident during their visits. We take the time to determine the best treatment for your child in an effort to minimize the amount of orthodontic treatment they may require.
We know raising a family is expensive, which is why we offer highly flexible payment plans and options, and a FREE consultation for your child! We’ll also work with your insurance provider to make sure you receive the maximum benefits you’re entitled to.
To learn more about how orthodontic treatment could benefit your child, download A Parent’s Guide to the Benefits of Braces now, or book your FREE consultation!
* American Journal of Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics
Volume 135, Issue 5, Pages 580-585, May 2009
This is some great information, and I appreciate your point that kids who receive orthodontic treatment feel better about themselves. All of my son’s adult teeth are in, and some of them are pretty crooked, and I think it makes him self-conscious. I’ll definitely look into getting him braces so he can feel confident about his smile. Thanks for the great post!
I didn’t realize how important orthodontic treatment can be for your children! I haven’t taken my kids to an orthodontist before, so it’s probably about time that I do that. I want to make sure they have nice teeth growing up, after all! Thanks for sharing!
I think you can really know if your child needs braces by going to an orthodontist. They would know the best just because they know how straight the teeth need to be. I also think you should wait until they have all of their permanent teeth before you start thinking about braces for your kids.
The great news is that our Orthodontists see children as early at 7 years old to watch for development completely complimentary. So while they might still have baby teeth, treatment is held until it will be most beneficial to that patient for proper development. Thanks for the comment!
I didn’t realize that braces could help with health issues as well as make your smile look beautiful. My sister has some crocked teeth so I will suggest she gets them checked out to see if braces could help her prevent any future problems. How long do people usually wear them? Thanks for this information!
It depends on the severity of the problem but on average our patients are in treatment for 18-24 months.
My child’s dentist recently recommended that we take him to the orthodontist to talk about braces, but I feel like he is to young for this right now. So I am curious to know if there are benefits for a child to getting braces on at a young age. I like how you pointed out that when it comes to a child getting a braces on at an early age is that it will help him score well in tests for social and emotional well-being. To me it will be great to see him succeed well in life at all ages.
Alex you may be right. Often times dentists recommend a young patient see an orthodontist simply for an exam to determine if any early treatment is warranted or if the problem can simply be monitored. We like to see patients at age 7 so we can gather baseline records which will give us context as we monitor their dental growth. Very rarely do we recommend treatment on a 7 year old but it’s still critical that we see them at a young age so we can make educated treatment recommendations in the future.