In This Post, We’ll Cover:
- Why should I wear a mouthguard?
- Do Braces put you at risk for a sports injury?
- What type of mouth guard should I buy?
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Is Your Child Ready for Their First Visit to the Orthodontist?
As a parent, you love to see your kids smile! At Greater Houston Orthodontics, we know how important it is to take care of your favorite smiles. That is why we recommend bringing your child to see us sooner rather than later.
So when is the best time to schedule an orthodontic appointment for your child?
The American Association of Orthodontics recommends that your child sees an orthodontic specialist at age 7. At that age your child’s jaw is developed enough and they have enough permanent teeth for a trained orthodontist to spot any potential issues with your child’s teeth, mouth and jaw. A combination of growth monitoring and phase 1 treatment can help identify and correct orthodontic issues before they turn into larger, more complicated issues.
What is Phase 1 treatment?
Phase 1 orthodontic treatment, also called early interceptive orthodontics, is a problem-focused treatment plan, aiming to mitigate future orthodontic problems. When you bring your child into Greater Houston Orthodontics, our doctors can assess your child’s needs during the first consultation. Concerns such as crowding, large spacing, problematic facial growth, and bad habits, such as thumb-sucking, cheek-biting, or tongue-thrusting are also taken into consideration. At this assessment, our doctors will develop your child’s individualized treatment plan and determine if phase 1 treatment is right for them.
What appliances are used in Phase 1 treatment?
During phase 1 treatment, a variety of appliances may be recommended by our doctors. Some are well-known, such as braces, expanders, and retainers. Other appliances that could possibly be used during phase 1 treatment include space maintainers, habit correcting appliances, and headgear. No matter what treatment plan is developed for your child, you can rest assured knowing that our doctors are well-educated and trained to take excellent care of your child’s smile.
What are the benefits of Phase 1 treatment?
We talk a lot about early intervention in orthodontics because there are many benefits to undergoing orthodontic treatment as a child. Early treatment can begin the correction of significant problems, prevent additional problems from developing, and simplify future treatment, but oftentimes, additional treatment is still necessary. However, children who have undergone early orthodontic phase 1 treatment typically wear braces or Invisalign for a shorter period of time in their teen or adult years than those who have not undergone early intervention.
Is your child ready for treatment? Schedule an appointment with us today!
Top quality care from world class doctors:
Dr. Amir Davoody, Dr. Rana Mehr, Dr. Thomais Ioannou and Dr. Panagiotis Kyteas are leading orthodontists in the field specializing in orthodontic treatment for adults. The doctors and team use the most advanced treatments available today to provide the most effective, safe, and comfortable experience for their patients. With two convenient locations in West University and Memorial, we are ready to help you start smiling. Please contact our West University or our Memorial office to schedule a complimentary consultation.
Braces and Missing Teeth
Losing teeth is an exciting time in any child’s life. The tooth fairy starts making appearances in your household and adult teeth start to grow in. What’s exciting for your kids might raise some fears and questions for the parents. It’s common to wonder if your child is losing teeth at the right time, or too slowly, or even too quickly. These concerns are normal, and a reason why it’s good to get your child into the orthodontist starting at age seven. Orthodontists Dr. Amir Davoody, Dr. Rana Mehr, Dr. Thomais Ioannou, and Dr. Panagiotis Kyteas at Greater Houston Orthodontics can answer all these questions and more and can start any treatment needed early enough to prevent major issues.
When Should Your Child Start to Lose Teeth?
Usually, the first teeth come loose around age six. Any time between ages five and seven is a normal and healthy time to lose the first tooth. Then, between the ages of eight and ten, there is a brief break in tooth loss. By this time, children have, on average, lost eight teeth. Typically, this is four front top teeth and four front bottom teeth.
Of course, every child is different, and these ages and average numbers may not prove exactly true in real life. Though your child may not follow this exact timing when they lose their teeth, a first visit to the orthodontist is ideal at age seven to make sure that the progression they are following is healthy and timely for their development.
As your child gets older and enters their early teen years new molars start to erupt. The process of tooth eruption, though not uniform, should progress relatively similarly for most children. Your orthodontist can make sure that there is space and a healthy mouth to accommodate your child’s growth, and make sure it is progressing correctly.
Early Treatment Orthodontics
As we’ve mentioned above, it’s best to get your child in to see the orthodontist around age seven. Early treatment in orthodontics is the best way to start a treatment. When you visit the orthodontist early, they can implement preventative treatment for future issues they see arising in your child’s mouth. Because your child should have a mixture of adult and baby teeth at this time, the orthodontist can work with the growth of the mouth to work towards occlusion or an aligned bite.
The Science of Tooth Movement
Teeth move very slowly. While this isn’t exactly what you want to hear when you’re self-conscious about your smile, slow movement is the best and healthiest way to perfect your bite. Tooth movement is a combination between bone cells called osteoclasts breaking down bone matter in the direction the tooth is set to move in and osteoblasts filling in bone matter behind the tooth as it moves. The teeth ideally should move about a millimeter a month during treatment. This seems like a small distance, but it is the best place to maintain health.
So, combining the information about the benefits of early orthodontic treatment and the anatomy and physiology of tooth movement is how your orthodontist is best able to adjust your bite. If you are missing teeth when treatment begins, or loose teeth during treatment, your orthodontist is an expert on timing the movement of your mouth to adjust for the new spaces tooth loss creates.
Is Invisalign Right for You?
The decision to embark on your orthodontic journey is a big one. One of the biggest choices you’ll have to make (besides who your orthodontist is, of course!) is which type of braces you’ll use. With so much innovation in the orthodontic field, we have lots of options to best fit any patient’s needs. Whether you choose traditional braces or Invisalign, our team of orthodontic specialists is here to help you!
In This Post, We’ll Cover
- Choosing Invisalign
- Invisalign Candidacy
- What issues can Invisalign help with
- Invisalign Pain
Read More
What to do if Your Braces Break: Handling Orthodontic Emergencies
It can be scary to be at home, school, or sports practice and feel a part of your braces loosen or even fall completely off your tooth. The good news is that most times these emergencies are minor. A bracket that’s come loose, a wire out of place, or even something falling out of your appliance can be easily fixed by your orthodontist. But here are a few general rules and tips for how to handle these situations in the moment and until you can get into the office for a visit.
What are Some Common Orthodontic Emergencies?
Most emergencies involving braces center around a wire or rubber band coming detached. These two issues are minor and can be easily fixed by your orthodontist. Sometimes a bracket can come loose, and in extreme situations, a bracket could come completely off your tooth. These are times that you would keep the fallen bracket in a safe place and take it with you to your orthodontic appointment.
When Will My Braces Come Off?
The most common question patients ask us is “When will my braces come off?”. More often than “What can I eat with braces?” or “Can I still play my favorite sports?” Patients want to know how long they’ll have to deal with braces at all. It’s an understandable question. Braces are hard to brush and floss around, they come with food restrictions, and they can be a source of embarrassment for teens at school or professionals in the workplace.
It’s common for patients to be excited to begin treatment, but it’s standard for every patient to begin to wonder when they’ll finally get those brackets off. Even though each patient is given an estimated treatment time wearing braces when they start, patients always hope they’ll be the exception that gets their braces off early.
What Your Habits are doing to Your Teeth
Thumb Sucking and Excessive Pacifier Use
Children are born with a natural sucking reflex, which is why they tend to gravitate towards thumb sucking or get attached to a pacifier as a self-soothing tool. This impulse disappears around the four-month mark, but most children keep the habit for much longer. This is natural, and most children end up growing out of any habitual thumb sucking or pacifier use by age four at the latest. Stopping this habit by age four is ideal, and usually results in no long-term orthodontic issues.
The pressure applied to teeth through the continuous sucking motion can cause issues with tooth positioning and the growth of the jaw bones. This can later manifest in an openbite, buck teeth, or underdeveloped lower jaw and chin.
Orthodontists usually recommend that children and parents work to break these habits on their own before treatment starts. If this proves ineffective, there are appliances that an orthodontist can install that make thumb sucking and self-soothing less pleasurable for the child.
Why You Need to Floss Everyday
Here’s What You’ll Learn:
- Why Flossing is Important
- How Often You Should Floss
- Why is Flossing so Important with Braces?
- What’s the Best Way to Floss with braces?