Signs Your Child May Need Early Orthodontic Treatment

Timing is everything when it comes to orthodontics, but how do you know when your child needs early orthodontic treatment? Here’s everything you need to know.  

What Is Early Orthodontic Treatment?

Early orthodontic treatment, sometimes called Phase 1 or interceptive treatment, happens before age seven and while your child still has baby teeth. Early orthodontics are for significant jaw, tooth, bone, or spacing problems or ones that may become severe over time without treatment.  

For general health, your orthodontist will wait until all your child's permanent teeth come in before starting treatment. However, early treatment aims to interrupt and correct the development problem to make room for teeth and guide your child’s jaw and facial bones as they grow.  

Signs Your Child May Need Early Orthodontic Treatment

You and your dentist can watch for a few things as your child grows. Some concerns may get better on their own, but others may need help to promote healthy growth and development.  

These may include:

• Crossbite, where the top back teeth fall inside the lower teeth or the top front teeth are behind the bottom front teeth when the mouth is closed

• Underbite, where the lower jaw sits out front of the upper jaw, so the top teeth fall behind the bottom teeth

• Missing teeth, also called tooth agenesis

• Too many teeth, called hyperdontia or supernumerary teeth

• Excessive spacing, where there are large gaps between teeth

• Severe crowding, where teeth are too close together or overlap

Regular yearly check-ups with your dentist and early orthodontist assessment can help you monitor your child’s growth and oral development and spot any early concerns. In some cases, treatment may involve a few stages to help promote overall health.

Why Your Child Might Need Early Orthodontics

Jaw, tooth, and other facial bone issues can happen for many reasons, from genetics and dental disease to self-soothing habits and swallowing or breathing concerns.  

Genetics

Some tooth and bone conditions happen because of your child’s genetics, whether from a condition that runs in your family or a spontaneous change in your child’s genes. Some environmental factors can also cause changes that lead to irregular development.  

These include:

• Lack of certain vitamins during pregnancy

• Exposure to radiation or chemo

• Exposure to chemicals like dioxin

Self-Soothing Habits

Self-soothing is an important skill babies learn to help themselves fall asleep and regulate their emotions. At an early age, self-soothing often involves sucking on a pacifier, fingers, or thumb. This habit may be useful when small, but prolonged pacifier use or thumb or finger-sucking can lead to changes in tooth, bone, and facial development.

Mouth breathing

Mouth breathing is when air passes through your child’s mouth instead of the nose. In other words, they breathe with their mouth open instead of closed. It often happens because of a nose or upper airway blockage that forces air through the mouth.  

Sometimes, this habit goes away with time, but it can lead to oral and facial development problems. Mouth breathing changes the muscle position inside the mouth, leading to an imbalance, downward position, and less tongue pressure.  

The result is an open bite, overjet, or crossbite that leads to structural changes. The lower jaw may take a downward and backward position while the upper lip may protrude.

Abnormal swallowing

Swallowing disorders or poor swallowing habits have a similar effect as mouth breathing. As a baby or toddler, your child swallows by pushing the tongue against the gums or teeth to create negative pressure. This is a normal habit.

However, sometimes children don’t learn to use the proper muscles because of mouth breathing, allergies, genetics, or other habits. Eventually, this can lead to structural changes and an open bite that may worsen with time. Early treatment may help correct the problem.  

Next Steps for Early Orthodontics

Early orthodontic treatment may be the key to helping your child grow and develop normally and creating a beautiful smile. Our team at Fleming Orthodontics goes the extra mile, digging deeper into the root causes behind your child’s teeth and delivering precision treatments with leading-edge, advanced solutions. Book an appointment to learn more about your child’s teeth and orthodontic needs.  

‍