Whether you are a child or young person that is considering having braces, or whether you are a parent who is being asked to make that sort of decision on behalf of your child, it is never an easy decision. On the one hand, you have slightly painful and discomforting braces that you will have to wear for a long time, and on the other hand you have straight and perfect teeth that are healthy and happy. You have to go through one to get the other, and it’s not always a pleasant process – but the end results are always so spectacular, Dr Paige Woods has never seen a patient regret their decision to have braces, and the best time to have them is when the patient is under eighteen.
This is because children’s teeth are still growing and moving around, making it easier to encourage them to move to a particular place. An adult’s teeth have settled, and it can be quite difficult to encourage them to move around the mouth. If you think that your child may need braces, then we recommend that they see an orthodontic dentist at around seven years old, so that if the expert believes that they will need to have braces, they can have them young so that the braces will not interfere with their lives for too long. The appointment will include a visual examination of the child’s mouth, including jawline, and an x-ray to see the future development of teeth that have not come through yet.
From this consultation a recommendation will be made, and if that is for the child to have braces then you have time to consider exactly how you want to broach this with your child. Fixed braces are often the best choice for under eighteens, as they cannot be lost, broken, or forgotten – and they have the added benefit of being the fastest treatment too.
Source: http://sandiegodentist.org/orthodontics/braces/braces-for-children/
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