Does your child need braces? Find out
So, you’re worried your child’s teeth are too crooked and require straightening. What do you do?
Some crookedness in baby teeth is OK, and they may correct themselves over time (learn more about that in our article “My baby’s teeth are coming in crooked: What should I do?”). But, keep an eye out for these signs in case the problem needs more attention.
8 signs your child might need braces
1. Misaligned teeth
As we mentioned, crooked baby teeth is not by itself a problem. Often teeth can fix themselves, as baby teeth are only placeholders for adult teeth and if the adult teeth come through OK, there’s nothing to worry about.
That said, a more severe misalignment – known as a malocclusion – could be a sign some correction is needed. Some common misalignments in children are:
An open bite, where the back teeth meet but not the front teeth when the jaw is closed.
An overbite, where the upper teeth overlap the bottom teeth too far.
An underbite, where the lower teeth overlap the upper teeth.
A crossbite, where some upper teeth overlap the bottom teeth, and some bottom teeth overlap the upper teeth.
Catching this problem early is important to prevent misaligned baby teeth from encouraging the permanent teeth to grow improperly.
2. Crowded teeth
Dental crowding is when, for various reasons, a child’s teeth come in all competing for space. This can push many of them out at odd angles, causing some of the teeth to appear either in front or behind their neighbour, perhaps grow higher or lower on the gum, come in twisted, and other such misalignments.
Dental crowding can also cause the misalignments we described above, and often results in an uncomfortable bite, jaw pain, difficulties brushing, or trouble talking. We’ll cover some of these below, too.
3. Prolonged thumb-sucking or use of a pacifier
Ideally, your child should generally be weaned off the use of a pacifier and the sucking of their thumb from about the age of 12-24 months onwards. By the time they turn four years, it is often best for the habits to have completely stopped.
This is because thumb-sucking and the use of a dummy/pacifier can actually cause oral health problems. The constant sucking motion, pushing on the teeth, and having an object in the mouth all the time can encourage baby teeth to grow crooked – an open bite, for example, is quite a common symptom of prolonged pacifier use.
Learn more: “When to wean your child off dummies – for their oral health!”
4. Baby teeth falling out too soon
Baby teeth are like signposts for a child’s adult teeth to follow. These milk teeth fall out when the permanent teeth are ready to come in, and their growth severs the nerve of the baby teeth and then pushes them out – to be replaced by adult teeth.
If your child’s baby teeth have fallen out too soon, perhaps due to injury or gum disease, the adult teeth that were meant to follow won’t have that signpost. This can cause problems in their development – they might ‘drift’ to fill the gap, which could lead to their neighbours then having no room to grow.
Alternatively, the neighbouring baby teeth might drift into the space instead, leading to the same problem. Braces can help prevent this from happening, holding the spot for the adult teeth to come through correctly.
5. Difficulty chewing
If your child is having difficulty chewing due to the placement of their teeth, this could be a sign that they are too crooked.
Problems with chewing can lead to problems with digestion, as when food isn’t chewed up enough it could lead to bloating, diarrhoea, cramps and more.
Another symptom of chewing difficulties is the regular biting of the cheek or tongue. If your child occasionally bites their cheek and tongue this is OK – we all do it! But if it’s happening a lot, it may mean their teeth are in the wrong spot and causing problems.
6. Mouth breathing
Excessive mouth breathing can cause problems in the mouth in a few ways, especially for children.
For one, it has been connected to development problems in the jaw, lips and face. It can also dry out the saliva in the mouth, leading to higher rates of bacteria growth (which can then contribute to gum disease and tooth decay).
Should these developmental issues occur, your child may need braces to help their face develop correctly while an ear, throat and nose specialist helps them with their breathing.
7. Speech problems
Children need their teeth in order to properly develop speech and language.
Teeth and jaw development play an important role in a child’s ability to talk, and if this has been affected in any way by injury, misalignment, or other such problems, there may be a knock-on effect in the way they talk – a lisp being a common example, and more severe instances being difficulties pronouncing certain words, or finding talking at all quite hard.
8. Jaw pain
Problems in the mouth may not have very obvious outward signs, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there.
You may find that if your child needs braces but their teeth look OK, they might still experience mouth or jaw pain on a regular basis that they cannot explain. That said, jaw pain can be caused by a few different problems and braces might not be necessary for all of them.
Either way, a trip to the dentist will be necessary to diagnose the issue and suggest treatment.
What age is best for a child to get braces?
This is a hard question to answer, as it depends on the child and the problems at hand.
A common age to get braces is somewhere between 9 and 14 years old. This is when your child has some adult teeth, or perhaps all of them, and so the corrections being made will last them their entire life.
That said, there are many teeth and jaw problems that would need to be solved sooner than that – so your child’s adult teeth grow properly in the first place. Here, early interceptive orthodontics might be required in order to get on top of the issue before it gets worse.
Learn more: Orthodontics at Kowhai Dental
How much are braces for kids in Northland?
The cost of braces here in Northland is going to depend very much on two things: the scope of the problem, and the dentist in question.
The average price for normal braces is generally around $3,500 to $4,500, covering a year of treatment. Sometimes it can get a lot higher, though, up to $9,000.
At Kowhai Dental, our Fastbraces® treatment starts at $3,973 and can range up to $6,000 or so.
To get a specific price, we’ll need to be able to examine your child’s mouth and talk to you about their needs. To book an appointment, give us a call on 09 430 0707, pop in to see us on Maunu Road, or book online.
Read next:
— Our price list here at Kowhai Dental
— “What to do when your baby gets teeth: A complete guide”
— “Affording the dentist in Northland: What help is available?”