When it comes to orthodontic treatment, do you think for the first time that “after a certain celebrity has straightened his teeth, the beauty effect is comparable to plastic surgery”? Therefore, when we are not satisfied with our facial shape, we also want to straighten our teeth.
What we often call “braces” is for dental (caused by tilted teeth) problems, such as crowding and misalignment of teeth. Orthognathic surgery is required if the problem is of skeletal origin (caused by the bones). Orthodontics should be done before orthognathic surgery.
This sounds to make many people “frightened”, after all, “toothache is not a disease, it hurts to kill people”. Therefore, if parents can pay attention to the following details in the process of children’s growth, then the children may be able to avoid the pain of these flesh and blood when they grow up, or the tangle of whether to correct them.
When should you pay special attention to your child’s dental problems
1. Infancy
Babies at this time may not have teeth yet, but poor breastfeeding positions and the baby’s finger-sucking habits (which are normal for babies) can affect the formation of the jawbone.
Therefore, keep an eye on oral health as your child grows and develops.
2. Baby teeth period and tooth replacement period
Most people have a hard time resisting the temptation of sweets throughout their lives, let alone babies. But at this time, the baby has not yet formed the awareness and habit of oral cleaning, so the combination of the two is particularly easy to breed dental caries. If tooth decay is premature, it will affect the entire dental arch and its shape. “Bulge on the top” (bulge of the mouth) or “under the bag” (“cover the sky”) may appear.
In addition, special attention should be paid to your baby’s breathing problems. If the nose is blocked due to illness, or the respiratory tract is blocked due to rhinitis, tonsil inflammation, etc., you need to breathe through your mouth. This situation makes the lip muscles relax, the jaw muscle tension increases, and the cheeks are compressed, causing the upper teeth to protrude and aggravate the formation of buck teeth.
In this case, immediate medical attention (not dentistry) should be sought.
“Braces” sooner?
In medicine, there is no such thing as a “best age.” Just like planting a tree, there are two best times, one is “ten years ago” and the other is “now”.
But if the child is simply misaligned, it is not recommended to put braces on the child too early. Because wearing braces too early will make children uncomfortable, they are unwilling to wear them, which will affect the treatment effect and the treatment time will be longer. And when the child is young, the jaw bone is still growing, and even if it is corrected, it is easy to relapse.
Therefore, if you want to straighten your child’s teeth, the doctor needs to make a judgment based on various factors.
For example, before teeth straightening, if there is periodontitis, the periodontal problem must be solved first, otherwise it will aggravate the condition.
As another example, some “mouth bulges” are caused by overdevelopment of the jawbone. Therefore, in this case, “braces” can only align the teeth, but it may not solve the problem of “mouth protrusion”.
Note: It is “not necessarily”, not “must not”.
Treatment, duration and cost
First, the orthodontic process usually includes extractions, fillings, retainers, nailing, and follow-up visits. The cost of each link and the cost of hospitals and clinics are different, so it is best to ask in advance so as not to exceed the budget and affect the treatment.
The second is braces, which mainly include ordinary braces, self-ligating braces and transparent braces.
Common brackets are available in both metal and ceramic materials. Metal is more cost-effective, but the look and feel and wearing comfort are low; on the contrary, ceramic is greatly improved in look and feel and comfort, but it takes longer.
Self-locking brackets have been improved on the basis of ordinary brackets, so the price has also risen, and the biggest improvement is convenience and cleaning.
Transparent braces are superior to the previous two in terms of sensory and effect. In addition to the price, there is an additional requirement for patients – “self-discipline”, because they must insist on wearing braces for at least 20 hours a day.
Regardless of methods and costs, professional matters should be left to professional people, and specific issues should also be analyzed in detail. Before we consider straightening our children’s teeth, we should humbly listen to the doctor’s advice in addition to considering time (re-visit and the entire cycle) and money (treatment costs).
In addition to being “beautiful,” the experience of braces can also help children gain good oral hygiene habits. However, with or without braces, oral hygiene and health deserve our attention.