Worrying about your child’s health, second-guessing your decisions, and constantly prioritizing them above your needs are inherent behaviors for parents like yourself. You want to ensure their well-being remains paramount and their physical and mental strength isn’t compromised.
However, while most parents and guardians worry about the more obvious signs of health, very few focus on dental hygiene or oral health. Children’s teeth can present various challenges since they are still in the developmental stage. Without the proper treatment and intervention, these problems can manifest into many severe issues in adolescence and adulthood. And this is where the role of an orthodontist comes into play.
Orthodontists are dentists who specialize in diagnosing and treating dental irregularities to ensure there’s proper teeth alignment and bite function. Although they are excellent at their work, the sooner you visit an orthodontist, the better chances your child will have to receive adequate treatment.
But when exactly is the right time?
According to the American Association of Orthodontists, your child should have their first orthodontist visit by age 7 at the latest. But as parents, the thought of taking your children to an orthodontist may seem scary. And so, here are nine reasons to convince you why this visit is crucial.
1. Helps with early detection
Regardless of how well you care for your children or how vigilant you remain in their well-being, you might miss underlying dental issues. But since orthodontists know how to detect these problems, a visit to their clinic can help with early detection and timely intervention.
It’s also important to realize that dental treatments can become incredibly expensive. However, early treatments can fix the problem quickly and prevent a prolonged treatment plan. Simply go online and search for affordable orthodontic treatment near me and schedule your child’s visit now.
2. Preventive care
The old adage “Prevention is better than cure” holds more truth than most people realize. Preventive care ensures your children’s health never gets compromised in the first place and improves treatment effectiveness if a need arises. Orthodontists teach and train children on proper oral hygiene protocols to safeguard their teeth against decay, cavities, swelling, or aches.
Therefore, taking proactive measures for your child’s oral health helps promote a healthy and happy smile and instills in them a lifetime of optimal dental hygiene habits.
3. Speech improvement
Another reason you must take your children to an orthodontist is due to their pivotal role in speech improvement. Dental problems like misaligned teeth or jaw irregularities can impact speech clarity and articulation. When you visit an orthodontist, they can recognize these problems and provide appropriate interventions to address them.
If you don’t pay attention to these problems or fail to seek treatment when necessary, your child’s orthodontic issues can get worse. Additionally, improper speech can shatter your kid’s confidence and make them an object of ridicule among their peers. This behavior can also significantly damage their mental health, which is why getting it checked early is vital.
4. Ensuring optimal growth
Orthodontists possess extensive knowledge and skills that help them keep track of teeth growth. Regular visits to dentists allow them to monitor your child’s development and ensure everything is developing normally as it should. During childhood, the jawbone is still developing, and any interventions an orthodontist makes at this time can have a long-term and efficient impact.
Unfortunately, many parents only seek orthodontic care when their child experiences pain or shows signs of tooth decay. But even if you think your child’s healthy, visiting the orthodontist is necessary to identify any problems you might not know to look out for.
5. Improved aesthetics
Besides treating dental cavities and oral hygiene, orthodontists also work on improving oral cavity aesthetics. Misaligned teeth, gaps, overcrowding, or chipped tooth are frequently occurring problems among children. Although these don’t generally have pressing medical consequences, they can damage your child’s self-confidence and make them conscious about smiling or talking.
Orthodontic treatments like fixing aligners or braces can address these problems and create a symmetrical, aesthetic smile. The sooner you seek this intervention for your child, the better their chances of improved aesthetics for the long haul.
6. Treat jaw growth problems
Poor jaw development is a lot more common than you would think. This often results in problems like overbites, underbites, or crossbites whenever your child tries eating something. Failure to seek consultancy and treatment can lead to discomfort, difficulty chewing, or even severe aches. But an orthodontist can help you identify these issues and suggest necessary treatment plans to prevent this problem from occurring again.
More importantly, timely intervention to treat jaw growth problems doesn’t just improve comfort and function. Instead, it prevents long-term complications from arising in the future.
7. Customized treatment plans
The sooner you take your child for an orthodontic visit, the better opportunities you provide the dentist to study, monitor, and track their growth efficiently. By conducting thorough assessments, the orthodontist can design customized treatment plans for your child that uniquely address specific concerns. With an extensive medical history, these professionals can devise the appropriate treatment plan while considering your child’s growth trajectory and problems.
This personalized orthodontic treatment approach improves treatment outcomes and enhances your overall experience with this healthcare professional by helping build your trust in them.
8. Avoid lengthy and costly treatments
Orthodontic problems that typically require a simple fix can lead to complications such as dental decay or gum disease if you don’t seek timely treatment. Therefore, taking your child to an orthodontist before an underlying issue worsens is a proactive step that can prevent lengthy and expensive treatments in the future. By addressing your child’s dental problems, the orthodontist can effectively mitigate discomfort and severe complications in the future.
Early interventions can also significantly decrease treatment costs since it reduces the number of follow-up visits you make to the orthodontist. As an adult, treating dental problems becomes more complex and challenging to maneuver around, requiring multiple treatment stages than a child would need.
9. Acquaint with the dentist
For more effective treatment, your child must feel comfortable with the orthodontist and the clinical setting they work in. Therefore, the sooner you take your children for a visit, the better chances they’ll have to acquaint themselves with the surrounding. This way, if or when a need arises to seek dental treatment, your child won’t be afraid to get the necessary procedure done.
Conclusion
As parents, it’s normal to feel like you’re out of your element when caring for your child’s health. However, a simple appointment with the nearest orthodontist can help fix your worries and prevent your children from developing dental complications now or later in life.
