Early Treatment
By age 7, most children have a combination of baby and adult teeth. For this reason, it is important to bring your child for an orthodontic check at around 7 years of age. Early detection of orthodontic problems is important, even if there is a decision not to begin treatment. Monitoring from a young age may prevent more serious problems from developing, and may make treatment at a later stage shorter and less complicated.
What are the possible signs of orthodontic problems? Here’s what you need to look out for:
- Early or late loss of baby teeth
- Difficulty in chewing or biting
- Breathing through the mouth
- Thumb sucking
- Crowded teeth
- Jaw that seems too far forward or back
- Biting the cheek or roof of the mouth
- Protruding teeth
- Upper and lower teeth that don’t meet, or meet in an abnormal way
- Unbalanced facial appearance
- Grinding or clenching the teeth