When it comes to your child, you want to give them the best of everything. This includes the best orthodontic treatment in Missouri to ensure that they have the best oral care throughout their childhood and even into their adolescent and adult lives. This is why childhood orthodontic treatments are so important.

The treatment process begins with a full evaluation by one of our orthodontic specialists at every cleaning appointment. If anything is found that may be an issue, our friendly and experienced team will guide you and provide you with the best guidance on treatment options that may be available to your child.

Our expert team will also make use of the latest technologies to take detailed scans and x-rays so that they can recommend the best treatment plan for your child. When choosing the best orthodontic treatment for your child, there are two types of treatments to note: interceptive orthodontic treatment and comprehensive orthodontic treatment.

‍Interceptive Orthodontic Treatment
‍Interceptive orthodontic treatment is most effective for younger children that are still very much growing. This kind of treatment is perfect for children between the ages of 7 and 10 years old as they will still have most of their baby teeth with one or two permanent teeth finding their way in. The main reason for this kind of treatment is because it is much easier to manipulate a growing jaw compared to one that is already fully grown. This can help provide the right treatment early enough to help avoid the probability of needing to remove teeth in multiple surgeries later on.

This kind of treatment is not designed to prevent braces, but to help resolve a wide range of other issues your child may be facing. This includes creating space in their mouth for teeth to grow uninterrupted, creating facial symmetry through influencing their jaw growth, reducing the risk of trauma due to protruding front teeth, reducing the need for teeth removal, and reducing the treatment time with braces.

This means that this kind of treatment can help your child live a more comfortable childhood while also helping reduce the time of their orthodontic treatments later on in life. With an average treatment time between 9 and 16 months, this can be an incredibly effective treatment for your child’s development.

‍Comprehensive Orthodontic Treatment
‍Comprehensive orthodontic treatments normally follow interceptive treatment and are best suited for children between the ages of 11 and 13 years old. This is because most or all of their permanent teeth will need to be in place for the treatment to be effective. This is where braces and other aligners will be recommended to help straighten your child’s permanent teeth. These treatments can vary quite a bit depending on your child’s exact needs. Although the treatment times may vary, the average treatment will take around 18 to 24 months.

‍Braces
‍One of the most effective and popular orthodontic treatments for children is braces. These are specially designed metallic brackets that consist of both an upper and lower bracket placed onto your permanent teeth. This kind of treatment is ideal and most effective for children that have most or all of their permanent teeth in place and are in need of their final correction.

There are also a variety of different kinds of braces available. This includes traditional braces made of metal, ceramic braces that are made of tooth-colored ceramic to seem invisible, lingual braces that can be attached to the backs of your teeth, and even clear aligners that can be removed. Although there are other alignment treatments available, braces are the most popular and trusted orthodontic treatment for children as they don’t require your child to remember anything while they work seamlessly in the background.

With traditional braces, you will also have elastic rubber bands attached to them to exert the correct amount of pressure to move teeth. Over time, the elasticity of the rubber can wear out, meaning that the pressure being exerted onto the tooth will decrease as well. To avoid this, you should remember to replace your elastics every day. In addition to this, you should remember to always wear them and only remove them when you are brushing your teeth, gums, and braces after your meals. It is also recommended that you carry a few elastics with you so that if they snap and break you can replace them right away.

If your elastics break frequently, a wire or band loosens, or a hook breaks off, contact us as soon as possible to help you fix the problem before your next appointment.

‍Living with Braces
‍Braces can be a great way to help straighten your child’s teeth in no time. This is an incredibly effective and safe orthodontic treatment that helps millions of children around the world every year. However, having braces does mean that you may need to avoid certain foods and activities as they could damage the braces and make your treatment less effective.

Sticky foods should be avoided at all costs. Unfortunately, this includes chewing gum as it can easily get stuck between the wires and can be incredibly difficult to remove. Some other popular sticky foods to avoid include caramels, Sugar Daddies, Starburst, Sugar Babies, toffee, and Tootsie Rolls. Hard foods can also be an issue as they can loosen or even break a bracket. These hard foods include Jolly Ranchers, Jaw Breakers, lollipops, nuts, bagels, apples, pizza crusts, uncooked carrots, Doritos, and pretzels.

‍Orthodontic Emergencies
‍If you ever have any issues with your braces, feel free to contact us immediately to set up an emergency appointment to repair any damage. In the event of an emergency, our dedicated team of specialists will make every effort to see you on the same day. We ask that you always call before coming into our office so that we can do our best to fit both your schedule and ours.

‍Benefits of Orthodontic Treatment
‍Orthodontic Treatment can have a huge impact on the quality of your child’s life. Corrected teeth are a lot less likely to chip and wear away. In addition to this, well-aligned teeth are much easier to clean and are more well protected against decay. Ideally positioned teeth lessen the chance of gingivitis, recession, and gum disease. A good bite can also result in less strain on your jaw muscles, leading to better chewing. One of the most important benefits to note is that orthodontic treatment can have a huge and positive impact on your child’s confidence and well-being.

If you leave your child’s orthodontic issues untreated, it can worsen the situation and even lead to more issues in the future. Untreated issues can result in rapid tooth decay, periodontal disease, digestive issues, abnormal wear on the tooth surface, stress on their gum tissue, misalignment of the jaw joints, chronic headaches, and decreased self-esteem.

‍Get Your Child the Best Orthodontic Treatment in Missouri
‍For the best orthodontic treatment in Missouri, look no further than Pediatric Dental Specialists. Here at Pediatric Dental Specialists, we care deeply about our patients and are dedicated to providing care of the highest quality. We are experienced in a variety of services for your little one including orthodontic treatments, adolescent oral care, infant care, oral health, cavity prevention, as well as emergency care and education.

If you want to learn more about all the services we offer, visit our website today or feel free to contact our team today for more information. You can give us a call on (913) 649-KIDS (5437) or request an appointment with one of our board-certified specialists online.