We always want the best for our children, as their smiles suggest. Straightening teeth might be first associated with traditional orthodontics, but there is a proactive method called interceptive orthodontics. Early intervention seeks to find and solve possible orthodontic problems in children, usually between 6 and 10, while their jaws are still expanding and growing. View it as directing the smile toward a more correct and healthy future, decreasing the need for more drastic treatment in the future.
At Epic Dentistry for Children and throughout the landscape of dentistry for children the focus is on building good and happy oral habits from a young age. By handling early indications of malocclusion (bad bite) or skeletal disparities, interceptive orthodontics helps significantly this. Early action by orthodontists allows them to use the child’s growth potential to affect jaw development and tooth eruption, producing more predictable and frequently less invasive treatment results.
What problems does interceptive orthodontics help with?
Several indicators might show the need for interceptive orthodontic treatment.
- Crossbites: This occurs when your upper teeth bite inside the lower teeth either at the front or back of the mouth. Early correction can prevent tooth damage and jaw asymmetry.
- Underbite: This occurs when the lower teeth protrudes over the upper teeth. Interceptive therapy can assist in directing the upper jaw’s development forward.
- Open bite: This happens when the rear teeth are closed, separating the top and lower front teeth. Habits like thumb sucking or tongue thrusting can be related to it.
- Crowding: While some minor crowding may clear up, major problems must be fixed early to direct erupting teeth into more appropriate positions.
- Ectopic eruption: Ectopic eruption is the term for teeth erupting in an unusual direction. It hinders the other teeth from emerging properly.
- Harmful oral habits: It includes prolonged thumb sucking or tongue thrusting, which can affect jaw development and tooth alignment. Appliances may be used in interceptive therapy to help break these habits.
- Early loss of primary teeth: Early loss of primary teeth could cause adjacent teeth to move, reducing the space available for the permanent teeth. Space maintainers can prevent this.
Why early intervention matters?
Many advantages of interceptive orthodontics could affect a youngster’s long-term oral health and general well-being:
- Interceptive therapy can shape the upper and lower jaws, improving facial balance and lessening the degree of future malocclusion.
- Early treatment of crowding can prevent the later need for the removal of permanent teeth. This will free up space for emerging ones.
- Appliances may be used to dissuade thumb sucking or tongue thrusting and so avoid their adverse effects on dental growth.
- Correcting obvious alignment issues can improve a youngster’s self-esteem and help them feel more beautiful.
- Early intervention can simplify or negate the need for extensive orthodontic therapy later on, like braces or surgery, reducing the necessity for more difficult treatment in later life.
- By correcting protruded teeth, one may lower the chance of injury to these teeth.
- Good speech articulation and effective chewing depend on correctly aligned teeth.
Conclusion
Interceptive orthodontics creates an excellent opportunity to actively preserve a child’s dental growth. Early identification of potential issues lets us create conditions that produce better smiles and enhanced functions combined with boosted self-esteem, leading to improved life prospects for children. A pediatric dentist must check your child regularly to see if they need the help of interceptive orthodontic treatment.
