Orthodontic treatments in children
WHAT TREATMENTS? AT WHAT AGE ?
WHEN TO START TREATMENT?
The children 3 to 6 year olds normally have baby teeth. They are too small for a correction made at their age to remain stable.
Among the problems commonly detected by the practitioner and identified byparents, is thumb suckingthat persists beyond kindergarten. It is a frequent cause of first consultation.
Visibly, the teeth take the wrong position (teeth forward) and the jaw is deformed; less visibly thumb sucking also causes tongue dysfunction. The tongue adopts an incorrect position at rest and during swallowing. This incorrect position aggravates the deformation already caused by the thumb.
Now thumb sucking comforts the child, it is therefore difficult for him to stop. When the orthodontist considers that thechildhas sufficient psychological maturity, a consultation is organized to bring him to stop the thumb of his own free will.
Too early intervention can lead toenfantto failure and disturb the child psychologically; on the other hand too late an intervention will favor the installation of the deforming habit.
When the child has abandoned thumb sucking, wearing a simple and well-tolerated device corrects deformities of the jaw in 12 months or more while limiting the malposition of the teeth.
If afterwards the child does not replace his tongue in a good position, some lingual rehabilitation sessions with a speech therapist are prescribed.
WHEN TO CONSULT YOUR ORTHODONTIST?
We generally have 4 main categories of orthodontic treatment which are done at different ages: When to consult?
✪Interceptive treatment (between 7-10 years old)
✪ Interceptive treatment followed in some cases by a second phase of treatment
(7-10 years then a second phase after 11 years)
✪ The full treatment (in one step after 11 years)
✪The adult orthodontics with or without surgery
We can add as a recent distinction the invisible treatments ( Lingual and Invisalign) as opposed to conventional, visible treatments using conventional braces
What treatment at what age?
The choice of the age for starting treatment is very important. Your orthodontist , Dr Benguira chooses according to the specific needs of each patient in order to achieve the most effective treatment possible, at a time when the patient is most likely to remain motivated.
What are the stages of orthodontic treatment in children?
There are typically two moments when the question of the need to intervene arises:
1. Around 7-8 years old: one can intervene to redirect growth, and the correction can be stabilized by permanent teeth.
2. Around 11-12 years old: we have 3 key elements so that thetreatmentcancomplete all the permanent teeth are present, there is still growth and the patient is generally cooperative.