Many parents don’t think about braces until their children are just on the cusp of adolescence. Orthodontists can spot problems with dental alignment and jaw growth as early as age 7, long before children have their permanent teeth and corrections are more challenging.
By age 7, enough permanent teeth are present for an orthodontist to evaluate the relationships between the teeth, the child’s jaw and the bite. In many cases, an early orthodontic check-up can prevent much bigger problems in the future.
Some of the more apparent conditions that call for a child to have an orthodontic check up include:
- Early or late loss of baby teeth.
- Difficulty in chewing or biting.
- Jaws that shift or make sounds.
- Mouth breathing.
- Thumb sucking.
- Teeth that meet abnormally or don’t meet at all.
- Teeth that appear above the gum line.
- Tongue Thrusting
- Cross bites
- Severe Protrusions