Children’s orthodontics not only shapes smiles, it also influences long-term dental health. From prevention to correction, this early treatment is not only about aesthetics, but about ensuring healthy dental development. Discover how it can benefit your children in their growth and oral well-being.
Interceptive Orthodontics
In the case of children, children’s orthodontics is called interceptive orthodontics. This type of orthodontics receives this name because it aims to “intercept” the growth process of the maxillofacial structure and anticipate the occlusion and bite problems that the child will develop when his/her growth phase has ended, especially prognathous and retrognathism.
Although quite often the child will need orthodontic treatment in adolescence, interceptive orthodontics can be very helpful in limiting the extent of these problems.
How Many Teeth Does A Child Have?
It is quite common for parents to be aware of their children’s dental development and to have doubts about whether everything is correct or not. The question we usually ask ourselves is how many teeth does a child have?
Children, in general, have 20 teeth in total.
- 8 are incisors
- 4 are canines
- 8 are molars.
From the age of 6, the first permanent molar will erupt, that is, from this age we will have to ask ourselves again how many teeth they should have, because they begin to lose temporary teeth and the permanent ones emerge.
This, from the age of 6, is a stage of “mixed dentition”, in which permanent teeth and baby teeth coexist in the mouth for a few years.
Those first permanent teeth that erupt are the ones that will serve as a guide for the future position and occlusion of the rest. In addition, bones are very moldable in childhood, which will make it easier to move teeth and modify bones.
The fact is that, unless there is a very clear malformation of the child’s mouth or face, parents will have a very difficult time detecting an orthodontic problem, since many of them do not have obvious signs, and only a specialist will be able to diagnose it.
Dental appliance for children
If the orthodontist detects a dental problem in the child, starting pediatric orthodontic treatment so soon does not shorten the duration of the treatment, nor does it determine whether one type of “appliance” or another must be placed, but it does influence a more favorable evolution of the case and in avoiding future complications and problems, derived from not intercepting the problem in time.
In any case, and depending on the type of malocclusion that exists in the patient along with their psychological maturity, the orthodontist will be in charge of deciding the best time to begin orthodontic treatment, whether interceptive (prevention) or corrective (reparative).
Dental problems and types of treatment according to the child’s age
Regarding dental health and the need for children’s orthodontics, we can talk about three phases or types of treatment depending on the age and stage of teething in which the child is:
Temporary teeth (3 to 5 years)
At these ages, it is common to find open bites, due to bad habits, such as thumb or pacifier sucking, interposition of the tongue between the teeth when swallowing.
These abnormal habits should be eradicated before the age of three or four so that the malocclusion disappears spontaneously. If it persists, it will be necessary to use devices, speech therapy exercises, etc. that eliminate the habit and correct the already established malocclusion.
We could also find that, due to early cavities, trauma, or even due to lack of eruption of some teeth (agenesis), there were early absences of temporary teeth.
In these cases, the important thing is to preserve the space that the corresponding permanent tooth must occupy, avoiding dental migrations of the adjacent temporary teeth. For this, space maintainers of various types are usually used.
Another possible cause could be tonsillar hypertrophy or some type of rhinitis that prevents the child from breathing correctly, which could cause poor development of the upper jaw, leading to a lack of space for future tooth eruption, among other things.