Having a beautiful smile can help to give your child an advantage by helping them be as attractive as possible while also allowing them to be confident. Yet, oral developmental issues may seriously compromise your child's natural smile, and when this is the case, you will need to have your child undergo orthodontic treatments to correct these functional and cosmetic dental issues.

When Will Your Child Need To Start Orthodontic Treatments?

Many parents are not sure of when their child should start to undergo orthodontic treatments. Unfortunately, this can vary from one child to another, but you should have your child regularly inspected by an orthodontist as soon as their juvenile teeth have finished developing. It may not seem like keeping the juvenile teeth straight is a serious concern, as they will fall out, but they help to establish the path the adult teeth will take as they emerge.

Is Headgear Always Required For Orthodontic Patients?

Many new orthodontic patients will be extremely concerned about the prospects of having to wear headgear. However, it is actually fairly rare for a person to need this type of treatment. Typically, this is reserved for those with serious under- or overbites that need to be corrected. Additionally, many patients that are required to use headgear will only need to wear it while they sleep at night. This can allow your child to gradually shift the position of their jaw without having to suffer the embarrassment of wearing this device in public.

What Can Happen If A Regularly Scheduled Appointment In Missed?

Each month, your child will need to visit with the orthodontist so that the progress of the treatment can be evaluated. In many instances, the orthodontist will need to make minor adjustments to the braces so that they continue to effectively shift the position of the teeth.

In the event that you miss one of the appointments, you should schedule a new one as soon as possible. Missing these appointments can delay the progress of your child's treatment in a couple of ways. When the braces are needing to be tightened, they may not move the teeth until the next session. If the braces are too tight, they can shift the teeth too much, and this may force the orthodontist to spend time undoing this overcorrection. Luckily, these issues will be kept to a minimum as long as your child is seen by the orthodontist within a couple of weeks of their normal appointment.

For more information, contact an orthodontist at an office like Orthodontic Associates.