Often times parents will ask, "when should their child be seen for their first
dental visit?" Usually the concern is that their child is not brushing enough or that they may have some cavities. These are valid reason for bringing your child in for an early evaluation and the initial dental assessment; with hopes to keep dental treatments to a minimum and so that an effective preventative dental care program may be implemented early.
It's always easier to commence required dental treatment at some point in the future, after your child has become familiar with the dental office, the staff and the doctor. This early introduction to the dental team is an essential element to long term success. A "becoming familiar lead in time with both your child and the dental team" with perhaps cleanings and preventative care treatment being the main focus of pediatric treatment, is usually one of the keys to a successful, healthy, positive long-term relationship with your child. A relationship we can all enjoy together for many years.
Perhaps even more significant than cavities of the primary teeth, which will be lost in a few years and replaced by the generally larger size permanent adult teeth are the early and usually recognizable issues of dental crowding and alignment. Today more general dentists, involve themselves with the child patient issues of crowding and orthopedic development. Most often orthodontic problems can show signs as early as 3 to 4 years old as a result of growth, skeletal growth and development issues.
Narrow dental arches, dental arch discrepancies, insufficient room in the dental arches, dental cross bites, anterior cross bites, anterior open bites, jaw shifts, overbites, under bites and tongue thrusts and thumb sucking habits are to name a few of the dental conditions that can be seen very often at a very early age, even as early as 3 to 6 years old.
Young patient may not be ready for treatment at the age they are first evaluated (if seen at the recommended age 3) but preliminary dental findings, parental discussions review of preliminary records will help parents to understand the many early interceptive treatment options that can be considered. In our office, by age 6 many young patients may be treated with early interceptive orthopedic treatment to correct skeletal developmental problems that a contributing to these dental misalignments, arch discrepancies, and facial imbalances. Most often interceptive orthopedic correction will eliminate a large number of these dental crowding issues, and correct many of the dental cross bites, and space issues to accommodate for all of the developing permanent teeth.
Today probably the most valued dental contribution we can offer our young patients and families is being able to diagnose many of these skeletal orthopedic conditions that are the primary influence to the dental alignment, cosmetic problems and facial esthetic problems we see in the younger patient.
Although these orthodontic challenges are still treatable as your child matures, the number of options is decreasing and the chances that surgical corrections to correct some of the more severe skeletal discrepancies are more likely. Finally, we find that a large number of these patients seem to be treated with extraction of permanent teeth; due to the lack of room in the dental arches to accommodate all of the permanent teeth. As the child grows older the opportunity to take advantage of their own growth, an intercepting with interceptive orthopedic appliances decreases. Interceptive orthopedic development encourages your child’s jaws to grow, during a time when all of the permanent teeth are erupting into their jaws. Just a bit more growth can and will accommodated for their entire, beautiful, natural smile that they were given.
Office Phone 253 839 7270
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