All of us have gone through the "braces" phase in high school … it's either we wore it because our mothers told us to or we wanted to wear it because everyone else had it; or we didn't want to wear it at all. At one point or another, all children will have eventually have something to say about it.
But as you will notice, as the years gone by, more technologies were introduced. Instead of wearing metal braces, you can wear clear ones. Or even better, there is a technology (clear aligner) that instead of wearing brackets on your teeth, you wear something that looks like a mouth guard and they will slowly align the teeth.
Responsible Children
Your child can actually wear those braces as early as you think that your child can. But of course, orthodontists will tell you that it may be too early for your child to wear braces at seven years old. Wearing those brackets after all, requires some form of responsibility. But before you even think about wanting braces for your child, you have to think if he/she's ready for it.
- A child with braces should learn how to brush his/her teeth very well.
It is hard enough for a child to brush his/her teeth on her own, what more with braces! With all those nooks and crannies, food debris that is left behind will not only mean bad breath for the child but tooth decay as well! Using a floss with a threader can really help you clear out any food particles in between the teeth. The use of a rotary toothbrush followed with a manual toothbrush can help clean teeth with braces better.
- A child with braces should learn how to eat with it.
Coming from someone who wore braces for four years, I remember eating was such a chore when I had them. I love corn but I couldn’t bite on the cob anymore! I couldn’t bite onto apples and pizzas, bagels, bread and pretty much everything else were sliced for me to bits and pieces before I ate them. I also couldn’t eat sticky and chewy candies, like Mentos or Fruitella, because they got stuck to my braces. I learned to stay away from the bottom of the popcorn bag, as the hard kernels were bad news for my braces.
- A child with braces should learn how to take care of them.
Brackets get detached or broken; wires can get "side tracked". What's important is the child won't pick on his/her braces. Your child should also learn to avoid food that may cause damage to the brackets. Hard foods may damage the braces by breaking them off your child's teeth. Sticky foods, like taffy, caramels and gum can loosen the braces. Biting onto pencils and fingernails can also do some damage.
- A child with braces should learn how to deal with the pain.
Braces can get painful, yes. And we shouldn't lie about that to the child. But of course, pain is relative. It can be painful for some, but a walk in a park for the others. In my experience, it was just painful for 2-3 days after adjustment, and I coped better after that. Some say that technology behind braces has actually advanced to the point that they don't hurt. How I wish that was around when I had mine!
- A child with braces needs to have the maturity to understand what it is for.
To be able to withstand the physical pain and the pains of caring for the braces, a child should have the emotional maturity to understand that this is a treatment he/she is doing for himself/herself. And not because his/her mother wants him/her to. And maybe this is why braces are usually placed when a child is in his/her teen years. Aside from the fact that all the permanent teeth are present at this time, this is the time that the child gets conscious about his/her appearance and would like to look more beautiful.
But we see the patients younger, nowadays. Maybe because the parents are more aware, or the general dentists now are more educated. My daughter got her braces when she was nine years old. She was responsible enough then. I've had patients who also started at the same time. It can have its pros and cons. Starting an early treatment would mean less chances of relapse and the teeth move quickly; but this would also mean the duration of the treatment is longer and the braces were on and off for a period of time. The American Academy of Orthodontics now recommends sending the child to the orthodontist at seven years old.
Adjustment of braces usually happens once or twice a month. And the child should understand that too. Because going back and forth to the orthodontist can cause a burn out.
Beauty has its costs, as they say. And your child should be old enough to understand it. He/she should want it bad enough so he/she will willingly withstand the pains that it entails. Otherwise, a child who doesn't understand that it will benefit him will only resist the treatment. And you'll always foot the bill of broken brackets, damaged wires, not counting the setback in your child's treatment if he/she manages to wiggle himself/herself out of a dental appointment. The most conscientious patient usually finishes his/her treatment ahead of schedule.
Other forms of treatment
Until today, braces is equated to those ugly metal brackets. But actually, braces is just one part of a whole treatment – called orthodontic treatment. Orthodontics is the first specialty of dentistry that is concerned with the study and treatment of improper bites, which may be a result of tooth irregularity, disproportionate jaw relationships, or both.
In my pediatric practice, I see a lot of potential patients who will need braces in the future. When a child loses a baby tooth too early, you can expect crowding of your child's teeth in the future. When a child has an upper front tooth locked behind the lower front tooth, then that won't be able to jump into the right position without help. A child with hyperactive facial muscles can exert extra pressure on the teeth, causing them to be crooked. A child who breathes through his/her mouth or who has prolonged oral habits like thumb-sucking, bottle-feeding and nail-biting, can all affect the alignment of the teeth. And the list goes on – a narrow upper arch, too big permanent teeth compared to the child's jaws, etc.
Therefore, in our clinics, we try to intercept what may be a full-blown malocclusion (improper bite), at which event, braces will be needed. An appliance can be worn by the child to intercept such. And there are a variety of appliances, in a variety of design and materials that can be worn to address particular dental problems. It can be in the form of a silicone mouth guard, a stainless-steel band with a wire, an acrylic resin in a particular shape, etc.
Your dentist will be able to tell you if your child has the early warning signs to wear braces. And if your dentist thinks your child will do need them in the future, conditioning your child will help prepare him/her for this inevitable event.