How do I know if my child is ready for braces? This question has crossed my mind many times as my children grow. I have an 8-year-old and a 13-year-old and until recently, I have been told that only the 12-year old is ready for braces. With that being said, my 8-year-old appears to have a shifted smile when she closes her teeth together. It appears that her top and bottom teeth are not aligned with the center of her face. I kept wondering if she would need braces at such a young age or if she would grow out of it.
I took my daughter to Bucks Mont Orthodontics during her brother’s first appointment and Dr. Patel was kind enough to take a look in her mouth while we were there. As it turns out, she has a crossbite, which is why her smile didn’t look centered with the rest of her facial features. It was explained to me that this could be caused by thumb-sucking, using a pacifier, or genetics. Dr. Patel further explained that this could be corrected easily at this age in 6 to 9 months with an expander and a few braces. He also explained that waiting to have this corrected could lead to altered growth of her jaw bones and more significant treatment in the future.
I’m so glad that I questioned my daughter’s smile when I did and took her for an orthodontic evaluation. Even though my children are five years apart in age (one with mostly baby teeth and one with all adult teeth), they both are ready for some form of braces and orthodontic treatment! If you have a 7 or 8-year-old child, then you should have them evaluated by an orthodontist to make sure their teeth are developing properly.
