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Can Your Child Get Braces Before the Baby Teeth Fall Out?

This is question orthodontists often hear from parents. However, you should not wait until all your child’s baby teeth fall to see an orthodontist. Chances are, you may have missed out on the best time for correcting a bite. These days, many orthodontists use a two-phase approach to straightening teeth, with many patients starting as young as 8 years old.

Is It Ever Too Early?

By the age of 8, it may be too early to begin treatment, but it’s not too early to figure out the right treatment plan over the growing years of the teeth changing. It is this changing time when the adult teeth come in and the baby teeth fall out.
It is at this time that the orthodontist will be considering a patient’s jaw bones and growth. For instance, are the upper and lower jaw bone growing at the same rate? Often, one will grow faster than the other and early detection and treatment can lead to better results than if treated once all the adult teeth have come through.
When both jaw bones are correctly aligned, there tends to be less movement of the teeth, which means a shorter treatment time.
By making sure that they jaw bone growth is balanced, the second phase of braces tends to be a shorter and simpler process with less likelihood of relapse later on. Relapse occurs when the teeth move back to their original position as you become an adult.
Picture it as if you’re building a rocket and flying it to the moon. By mapping out the flight plan in the very beginning, you’ll be able to figure out if you have to land on the moon. In other words, good planning during phase one will determine successful treatment during phase 2.
You don’t have to wait until all the baby teeth have fallen out, as you may have missed your window for starting treatment.

Can Your Child Get Braces Before the Baby Teeth Fall Out?

An orthodontist may put braces on when a patient still has baby teeth, and then once taken off, will wait for the adult teeth to come through and determine if further treatment is needed.
Book a consultation at Medland Orthodontics to discuss your child’s orthodontic treatment.