The following early signs may be helpful to detect orthodontic problems in your child:
Look at your child’s teeth. If you see crooked teeth, gaps between the teeth or overlapped teeth, your child may need orthodontic treatment.
Ask your child to bite all the way down, keeping their lips open. Do the front top teeth line up with the bottom? Do the top teeth protrude out away from the bottom teeth? Do the top front teeth cover more than 50% of the bottom teeth? Are the top teeth behind the bottom teeth? If you see any of these conditions an orthodontist should evaluate your child.
Look at the alignment of your child’s jaw. Does the jaw shift off center when your child bites down? If you see any malalignment or shifting of the jaw, your child may have a skeletal problem.
Other common signs include:
Early or late loss of primary teeth
Difficulty in chewing or biting
Mouth breathing
Finger or thumb sucking habits beyond age 5
Speech difficulty
Biting the cheek or roof of the mouth
Protruding teeth
Teeth that don’t meet in a normal matter, or don’t meet at all
Note: These are only some of the more obvious signs. Other signs may be much more subtle and require a trained professional to detect.
Some important facts supported by the orthodontic literature about jaw growth are:
Dental arch (width) increases an average of 3mm from 5 to 10 years old.
After 10 years old the width of the dental arch does not increase, although, it tends to decrease.
Expansion of the dental arches is not always possible after the ages of 13 in girls and 15 in boys.
Expansion at an early age is a reliable and stable procedure. Expansion also decreases the possibility of teeth becoming impacted during their eruptive phase.
Serial extraction of baby teeth is not recommended since it only provides a temporary solution to the lack of space.
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