Orthodontists In Bel Air Maryland
The orthodontists at Laurel Bush Family Dentistry provide state-of-the-art orthodontic care for patients throughout Bel Air, Maryland, Harford County, and surrounding areas.
Orthodontists In Bel Air, Maryland
Orthodontists offer specialized oral care for children, teens, and adults. Dental health is one of the areas that parents want to ensure their children get the best in quality care. Unsurprisingly, the proper alignment of teeth is an important aspect of overall oral health care and total well-being.
Additionally, children, especially teenagers are often self-conscious about their appearance. A healthy and happy smile will go a long way to overall wellbeing for your child. Visiting an orthodontist in Bel Air, Maryland for the right oral treatments is essential.
Better aligned teeth go well beyond the aesthetic advantages. Having straight teeth also makes proper daily dental care much easier over time. They are easier to brush and floss and also decrease the risk for the development of various teeth and gum diseases. Hence, early intervention and orthodontic care are important for children and teenagers.
Orthodontists are dentists that specialize in treating, diagnosing, and preventing irregularities in the teeth and gums. Dental issues that come under their specialty include misaligned bites and malpositioned teeth and jaws. Essentially, orthodontics is the science of correcting any abnormality that impacts maxillofacial movement.
After dental school, Orthodontic dentists go through years of training to specialize in treating dental irregularities in adults, children, and teens.
An orthodontist will use various devices to take bite measurements and assess the teeth. Depending on the results of these assessments, the dentist will offer solutions to realign the teeth.
What is the best age to see an orthodontic dentist?
There is no rule set in stone about the exact age a child should be taken to an orthodontic dentist. Traditionally, braces are associated with teenagers. This makes parents assume that young children might not need orthodontic care at all. This is a misnomer as in certain cases children can benefit from an early visit to an orthodontic dentist.
According to the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO), children should have an orthodontic check-up at the age of 7. Since most children at that age still have some baby teeth along with new emerging ones, orthodontists can easily detect even subtle problems with their teeth and bite.
Early detection and evaluation allow orthodontic doctors to correct the problem before it becomes severe. It also enables them to treat patients so that emerging teeth are properly aligned. Overall, this treatment decreases the risk of the child needing permanent extraction later on in life.
As people age, their jaw bone hardens and stops growing. Correspondingly, correcting jaw irregularities can become more difficult when left untreated and may require the removal of teeth or intensive surgery. If treatment is sought out at an early age while the bones are still growing, an orthodontic dentist can provide better outcomes for their patients.
There are many benefits of an early consultation session with an orthodontic dentist and parents should schedule an appointment for their children. Orthodontists are meticulous in their assessments and can observe bad habits like clenching the jaw, mouth-breathing, and tongue thrusting; behaviors that parents might miss. If they are caught at the right time, they can be treated and corrected before they create further implications.
Red flags: When should children and teenagers see an orthodontic dentist?
According to the AAO, the following are some of the red flags parents should look out for. If they find their children or teens exhibiting any one of the signs, immediate orthodontic intervention is necessary.
- Thumb/finger/pacifier sucking: The pressure exerted from the sucking motion can push the teeth forward, creating an open bit, and misshaping the jaw bone.
- Front teeth that stick out: protruding teeth can be caused by an abnormality in the positioning of the teeth or the jaw bone.
- Crowded or misplaced teeth: Lack of space in the mouth and bad positioning of the jaw can crowd the teeth together.
- Lip Incompetence: This occurs when the child or teen is unable to close their mouth and keep their lips together.
- Overbite: This happens when the upper jaw overlaps the lower jaw by more than one or two millimeters.
- Underbite: This occurs when the lower teeth extend and overlaps the upper front teeth.
- Unbalanced facial appearance: If the lower jaw is either abnormally large or small, it can disturb the proportions of the face.
- Difficulty in chewing and biting: Some orthodontic causes can make chewing and biting more difficult.
- Speech impediments: There are numerous cases where malpositioned teeth or badly positioned jaws have caused slurs and lisps.
While these are more prominent signs that parents can catch easily, here are some others that you might miss.
- Mouth-breathing
- Tongue thrusting
- Delayed or premature loss of baby teeth
- Late emergence of permanent teeth
- Grinding of the teeth
- Clenching of the jaw
Parents educating themselves on these signs and then taking an immediate action afterward can protect their children and teens’ smiles. Getting the right treatment at the right time when it’s most effective will provide the best results. When choosing an orthodontist in Bel Air, Maryland, you will want to ensure that the orthodontist you choose is board certified and has the proper training to work with children and teens.
Laurel Bush Family Dentistry is home to certified and extremely talented orthodontic dentists in Bel Air, Maryland. We have an experienced team that is trained to work with both children and teens. You can call them today to book a consultation for your child to have their teeth, jaws, and gums evaluated and find out what options you have for your optimum care.