For Children

Orthodontics for Children

While there is no exact age for children to begin orthodontic treatment, the American Association of Orthodontists recommends visiting the orthodontist around age seven.

By this age, most children have a mix of baby teeth and adult teeth, making it easier for the orthodontist to diagnose and correct tooth and jaw problems sooner and without surgery.

Early treatment allows your orthodontist to:

• Correct and guide the growth of your child's jaw to help the permanent teeth come in straight
• Regulate the width of the upper and lower arches
• Create more space for crowded teeth
• Avoid the need for permanent tooth extractions later in life
• Correct thumb sucking and help improve minor speech problems

Our Observation Program

To help our patients get the best possible care, Misuraca Orthodontics has created an observation program that lets us track orthodontic development over time, waiting for the perfect time to start treatment. The program works like this:

After your initial screening, Dr. Misuraca will monitor your child’s dental development until the perfect time to start treatment. We’ll bring your child in for an evaluation every 6 months – and all of the observation appointments are complimentary. Even if you don’t see any changes since your last visit, it’s important to attend these appointments every 6 months. Regular screenings are the only way to ensure everything is developing normally. To track the eruption of permanent teeth, we’ll also take periodic panoramic X-rays of your child – which, also, are complimentary. We will forward this progress x-ray to your family dentist with a progress report to keep their files up-to-date. In addition to monitoring dental development, we will track jaw growth and bite development. If there’s a problem with these processes, we may recommend early orthodontic treatment. Finally, our team will continue monitoring your child’s development until the time is right for treatment. Then, we’ll create a treatment plan that helps your child achieve a healthy, beautiful smile that lasts a lifetime!

Here are a few things to look for that may mean your child needs to see an orthodontist:

• Early or late loss of baby teeth
• A hard time chewing or biting food
• Mouth breathing
• Finger or thumb sucking
• Crowded, misplaced, or blocked teeth
• Jaws that pop or make sounds when opening and closing
• Teeth that come together abnormally, or do not come together at all
• Jaws and teeth that are not proportionate to the rest of the face
• Crowded front teeth around age seven or eight

Get Started with our Observation Program! Schedule your child's consultation here.