James E Sullivan DDS Dentist Fort Washington Maryland

Braces are common and in our pediatric dentistry office, we regularly recommend that children have an orthodontics treatment.  This can be important for the appearance and health of teeth because straight teeth are easier to clean with a reduced risk of cavities.  Simultaneously an aligned bite will make it easier to eat, speak, and sleep.  If your child needs this type of treatment, we can recommend what the next steps should be in order to get them the care they need.

In some cases, children don’t need full braces but they need an expander or spacers in order to make room for incoming teeth.  In other cases, traditional braces are needed along with additional treatments to align a bite.  An orthodontist can go over all of these options in detail.

In our pediatric dentistry office, we can help to decrease the likelihood that your child will need braces or an orthodontics treatment.  At times, the need is based on genetics so if you or your spouse had to wear braces, your child might need them too.  However, there are ways to help their adult teeth to come in straight and as a dentist, this is where we shine.  In many cases, teeth come in crooked because baby teeth have fallen out too quickly, and the surrounding teeth move out of position and crowd the open space that was supposed to be left for an adult tooth.  By the time the tooth is ready to come in, there is no room – creating overcrowding issues.

We can help by keeping your child’s teeth and gums healthy and cavity free.  We recommend that you bring them in for a teeth cleaning at least twice a year.  During this time, we can remove bacteria and plaque that you were unable to reach at home.  Removing it can help to keep your child’s mouth healthy so that their baby teeth can remain in place.  It also allows us to look for any signs of infection and treat it right away.  These steps can prevent tooth loss due to an infection, and it will also make their teeth stronger so that they can sustain the impact of an accident.  If, and when, something does happen, we can treat a damaged tooth but would still prefer for our patients to stay in good health and avoid breakage.

Wearing a mouth guard can also prevent accidental tooth loss.  According to the American Academy of Dentistry, over 200,000 high school and college football players prevent injuries every year by wearing one.  Tell your child to wear one when playing or practicing so that their teeth can be protected, and both the baby and adult teeth will avoid any unnecessary damage.

Patients, that visit our pediatric dentistry office, are taught how to keep teeth clean at home in order to complete the cycle and stay healthy.  These steps are important because the longer that baby teeth can stay in place, the less likely teeth are to come in crooked, creating the need for braces.