By the age of 7, most children have a mix of baby and adult teeth. Dr Shimanto can detect developing problems with jaw growth and emerging teeth while at this age.
For these reasons, it is recommended that your child get an orthodontic check-up at age 7. While your child’s teeth may appear to be straight, there could be a problem that only an orthodontist can detect. Of course, the check-up may reveal that your child’s bite is fine, and that can be comforting news.
Even if an orthodontic problem is detected, Dr Shimanto may not recommend immediate treatment but rather a “wait-and-see” approach, checking on your child from time to time as the permanent teeth come in and the jaws and face continue to grow. For each patient who needs treatment, there’s an ideal time for treatment to begin in order to achieve the best results. Dr Shimanto is the specialist who has the knowledge to determine when the time is just right.
In some cases, Dr Shimanto might find a problem that can benefit from early treatment. Early treatment may prevent more serious problems from developing, and may make treatment at a later age shorter and less complicated. Typically, early treatment involves the use of orthodontic appliances to guide the growth of young bones, create room and a better environment for adult teeth as they emerge
When Dr Shimanto assesses your child early he can:
- Reduce or eliminate the need for extraction
- Avoid the need for future jaw surgery
- Correct harmful oral habits
- Aid speech development
- Encourage the jaw to grow correctly
- Simplify and shorten treatment time in full braces
- Guide permanent teeth into alignment
- Preserve or gain space for erupting permanent teeth
- Reduce potential damage to jaw joints
- Identify upper airway obstruction and problems related to mouth-breathing
- Create room for crowded, erupting teeth
- Creating facial symmetry through influencing jaw growth
- Reducing the risk of trauma to protruding front teeth
