Orthodontic treatment for children

While you might associate teenagers with orthodontic treatment, effective smile shaping starts much sooner. In fact, we recommend that children see a Specialist Orthodontist as early as age seven.

Why should I bring my child to the orthodontist?

When you bring your child in to SmileLux, our Specialist Orthodontist, Dr Sunil Hirani, can assess their smile for issues. With his training, he can spot subtle problems with jaw growth and emerging teeth before they become more serious.

Early Orthodontics

Set your child up for success

While your child might not need orthodontic treatment at the age of seven, Dr Hirani can form a plan to help guide the proper growth of their smile. This will lesson - and sometimes prevent - the need for comprehensive treatments later in your child’s life.

Early Orthodontics

The benefits of early treatment

Early treatment with functional appliances may prevent more serious problems from developing and may make treatment at a later age shorter and less complicated. In some cases, we will be able to achieve results that may not be possible once the face and jaws have finished growing.

Early treatment may give us the chance to:

Guide jaw growth
Lower the risk of trauma to protruded front teeth
Correct harmful oral habits
Improve appearance
Guide permanent teeth into a more favourable position
Improve the way lips close together

Because patients differ in both physiological development and treatment needs, our goal is to provide each patient with the most appropriate treatment at the most appropriate time.

Early Orthodontics

How can I tell if my child needs orthodontic treatment?

There are many telltale signs that your child could benefit from orthodontic treatment. They include:

Early or late loss of baby teeth (your child should typically start losing teeth around age 5, and will have all the permanent teeth around age 13)
Difficulty chewing and/or biting
Mouth breathing
Continued thumb sucking after age five
Speech impediments
Protruding teeth (the top teeth and the bottom teeth extend away from each other)
Teeth that don't come together in a normal manner - or even at all
Shifting of the jaw when your child opens or closes their mouth
Crowded front teeth around age seven or eight

Early Orthodontics

Give your child a healthy, beautiful smile

Not all signs of orthodontic issues are obvious. Only a registered Specialist Orthodontist will be able to accurately assess your child’s smile. As such, we recommend you bring your child in for a free consultation with us even if their smile looks perfect!

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Early Orthodontics