How Do You Know If or When Your Child Needs Braces?

Your child’s teeth look a little crooked. Does that mean they need braces? What happens if kids don’t get braces?

It’s not always easy to tell if your child needs braces. While crooked teeth are fairly obvious, your child may have other dental issues, such as a crossbite, a deep bite, or other misaligned bites.

The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that children see an orthodontist by age 7 to determine whether they need braces and whether they need immediate intervention or can wait until they’re older.

Woodhill Dental Specialties can evaluate your child in Dallas, TX, or Rockwall, TX, for possible orthodontic treatment. If left untreated, your child’s crooked teeth or bad bite could affect several aspects of their development.

What to Expect From an Orthodontic Evaluation

An orthodontic evaluation will have one of three outcomes:

• Your child doesn’t need braces treatment.
• Your child needs braces treatment, but they can wait until they’re older (11-13 years old).
• Your child needs orthodontic treatment right away.

Not every child will need orthodontic treatment, and we will let you know if they don’t. We recommend orthodontic treatment only when we believe your child will benefit.

Not every crooked tooth means a child needs braces. A minor crooked tooth can often be left alone without significantly affecting your child’s oral health. In those cases, we may not recommend braces.

We typically recommend treatment when your child’s teeth or bite are misaligned enough to raise the risk of excessive tooth wear, tooth decay, speech problems, or breathing issues.

What Happens If Orthodontic Issues Are Untreated?

Not every parent is sure about orthodontic treatment for their child. They may worry about the cost or how others will react to their child having a mouthful of braces. Those parents often wonder if it’s OK for their child to go without braces.

In some cases, serious dental issues can affect a child’s tooth and jaw development. They could also cause other problems.

• Crooked teeth can be harder to clean because they may overlap or the spaces may be too tight. That could increase the risk of gum disease or tooth decay.
• Uneven pressure from bad bites like overbites, underbites, or crossbites can accelerate tooth wear or cause jaw discomfort.
• Misaligned teeth can affect tongue placement, which can make speech or chewing difficult.
• Tooth crowding or gapped teeth could reduce space for permanent teeth, which could cause them to erupt crooked.

None of these results are guaranteed, but if they do happen, braces can often help correct the problems before they get worse.

Why Timing Matters

Some children can wait until the prime age for braces, about 11-13 years of age. For others, we might recommend two-phase orthodontic treatment.

Two-phase treatment starts early, around age 9, and usually involves orthodontic appliances to guide the child’s jaw development. For example, a child with a narrow palate might get a palate expander to widen their jaw. The appliance is typically worn for several months and can help create more space so the permanent teeth have room to come in straighter.

In some cases, early intervention can correct the problems without needing braces later. Many children, though, still move on to the second phase later.

The second phase of two-phase treatment involves the actual braces or clear aligners. This usually happens between ages 11 and 13, when most permanent teeth are in.

Why start so early? Because a child’s jaw is still growing, some issues are easier to guide during that time.

FAQs About Braces Evaluations

Does every child need braces or orthodontic treatment?
No. Many children never need orthodontic treatment, and Woodhill Dental Specialties only recommends it when we believe it will benefit your child.

Is it too late to fix orthodontic issues if we wait until my child is older?
Usually not, but it may take longer and cost more to fix orthodontic issues later. It also may be more complicated because the problems have had time to worsen.

What’s the difference between a “wait and monitor” plan and ignoring the issue?
A “wait and monitor” plan allows us or your child’s dentist to monitor the dental issues to see whether they worsen, improve, or stay the same. Ignoring the issue means no one is tracking your child’s bite problems.

At what age should my child first be evaluated?
The AAO recommends that an orthodontist evaluate a child by age 7. By then, most children have a mix of baby and permanent teeth. This lets us see how the jaws are developing and anticipate whether the other permanent teeth will have enough space to come in correctly.

Braces Treatment in Dallas, TX

Not every child will need braces, and not every child who needs braces will need early intervention. But an early evaluation can help you understand whether your child may need orthodontic treatment and when.

Woodhill Dental Specialties can evaluate your child for possible orthodontic treatment. We offer both pediatric dentistry and orthodontics under one roof, so you don’t need to go elsewhere if your child needs braces or clear aligners.

You can start with a virtual consultation or schedule an in-person appointment. If your child is already a dental patient with us, talk to us about scheduling an orthodontic consultation. We’ll be happy to take a look!