Should my child have his or her teeth straightened?
Straightening of irregular teeth is when we align the teeth or jaw placement with a dental brace. Your child will have his or her tooth alignment checked at each dental check-up. We will talk to you further if there is something about your child’s tooth alignment that requires attention.
You are always welcome to talk to your child’s dental clinic if you have questions about your child’s tooth alignment.
We will also talk to you regularly about your child’s tooth alignment at the regular check-ups if there is anything that requires special attention.
Normally, it is only from the ages of 10-12 that we can begin orthodontic procedures. At that age, children have lost their last baby tooth and we can see how the permanent teeth are positioned.
All children with a tooth alignment that requires attention will be examined by a dentist specialising in orthodontics during school year 5.
The orthodontist will evaluate whether the child needs to have his or her teeth straightened.
Straightening of irregular teeth - locally or at the clinic for orthodontics
Your child's local dental clinic will take care of minor needs for straightening of irregular teeth. If needed, treatments will take place at our clinic for straightening of irregular teeth in Viby J.
Generally, you are expected to participate in all your child’s orthodontic treatments and checks.
There are three reasons for straightening teeth:
- To reduce the risk of injuries to muscles, jaws and gums.
- To improve the capability of chewing food.
- To reduce your child's risk of hitting his/her teeth.
Before you decide whether you want to accept an offer of straightening your child's teeth, we will invite you and your child in for a talk. Together, we will look into what the treatment entails and how long the treatment will take.
First visit
We need different materials to plan the treatment. At the first visit, we therefore:
- Regular pictures of face and teeth.
- Imprint of teeth.
- X-ray pictures of head, jaw, and teeth.
Second visit
This visit is a conversation at the clinic of orthodontics, which presents a plan for the individual teeth straightening based on the pictures, imprint, and X-ray pictures from the first visit. The dentist explains what brace is needed and the time span. This is where you decide whether to accept the offer of straightening irregular teeth.
Third visit
The brace is put on, and we thoroughly introduce keeping teeth and brace clean.
Controls
Continuously, we will invite to controls at the clinic when the brace is on.
A professional assessment of your child's teeth and jaws will determine whether your child can have his or her teeth straightened. Generally, your child's teeth cannot be straightened because of cosmetic reasons.
The Danish Health Agency (Sundhedsstyrelsen) has determined the rules according to which we will assess your child's need for having his or her teeth straightened.
The need for orthodontics must be based on the function of your child's teeth and jaws, for example:
- Your child's jaws and teeth are not growing properly in relation to each other.
- Your child has an uneven bite.