Look out for these Dental Issues in your Child

Categories: Orthodontics

dental issues in childScotts Valley and Santa Cruz, CA

If you are a parent, you probably spend a lot of time worrying about the health and well-being of your child. You also need to monitor your child’s dental health. Detecting any problems as early as possible makes treatment easier, and can save you time and money—while also sparing your child the need to go through intensive procedures later on to correct the problem.

Your local Santa Cruz family dentist at Ebrahimian Integrative Dentistry believes that education is key to good health. In that spirit, here are four dental issues parents should look for in their children.

Tooth Growth

Your child may develop issues with the growth of their teeth long before they reach adolescence, which is when orthodontic treatment usually takes place. At Ebrahimian Integrative Dentistry, we practice functional orthodontics—which emphasizes treatment goals such as ideal oral resting posture, an open airway, and wider dental arches in addition to straightening teeth. We believe that crucial growth and development from an orthodontic standpoint take place during the younger years. Aspects of this growth and development include the width of the upper and lower jaws.

Look for warning signs such as the upper jaw not biting down properly on the lower jaw. If the upper jaw bites down on the inside of the lower jaw, your Scotts Valley dentist can widen the upper jaw—even if your child is as young as six years old.

Overjet

This refers to a condition where the upper and lower central incisors overlap, leaving the upper teeth jetting forward as the lower jaw recedes too far back. Early identification and treatment allow the lower jaw to grow forward, correcting the growth of the jaw instead of just pulling the upper teeth back with orthodontics later on. Ignoring the growth of the jaw could lead to a narrow upper palate, mouth breathing, and other conditions that could affect your child’s looks, how they breathe and even increase their risk of certain ailments such as sleep apnea.

Underbite

An underbite usually is affected by genetics. If one or both parents have an underbite, it often manifests in their children as well. There is only one method of fixing an underbite at a young age—bringing the upper jaw forward and promoting forward growth. The ability to resolve an underbite in this way goes away once a patient reaches the age of 12 or 13 years old. This emphasizes the need for early detection, which can only occur when seen by an expertly trained dentists like the ones on staff at Ebrahimian Integrative Dentistry.

Crowding

Crowding is easy for a parent to identify. Do you notice the upper and lower front teeth appear to be crowded? If so, the crowding only will worsen as more permanent teeth erupt into the mouth. If this crowding is identified early, a well-trained dentist can perform procedures to create more space in the mouth, allowing permanent teeth to emerge properly and preventing future crowding from taking place.

Functional Orthodontics in Scotts Valley

At Ebrahimian Integrative Dentistry, we believe that functional orthodontics is the ideal way to approach treatment—taking a more holistic approach that creates harmony throughout the orofacial complex. To learn more about this program of treatment or to schedule a screening for your child, call our office today at (831) 824-5111.

Ebrahimian Integrative Dentistry serves patients located in the California communities of Los Gatos, Santa Cruz, and Scotts Valley.