Orthodontics

Orthodontics safely corrects tooth and jaw misalignments, including crooked, crowded, and overlapping teeth. At Pinellas Pediatric Dentistry in Largo and Seminole, Florida, board-certified pediatric dentist Nancy Montgomery-Easley, DMD, and her team offer orthodontics to children and teens, including interceptive orthodontic treatment, space maintainers, and braces. Call the nearest Pinellas Pediatric Dentistry office to schedule your child’s orthodontics consultation, or book an appointment online today.

What is pediatric orthodontics?

Pediatric orthodontics uses custom appliances, like metal braces, retainers, and removable plastic aligners, to change the position of your child’s teeth and jaw so that they can bite and chew properly.

Each child’s teeth break through the gumline at different angles and positions. This is a normal part of aging, but depending on their alignment, it can make your child more likely to experience cavities, gum disease, and other oral health problems.

Which problems can pediatric orthodontics treat?

The Pinellas Pediatric Dentistry team uses orthodontics to treat various problems in children and teens, including:

• Mouth breathing
• Cheek biting
• Facial imbalance
• Jaws shifting or clicking
• Crooked teeth
• Crowded teeth
• Spaces between the teeth
• Difficulty chewing and biting

Pediatric orthodontics can reduce the risk of gum disease and bone loss if your child loses their baby teeth too early or too late. The Pinellas Pediatric Dentistry team is well-versed in treating all aspects of tooth and jaw misalignment.

What happens during a pediatric orthodontic exam?

The Pinellas Pediatric Dentistry team recommends that all children undergo a pediatric orthodontic exam by age seven. At that point, most children have a mix of baby and permanent teeth, so it’s easy to identify potential alignment problems.

Your child’s dentist completes an oral exam and takes digital X-rays to assess the alignment of their teeth and jaw. X-rays also allow your child’s dentist to see where their wisdom teeth and any other permanent teeth that haven’t yet broken through the gumline are.

After gathering that information, your child’s provider develops a personalized orthodontic treatment plan.

What is interceptive pediatric orthodontics?

Interceptive orthodontics, also called early orthodontic treatment, begins while your child’s baby teeth are still present. Your child’s dentist might recommend interceptive orthodontics if they have an alignment problem that will become more severe if left untreated.

For example, if your child has lost some but not all of their baby teeth, the Pinellas Pediatric Dentistry team might recommend space maintainers. Space maintainers are fixed appliances that ‘maintain’ the space left behind by a missing tooth. They prevent the surrounding teeth from changing position so that the permanent teeth underneath can come in.

Call the nearest Pinellas Pediatric Dentistry office to schedule your child’s pediatric orthodontics consultation, or book an appointment online today.