Early Childhood Signs that Your Child Could Need Braces in the Future

Seeing your child grow, it might come to your mind whether your child needs braces or not. It is crucial for you to get answers right at the start and you will need to visit an orthodontist for this. Earlier the detection, earlier you will know that your child needs braces in future and prevent any kind of issues later in the future.

These are some of the signs that can indicate that your child will need braces in the future:

Your child sucked their thumb, a bottle, or a pacifier for a longer time

Sucking a thumb, bottle, or a pacifier can be very satisfying to babies and every baby engages in it. Yet, as parents you need to ensure that this habit is paused by the time they are one year old. This is because your babies will start growing their initial baby teeth by this time. So sucking can lead to the change in the position of the teeth, which will later impact the position of the permanent teeth in the future. If your child has sucked their thumb or bottle for a prolonged period of time, then it might be an indication that your child will need braces. 

Your child resisted pulling their baby teeth

When the permanent teeth start to develop and push downwards, the baby teeth become loose. This is the time those baby teeth should be pulled out in order to make space for the upcoming permanent teeth. If your child is hesitant and resists you pulling out the teeth or does not get any form of dental care at that time, it can change the positioning of the permanent teeth. Eventually making it appear on top of one another, or get crowded. So, this might mean that your child will need braces.

Awkward growth of baby teeth in your child

The position in which your child has got their baby teeth can show how their permanent teeth will be positioned. So, if your child’s baby teeth are placed in gaps, then there is a big chance that the permanent teeth will do the same. Genetics can also determine if your child will have gapped teeth and its formation. So, if your family had the same issues, your child will be at the risk for the same and might require braces later on.

Mouth Breathing

If your children breathe using their mouth, they will have their mouth open for a long time affecting the growth and development of the teeth. As their mouth is not closed, their tongue will not be able to sit on the roof of the mouth leading to their face becoming longer. This in turn leaves a smaller space for the permanent teeth, eventually leading to your child needing braces.

Misalignment of Jaw Position

Be it at birth, due to mouth breathing or genetics or other reasons – your child can have misalignment of jaws leading to having an overbite, crossbite or underbite. This mismatch of jaws can make it difficult for your child’s teeth to line up correctly and your child will face difficulty chewing food, often biting the cheek or tongue by mistake. So, if you see a jaw problem in early years, it means that your child will soon require braces.

If you’ve noticed any signs like these in your child, book an appointment with an orthodontist as soon as possible to ensure that your child gets braces and doesn’t face issues later in life.