Best Age for Braces to Correct Misaligned Teeth

Did you know that more than 4 million people in America alone have braces? While you can get braces at any age, even as an adult, getting braces early on in life tends to be more beneficial for a variety of reasons. In particular, it is easier for braces to straighten a person’s teeth while the person is still a child or a teenager.

This is because a child’s mouth and teeth are still developing while an adult’s mouth is already developed. But what is the best age for braces? Is there such a thing as getting braces too early or too late?

Keep reading and learn more about the best age to get braces.

What Do Braces Do Exactly?

Many people think that braces are a cosmetic option, but this is not quite true. For some, getting braces can help improve dental function.

For example, a child with crooked teeth may not be able to practice proper dental hygiene. This is because if a person’s teeth are too crooked and crowded together, he will not be able to reach all the sides of his teeth with a toothbrush or floss.

This may not sound like a big deal, but over time, food particles and bacteria can start to build up between the crowded teeth.

As a result, those teeth will start to suffer from more dental problems such as cavities, tooth decay, and even gum disease. Of course, a child should not have to deal with these problems and that’s one of the many reasons why braces are so important.

Other Dental Issues

Besides proper dental hygiene, braces are also very important for correcting bite abnormalities and other dental issues. For example, if a child’s teeth are too crowded together, his jaw might strain into a certain position to accommodate those teeth. As a result, the child may suffer from an overbite, an underbite, or another bite abnormality.

If the child’s jaw is very strained as a result of crooked teeth, he may suffer from jaw pain, headaches, and neck pain as a result. The child may even have a hard time pronouncing certain words or chewing food.

If he cannot chew food in a normal fashion, he might even end up with digestive problems.

Fortunately, all of these problems can be avoided with braces. Within one or two years, a good set of braces can straighten a child’s teeth so that he will not only have a more attractive smile but also a more functional smile. But what is the best age to get teeth braces in the first place?

The Best Age for Braces

When it comes to misaligned teeth, there is not an exact age to get children’s braces or teen braces. Getting them at an early age is usually better, but there is such a thing as getting braces too early as well. For most children, the ideal age range is between 10 and 14 years.

Why is this age range such a good time to get braces? If you get your child braces any earlier, the braces won’t be able to do much good. That’s because your child hasn’t lost all of his baby teeth yet and there will be very few adult teeth to deal with.

Of course, there is not much of a point in straightening baby teeth since they are only going to fall out. Also, when a child’s adult teeth are just coming in, it will be too difficult to attach braces to them because the teeth will not have emerged fully from the gum line yet.

The Details

Between the ages of 10 and 14, all of this starts to change.

The child will have most of his adult teeth by that time. More than that, the adult teeth will have emerged enough to place braces on them. Finally, the child will still be young enough for his jaw and teeth to continue developing.

This is important because as long as the child’s mouth is still developing, it will be much easier for braces to move the teeth around in the child’s mouth. As the child gets older, his teeth will become more firmly rooted in his jaw bone.

As a result, getting braces later in life will take longer to produce results because the teeth will not be as willing to move and shift.

The Details of Braces

Once your child gets braces from an orthodontist such as drrossortho.com, he will need to take good care of his braces, otherwise, he might end up with more dental problems. In particular, your child will need to brush his teeth more often. This is because braces have a tendency to trap food between them, making them hard to clean.

If your child doesn’t clean his teeth and braces on a regular basis, the food particles stuck in the braces could end up causing tooth decay and cavities. Besides that, they could also end up staining your child’s teeth with little white spots. Your child can avoid all of these problems by brushing his teeth after eating.

Besides that, avoiding foods with too much sugar is also a good idea. Sugar is a big culprit when it comes to the formation of cavities and tooth decay.

Everything You Need to Know About Braces for Children

While there is not an exact age when it comes to the best age for braces, there is certainly an ideal age range. Between the ages of 10 and 14 is a perfect time for getting your child braces.

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