What Are Parents’ Top Braces Questions?

Welcome to my blog! I am so excited to fill you in on my professional journey as an orthodontist and explain how becoming a mother and business owner has influenced the way I approach orthodontic care.

When I designed and built Feinstein 360 Orthodontics, I wanted to make sure I was building a place that I wanted my own children to receive orthodontic care from. So, for me, it was always about selecting the best equipment, employees, materials, and technology. I wanted to provide my patients with the “FEINEST” orthodontic experience. Our office focuses on personalized care for patients of all ages ranging from our youngest at age 7 to well into senior adulthood. Dentistry, and healthcare in general, is increasingly becoming a corporate industry, and my focus is on bringing it back to what I feel is most important – personalization and customization.

This September, my oldest started Kindergarten. This milestone came with an overwhelming amount of new information, forms to fill out, and routines to learn. I hope this blog can be an easy and comfortable way for you to digest valuable information about your, or your children’s, dental health. It will cover a variety of topics ranging from overall well-being to fun food choices, health, and lifestyle. For this month’s post, I will highlight our “Seven Up” campaign and why seeing your orthodontist in addition to your dentist is important for your dental health.

What’s the difference between a dentist and an orthodontist?

Two questions I commonly get asked by new patients:

1. “Does my child need to see an orthodontist in addition to his/her regular dentist?”
2. “Does my child need orthodontics?”

The first question is easy to answer. An orthodontist is a dentist who graduated dental school and then completed a 2 to 3 year orthodontic residency program specifically to learn about tooth movement (orthodontics) and the guidance
of dental, jaw and facial development (dentofacial orthopedics). So, the answer to the first question is a definite YES.

When should my child have their first orthodontic appointment?

Dentists and Orthodontists look at the mouth differently, and both perspectives are important for you and your child’s health. The American Association of Orthodontics recommends that every child is seen by an orthodontist for an evaluation at 7 years old which is why I started a 7-up campaign (yes, think 7-up like the soda).

This recommendation is based on the knowledge that most children get their first permanent molars at 6 years old, and then a predictable cascade of baby teeth fall out and are replaced by larger, adult permanent teeth. This is why 7 is a great age for an orthodontist to have their first consultation with your child in order to monitor how the teeth are coming in in addition to evaluating your child’s bite and facial development.

“Does my child need orthodontics?” is a question that is not as easy to answer in this blog post alone. A Panoramic X-ray is usually needed in conjunction with an intraoral exam to see how the adult teeth are developing under the gums. However, parents can definitely look for clues.

Signs your child may benefit from orthodontic treatment:

• Is there a family history of crowded teeth?
• Does anyone in the family have an underbite?
• Does your child have any trouble chewing, biting, speaking, or mouth-breathing?
• Is there a dental crossbite in the front?
• Did your child suck his/her thumb and has their palate become narrower because of it?
• Early or late loss of baby teeth can also signal a potential problem.

A common reason for early intervention is if the top jaw is not wide enough. This can be camouflaged by smaller baby teeth, or it can show as the top teeth sitting inside the bottom teeth. Addressing these problems sooner rather than later is beneficial in most of these cases because as your child grows it becomes more difficult to treat as your child’s bones and teeth mature.