3 Orthodontic Options For Straightening Your Child's Teeth

If your child is suffering from misaligned teeth, you are probably concerned about his or her self-esteem. Even if the misalignment does not cause problems with your child's ability to speak or chew, the appearance of crooked teeth is often deemed unattractive. Still, your child may not be comfortable with the thought of wearing traditional braces. There are other alignment options available today to straighten teeth. Here are a few:

Invisalign

The Invisalign system uses clear aligners to help re-position your child's teeth. Every couple of weeks, your child's aligning tray is replaced with a new aligner to continue the progression of his or her dental correction.

Since the trays are clear, your child is less likely to be self-conscious about wearing the aligners. In addition, the aligners can be removed when your child brushes and flosses his or her teeth, so regular dental hygiene can be observed without additional effort.

Damon Braces

Damon system braces have special self-litigating brackets so they do not require the elastic bands that traditional braces use. With conventional braces, the teeth are straightened by an adjustable arch wire, which is connected to the brackets on your child's teeth by elastic bands. With Damon system braces, the arch wire is still used to straighten the teeth, but instead of being connected by elastic bands, the wire runs through channels that are built into the brackets of the braces.

The elimination of the elastic bands lessens the amount of friction that must be overcome to straighten the teeth. Thus, less force is needed for the dental alignment, and your child experiences less pain during the straightening process. The reduction in friction also causes the teeth to shift into place more quickly.

In addition, the brackets of the Damon braces are smaller than those of traditional braces, so they are slightly less noticeable.

Lingual Braces

Lingual braces also use brackets. However, instead of being placed on the outer surface of the teeth, the brackets are secured to the inner side of the teeth, which is adjacent to the patient's tongue. Due to the bracket placement, lingual braces are less noticeable than conventional braces.

Still, lingual braces align teeth just as effectively as their traditional counterpart.

If your child has crooked teeth, you may be anxious to have them aligned properly. Crooked teeth can affect your child's self esteem and his or her social life. There are multiple teeth-straightening options available nowadays. Contact the office of an orthodontist in your area today to find one that is right for your child.

For professional dental services, contact an office such as Cazes Family Dentistry LLC.

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