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Choosing your orthodontist, and by extension, what your options are for years of orthodontic treatment and appointments, is no small feat. One of the deciding factors in this decision is which types of tooth movement your orthodontist has available. Traditional braces, self-ligating braces, or even Invisalign are all options. With so much innovation in the orthodontic field, we have lots of options to best fit any patient’s needs. Whether traditional braces or Invisalign is best for you, our team of orthodontic specialists is here to help you!

 

Making a Decision: Invisalign 

• Choosing Invisalign
• Invisalign Candidacy
• What issues can Invisalign help with
• Invisalign Pain

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Losing teeth is an exciting time in any child’s life. The tooth fairy starts making appearances in your household and adult teeth start to grow in. What’s exciting for your kids might raise some fears and questions for the parents. It’s common to wonder if your child is losing teeth at the right time, or too slowly, or even too quickly. These concerns are normal, and a reason why it’s good to get your child into the orthodontist starting at age seven. Orthodontist Dr. Joseph Ryan at McAllen Orthodontic Group can answer all these questions and more and can start any treatment needed early enough to prevent major issues. 

 

When Should Your Child Start to Lose Teeth?

Usually, the first teeth come loose around age six. Any time between ages five and seven is a normal and healthy time to lose the first tooth. Then, between the ages of eight and ten, there is a brief break in tooth loss. By this time, children have, on average, lost eight teeth. Typically, this is four front top teeth and four front bottom teeth. 

Of course, every child is different, and these ages and average numbers may not prove exactly true in real life. Though your child may not follow this exact timing when they lose their teeth, a first visit to your orthodontist is ideal at age seven to make sure that the progression they are following is healthy and timely for their development. 

As your child gets older and enters their early teen years new molars start to erupt. The process of tooth eruption, though not uniform, should progress relatively similarly for most children. Your orthodontist can make sure that there is space and a healthy mouth to accommodate your child’s growth, and make sure it is progressing correctly. 

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Without a doubt, “How long do I have to wear my braces?” is the most common question we’re asked by patients. More so than cleaning tips and food restrictions, people want to know how long they’ll have to live with braces. It’s understandable. Braces are hard to brush and floss around, they come with food restrictions, and they can be a source of embarrassment for teens at school or professionals in the workplace. 

While most patients are always eager to start treatment, they are even more eager to get those braces off.  Even though each patient is given an estimated treatment time wearing braces when they start, patients always hope we can wave our magic wands and complete the process sooner.

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It can be scary to be at home, school, or sports practice and feel a part of your braces loosen or even fall completely off your tooth. The good news is that most times these emergencies are minor. A bracket that’s come loose, a wire out of place, or even something falling out of your appliance can be easily fixed by your orthodontist. But here are a few general rules and tips for how to handle these situations in the moment and until you can get into the office for a visit. 

 

What are Some Common Orthodontic Emergencies?

Most emergencies involving braces center around a wire or rubber band coming detached. These two issues are minor and can be easily fixed by your orthodontist. Sometimes a bracket can come loose, and in extreme situations, a bracket could come completely off your tooth. These are times that you would keep the fallen bracket in a safe place and take it with you to your orthodontic appointment. 

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Flossing isn’t the most exciting part of your nightly routine, but it’s essential to your oral health. Maintaining that excellent oral health is an integral part of your orthodontic journey! Before we get into how to become an expert braces flosser, here’s some more information about why flossing is so critical in the first place. Flossing is just as important as brushing your teeth to prevent gum disease, cavities, and bad breath. Flossing helps eliminate the accumulation of harmful bacteria and plaque resulting from food particles that get trapped between the teeth and under the gum line. These are places that the toothbrush can’t always reach! 

 

In this post, we’ll cover:

• Why is Flossing Important?
• Why is Flossing so Important with Braces?
• How Often Should I Floss?
• What’s the Best Way to Floss with braces?

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It’s common for young children to put anything and everything into their mouths. This curiosity is normal, and unless it develops into bad habits that carry into later childhood, is beneficial to development. Habits like nail-biting, thumb sucking, using a pacifier excessively, and tongue thrusting as you swallow all have negative long-term effects on your oral health. 

 

Thumb Sucking and Excessive Pacifier Use

Children are born with a natural sucking reflex, which is why they tend to gravitate towards thumb sucking or get attached to a pacifier as a self-soothing tool. This impulse disappears around the four-month mark, but most children keep the habit for much longer. This is natural, and most children end up growing out of any habitual thumb sucking or pacifier use by age four at the latest. Stopping this habit by age four is ideal, and usually results in no long-term orthodontic issues. 

The pressure applied to teeth through the continuous sucking motion can cause issues with tooth positioning and the growth of the jaw bones. This can later manifest in an openbite, buck teeth, or underdeveloped lower jaw and chin. 

Orthodontists usually recommend that children and parents work to break these habits on their own before treatment starts. If this proves ineffective, there are appliances that an orthodontist can install that make thumb sucking and self-soothing less pleasurable for the child. 

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