Waterford families have easy access to specialists with dental treatment for range of conditions affecting kid's health
Studies estimate as many as 70 percent of American kids get braces by the time they are 18 years old. Your child may be born with a jaw that is too small to accommodate his or her teeth. This results in crowding.
Dental decay is the most common chronic condition among children, even more prevalent than asthma, diabetes, and childhood obesity. Decay can cause your child's teeth to shift. Of course, decay and progressive gum disease are also common reasons adult members of your family may need treatment to correct crooked or crowded teeth.
Before Metropolitan Dental Center can move forward with orthodontic treatment, any existing gum disease or oral health conditions must be treated. Braces don't address these conditions; they only address one of many potential symptoms of tooth decay and periodontal disease. They can make damaging conditions worse, and some conventional straightening methods are associated with challenges to proper brushing and flossing.
Poor oral hygiene is a primary cause of gum disease. If you can't remove food debris, the naturally occurring oral bacteria mix with the sugars in these foods and drinks to create a sticky film called plaque. Acids in the plaque attack your teeth, eventually eating their way from the enamel to the softer dentin and the inner parts of the tooth. A severe toothache is a sign the inner pulp has become irritated. Your tooth may become infected.
What started as shifting can progress as the disease progresses and cause teeth to become so loose they may fall out. The pain may be so severe that your child requires root canal treatment to save the tooth before it gets to the point the tooth falls out. It's critical to save teeth, even in younger children. If your kids lose teeth before they should this can have lasting effects, because the baby teeth serve as "place-holders" for permanent teeth. As you might imagine, if there is nothing to guide the erupting teeth into place they can grow in improperly.
Crooked teeth and dental decay have a number of other lifelong implications for your child's quality of life, including:
Dental treatment for kids starts with an examination. Connect with Metropolitan Dental Center by calling the Waterford office at 248-365-7737.
Dental decay is the most common chronic condition among children, even more prevalent than asthma, diabetes, and childhood obesity. Decay can cause your child's teeth to shift. Of course, decay and progressive gum disease are also common reasons adult members of your family may need treatment to correct crooked or crowded teeth.
Before Metropolitan Dental Center can move forward with orthodontic treatment, any existing gum disease or oral health conditions must be treated. Braces don't address these conditions; they only address one of many potential symptoms of tooth decay and periodontal disease. They can make damaging conditions worse, and some conventional straightening methods are associated with challenges to proper brushing and flossing.
Poor oral hygiene is a primary cause of gum disease. If you can't remove food debris, the naturally occurring oral bacteria mix with the sugars in these foods and drinks to create a sticky film called plaque. Acids in the plaque attack your teeth, eventually eating their way from the enamel to the softer dentin and the inner parts of the tooth. A severe toothache is a sign the inner pulp has become irritated. Your tooth may become infected.
What started as shifting can progress as the disease progresses and cause teeth to become so loose they may fall out. The pain may be so severe that your child requires root canal treatment to save the tooth before it gets to the point the tooth falls out. It's critical to save teeth, even in younger children. If your kids lose teeth before they should this can have lasting effects, because the baby teeth serve as "place-holders" for permanent teeth. As you might imagine, if there is nothing to guide the erupting teeth into place they can grow in improperly.
Crooked teeth and dental decay have a number of other lifelong implications for your child's quality of life, including:
- More frequent ear and sinus infections
- Problems chewing and, accordingly, eating (diet suffers)
- Insomnia
- Speech problems
- Missed school days
- Social withdrawal
Dental treatment for kids starts with an examination. Connect with Metropolitan Dental Center by calling the Waterford office at 248-365-7737.