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Braces. What your child should expect before and after braces. Your child’s smile is an important part of their self-esteem and confidence. It is rare for a child to develop perfectly straight teeth and some kids have such misalignment problems that it is almost necessary that they visit a local orthodontist. Going to any oral healthcare professional can be scary to a kid, but there are certain things they’ll want to know both before and after receiving treatment. Understanding the process of orthodontic care will allow them to feel confident in the chair while having their teeth straightened.
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The Benefits of Orthodontic Work
Orthodontic treatment helps a range of different oral problems such as misalignment of the teeth and jaw, crowding, overbite, underbite, speech impediment caused by crooked teeth and chewing issues. Your orthodontist will work on your child’s teeth on a bi-monthly or monthly basis depending on their specific treatment plan. Having a gorgeous and straight smile also boosts your child’s self-confidence so that they feel better about their appearance.
What Should Your Child Expect Before Braces
Consultation:
When you first step into the orthodontic office with your child, you will have a thorough consultation with the orthodontist. During the consultation, the doctor will explain different treatment options to you and talk about what to expect during your appointments. This is a great time to get to know the doctor and ask any questions that you might have. Encourage your child to write a list of their own questions if they are concerned about treatment.
Insurance and Payment:
While this isn’t necessarily something your child needs to worry about, the question of payment and insurance will come up before any work is set to be done. The orthodontic office wants to know how you’ll be paying for treatment and if you have an insurance plan that will cover part of the costs. If you do not have insurance, the office can work with you on a payment plan based on a sliding scale fee.
Treatment Option Overview:
Nowadays, there are more treatment options than ever before in your local orthodontic office. A lot of kids are choosing Invisalign over traditional metal braces because they can have their teeth straightened without the world knowing about it.
There are also other treatment options that may come into play during your treatment that you aren’t aware of before starting, but rest assured that your orthodontic professionals will tell you which options are necessary before your child is fitted for the appliances. Whether you choose Invisalign or another brace choice, your doctor will work directly with you and your child on what works best for them.
X-rays:
X-rays will be taken before your child starts treatment. This is so that the doctor can fully examine the bone structure and tooth alignment of your child’s jaw. In many cases, kids come into the orthodontic office still with their primary teeth and doctors need to know what’s coming in underneath these baby teeth to properly establish a correct treatment plan. X-rays can include traditional bitewing images and panoramic x-rays taken with a large machine in-office.
Impressions:
The orthodontic professionals will take align impressions of your child’s teeth for molding purposes. These impressions are easy and quick. They make molds that can be made up within a matter of hours of the impressions being taken. The doctor will use these molds for treatment assessment purposes.
Scheduling of Appointments:
Your child needs to know that orthodontic work is not a one-time overnight thing. In many cases, braces need to be worn for at least one or two years. Your child will have to go to routine appointments once or twice a month during this period. It is important that you sit down with your child and discuss the importance of orthodontic treatment and the length of time traditional treatment is expected to take.
What Your Child Should Expect After Treatment
Wearing a Retainer:
After orthodontic treatment, the teeth tend to shift back to where they were before braces were ever worn. This can be detrimental to all of the hard work that was put into your child’s smile over the past few years. Because of this, orthodontists recommend that your child wear a retainer every night for several years after the appliances are removed. Then, several times a week for the rest of their life to maintain results.
White Spots on Teeth:
With traditional metal wiring and clips, they can leave white spots on the teeth once they are removed. These white spots are simply the color of the teeth before the appliances were cemented on. Because orthodontic appliances are worn for a year or longer, natural staining occurs on the enamel around the wiring but not underneath it. These stains will naturally fade over time.
Filing for Invisible Brace Wearers:
If your child has been wearing invisible appliances, they should expect the orthodontic professional to have to file down the teeth. During treatment, the clear plastic trays used to straighten the teeth are so tight that they can cause pitting and erosion to occur, and this needs to be filed down once treatment has been completed. Filing is painless and takes just a few minutes.
Call Our Office Today to Have a Free Consultation
At Tisseront Orthodontics in Reston, Va., you can meet with our orthodontist to learn more about having a gorgeous smile. Dr. Stephan Tisseront provides an assortment of treatments with these devices:
• Braces – lingual, ceramic or metal
• Aligners – designed by Invisalign
• Retainers – to keep teeth from shifting
If you want to reduce your treatment time while wearing orthodontic devices, then request an Acceledent Aura device to use at home. Our facility provides orthodontic care for adults, teenager, and children. Contact Dr. Tisseront today at 703-773-1200 to schedule your free consultation.
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Tisseront Orthodontics
11720 Plaza America Drive, Ste. 110
Reston, VA 20190
Phone: (703) 773-1200
What Your Child Should Expect (Before and After Braces)
I feel very fortunate to have found a profession as rewarding as the field of Orthodontics! For over 20 years, I have enjoyed creating custom, beautiful smiles for our family of patients all over the Northern Virginia area. You can even find some of our loyal patients across the country and abroad!
