Early orthodontic treatment

[Buttons0522]

DC is 8 and just lost their top two front teeth bringing the total of adult teeth (some partially erupted) to 4. I’ve always been conscious of my teeth and would really like them to have good teeth so I’ve been wondering if early orthodontic treatment is a. a thing here in the UK (lots of google hits suggesting they do much more with teeth around this age in the US - maybe why they have good teeth?!) and b. worth it? I’ve found a few dental practices offering x-rays, scans etc. but it doesn’t seem widespread.

I've never heard of orthodontic treatment starting before the age of around 11/12. By all means speak to your dentist about it, or maybe find a private orthodontist and see what they say, but I doubt you'd get anything on the NHS for a few years, and even then it depends on how much treatment may be needed.

Thank you! Oh yes we haven’t been able to get an NHS dentist around here for years so it would be private treatment. It’s just one of those things I’ve been pondering as until you’re at that age/stage and are around others also going through it sharing their experiences, you don’t know what is available and what the norm is.

We are doing this as DS (7) has a specific issue that could affect the eruption of his adult teeth. He was referred by his (NHS) dentist. This is private treatment. I think the issue for cosmetic orthodontics is that it could be pointless as teeth move around so much before early teens. Obviously the child needs to be able to comply with cleaning, wearing etc

people in the usa don’t have better teeth. They actually have more tooth decay than the UK and are more likely to wear implants / dentures etc at much earlier ages. In the UK we tend to have healthier teeth that don’t need all that shit.

Privately, yes. We are actually having some done age 4-5 (palate expansion) to hopefully prevent too much work down the track.

Yes I have already looked into and will be taking my DS to have probably a palette expander we can already see he has a narrow palate. We are getting a consultation when he is age 5/6. We are hoping to have this and Invisalign for him rather than waiting until he’s older and having to do the train tracks, tooth removal and possibly head gear route.

DC2 had a palate extender from 8, but only because we were at the private orthodontist for DC1 and the orthodontist took a good look and asked if we had a family history of missing adult teeth - we do - so he got him xrayed and the teeth weren't missing, just completely blocked. The palate extender meant DC2 eventually whizzed through fixed braces in less than 18 months whereas DC1 had them on for over 3 years.

Ok thanks so much everyone. Never heard of narrow palates or palate extenders so clearly have much to learn! Never had braces myself so have zero experience. Interesting point re cosmetic reasons and teeth movement post treatment. I had wondered if this would be the case.

Not really a thing in the UK, my DD was 13 getting her braces fitted. My dentist said it’s better to wait until then to give time for the facial bones to develop