What do parents ask before a child's first orthodontic visit?

Getting ready for the first visit

A child's first orthodontic visit centers on an exam and a talk with the orthodontist about what the exam found.

• Your first consultation describes the new patient forms, the initial examination, then the discussion of treatment type, length and cost.
• Preparing a hesitant child for braces gives ideas for talking about braces at home and the questions a nervous child can bring to the orthodontist.

Baby teeth and the room ahead

Baby teeth keep room for the permanent teeth that replace them, according to the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO), which is why questions about a child's baby teeth tend to come back to space.

• Braces with baby teeth clears up the AAO's position that treatment can begin before every baby tooth is gone, and when a baby tooth is taken out on purpose.
• Baby teeth lost early considers what losing a baby tooth early can mean for braces later, and the choice between watching, holding the space or planning ahead.
• Crowded or spaced baby teeth contrasts gaps and crowding in the baby teeth, and why the AAO says crowding may be worth a check-up.
• Whether crooked teeth straighten on their own gets the AAO's answer, which is no, because growth does not add room for the permanent front teeth.

Habits and bite signs worth an exam

Some things a parent sees at home, from a thumb habit to front teeth that stick out, are reasons to have a child's bite checked by an orthodontist rather than diagnoses in themselves.

• Thumb sucking, pacifiers and the bite looks at the point where a sucking habit begins to affect the teeth, and what the first exam checks.
• Front teeth that stick out takes up the timing of a first check-up and what the orthodontist looks at during it.
• Biting with the side teeth lists what the AAO says it can signal, such as jaws out of balance or front teeth that protrude.
• A mouth that does not close fully names the condition the AAO calls lip incompetence and how the exam sorts out its cause.
• What causes orthodontic problems in children separates the problems the AAO calls inherited from those acquired over time, for example through thumb sucking or mouth breathing.

After the exam: watching, waiting or early treatment

An exam can end with treatment, with a plan to watch, or with nothing to treat for now, and the AAO ties the timing of treatment to the child's problem and stage of dental development.

• Why some children wait for braces answers the parent told to bring a child back later while a friend the same age already wears braces.
• One phase or two lays out how a first phase of treatment differs from a second, and the questions parents ask in between.

The early orthodontic treatment page outlines what an orthodontist watches for in a growing child and what early treatment can involve, and a consultation is where your child's own plan, if one is needed, gets made.