What are the prerequisites before a child can get braces?

Doctor's Answers 1

They should not have tooth decay, or if decay has been treated over a period of one year, they should not have a cavity. If those are present, adding braces on top of that you are more likely to get a decay during treatment. The second criterion is that dental hygiene has to be good. With braces on, they may not be able to clean it well. There is also maturity, meaning whether or not they are able to cooperate. This is true even for young children. They don’t understand why they need braces but as long as they are able to cooperate with us it should be alright. Even if the parents want treatment it will still be difficult if the child is unwilling to cooperate.

Similar Questions

Why is my child’s lip protruding even though braces have already straightened his teeth?

This comes down to the treatment plan, because in some cases we may see very mild crowding. That means that the teeth are not very overlapped, they are pretty straight. All you need to do is straighten them up and the case will look nice. But for a lot of our Asian population, it’s very normal to have protruding lips. So that means that from the side view, they come out, and they do stick out quite a bit. For some people, it’s a concern.

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Answered By

Dr Jaclyn Toh

Dentist

How do you stop a child from grinding their teeth in their sleep?

Grinding starts around 6 years old. Most will grow out of it by 11 years old, but some kids who usually grind teeth in sleep they might have some ENT problems like a blocked nose or sinus problems.

Photo of Dr Jaclyn Toh

Answered By

Dr Jaclyn Toh

Dentist

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