Welcome
to Bruma Orthodontist.

Does your child have a sucking habit? 

Babies are born to suck even before birth. The use of a pacifier or dummy for the first 2 years of life is not associated with long term detrimental effects on the developing teeth and jaws. When this need to suck continue with the long-term use of a dummy or is transferred to a thumb, or a finger (digit sucking habit), there are effects on the teeth and jaws depending on how strong the sucking forces are. You’ve all felt that strong pressure of a baby sucking on your finger! During the eruption of the baby teeth, the face is also taking shape and the upper jaw before the lower jaw. This upper jawbone is easily molded by these powerful muscular forces, and you will notice it as well. There are a variety of comfortable and easily accepted ways to help your child move away from this habit without deep routed psychological long term side effects. These may include a little plate in the mouth, or a simple piece of plastic stuck onto your child’s teeth. Come in to see us to find our more. 

Is your child’s speech clear or do you see a little tongue pop out more that you should? 

Speech and language development begins even before your child’s first words. The articulation of this very much dependent on the position of the tongue in the correct position. This is learnt and often uneventful. Should you hear those certain words are unclear when your child is at an age when speech should be developing normally, it may be the tongue that is not able to be contained. You will often times notice a gap between your child’s teeth in front and the tongue pushing through when speaking and swallowing. This is an anterior open bite and should be closed as soon as possible to allow for normal functioning of speech and swallow, as well as the development of the height of the front of the face. You will notice that your child has no teeth showing in the upper jaw while they speak and might look like a little old lady when they smile. This should be corrected early to allow the face to catch up in growth. Adults with a severe problem of this kind often have orthognathic surgery as their best treatment option. Do not delay- let us help your little one now!

Are your kids able to clean their teeth effectively?

Getting your child to effectively clean their teeth is always a challenge for us all. Crooked and bunched teeth make this even more of a challenge despite how much you find yourself nagging. The first adult tooth (first permanent molar tooth) comes up into the mouth behind the last baby tooth any time after 5 years of age. The four front teeth in the upper and lower jaws should have arrived by at least 8 years of age. These teeth might find themselves batting for space or coming up behind baby teeth in the front that just won’t budge. An understanding and assessment of this stage of the development of the dentition (Early Mixed Dentition) and minimum intervention guided development approach can be all that is needed to allow these teeth some room and those coming after them as well.

Have there been baby teeth taken out too early without any ‘spacer’ placed to hold the space open?

Baby teeth have many important roles, one of them being to maintain the space for the upcoming adult teeth. When baby teeth have been taken out earlier than they should have been without the space being held open, the adult tooth beneath is often blocked (cannot erupt in the mouth completely) out or even impacted (cannot erupt into the mouth at all and is stuck within the bone). Should the tooth be extracted, a simple solution of placing a space maintainer in the area will allow the adult tooth the space it requires at the time of its eruption into the mouth. 

Does your little angel seem to be mismatched when looking at the size of their teeth that are too small or too big for his/her mouth and face?

Tooth size discrepancy is often noticed when the adult teeth look too large in the smaller sized mouth and jaws. This can often be assisted by means of rounding out the narrow upper jaw arch by means of a palatal expander appliance placed into your childs mouth. The expansion is achieved quickly and the plate held in place for a few months to allow the bone to harden while also allowing the teeth to erupt into the mouth with more room for them to do so. In some cases this can prevent the need for the extraction of permanent teeth for orthodontic treatment.  

Did Mum or Dad have any problems with their teeth when younger? Did they need orthodontic help?

Crowding of the teeth also has a genetic component, so in addition to your sparkling personality or good heart, you may also have passed on your malocclusion. Children are of course a combination of both mum and dad and this might mean that a sweet elfin face cannot accommodate the robust size teeth they have.  

Does your child snore or grind teeth at night?

A subconscious nighttime habit is something beyond our control. Unfortunately, this weary habit has the effect of wearing away the teeth and taking the jaws on a marathon exercise session every night. A nighttime bite plate may be the answer, or perhaps there is an interference in the bite that is worsening this. Children and adults are dealing with drastic social changes with the onset of the Covid-19 and beyond restrictions. In addition to the overwhelming expectations we have, subconscious psychological and emotional stress is often taken out on the teeth during sleep.

Snoring alludes to an obstruction in the airway where the air makes a noise while rushing past these narrowed spaces. Seasonal allergies contribute to this and often the pattern of the face as well, i.e., long face types with bleary eyes due to the disturbed night sleep. Orthodontics, with a range of appliances, can assist as part of the holistic treatment in allowing your child the best quality of life and quality of restful sleep. 

Does something just look off???                                                                                      

Many problems with the development or eruption of the teeth can be identified EARLY, and if treated can be solved in a short time with minimum intervention. Baby teeth are important in allowing the face to develop normally and the adult teeth to come up into the mouth in the best position. 

Early treatment (Stage I) for kids at the stage of baby and adult teeth is often very short (6-8 months) and is focused only on those teeth that need to be corrected. This is also a life changing exercise for them as the adult teeth waiting to come through can be allowed more room. In some cases, should the problem be solved early, there might not be any need for another further correction (Stage II). 

We also look after your child’s dental development after Stage I so you are fully aware of what to expect. There is no further fee for this. You are now part of the family!

Orthodontic screening at an early age is most important, even from the age of 7 years.

We offer a free orthodontic screening for patients under the age of 9 years old. Please contact us for more information regarding this.