If your child has braces, then he or she sees an orthodontist every few months to make adjustments to the braces. While this helps with their teeth and oral care, it should never be a substitution for regular dental appointments. Here are some reasons why your child still needs to see a dentist regularly.
The Dentist Helps Clean and Maintain Gum and Tooth Health
It can be difficult to keep teeth with braces clean. A majority of the work almost always has to be done by you, the parent, until or unless your child is old enough to manage the job alone. Children have a difficult time with flossing with braces, a complicated process to learn. Even teenagers might avoid flossing when they have braces. For this reason, visiting a dentist can help identify problem areas where flossing and brushing can improve gum health while your child continues with orthodontic treatment.
The Dentist Can Identify Areas That Need More Attention
Children with braces often feel more pain and sensitivity with each new adjustment to their braces. They will then avoid brushing these areas, which can cause serious dental problems as time goes on. Regular visits with the dentist helps identify problems right from the start, so both you and your child can make a better effort at keeping these teeth clean and free of plaque and sugar build-up.
The Dentist Can Spot Cavities as They Develop
Despite the fact that your child wears braces, he or she can still develop cavities, especially in the molars. Since you and your child are working so hard to keep the areas around the braces and in between teeth clean, you might miss brushing the tops of teeth. These areas then develop cavities. The dentist can spot these cavities while they are still small, fill the cavities, and restore the teeth so that you are not paying hundreds (or thousands!) out of pocket for braces only to have your child's teeth go to rot.
The Dentist Can Warn You about Loose Wires, Loose Brackets, and Missing Brackets
Kids will not always tell you that something is amiss with their braces. That is why it is important to keep both your child's dental appointments as well as his/her orthodontic appointments. The dentist and the orthodontist will spot missing or loose brackets and/or loose orthodontic wires. If the dentist notices them first, you can quickly schedule an appointment with the orthodontist to have these issues addressed.
