From the age of 6, it is recommended to consult a orthodontist. There are several reasons for this: to prevent abnormal jaw shifts, thumb or pacifier openings and start talking about alignment. As devices are more and more suitable and discreet, early treatment may allow the child to avoid a heavier device or reduce the duration of treatment.

For the little ones, between 3-4 years old, treatments are rare. The teeth are not all pushed and the maturity of children at this age is not sufficient to understand the value of this bizarre material in their mouths. Rare exceptions exist, however, to reduce a large gap between the two jaws. The treatment is then done using two small removable devices.

The ideal time for a first consultation with a dental appliance specialist: the orthodontist (a function that can also be performed by the dentist if he has this specialization) is around 6-7 years old, according to professionals.

“Coming for a consultation from the age of 6 can correct any discrepancies between the jaws”. « It’s time where the temporary incisors begin to fall out. This is the period of “mixed dentition” where temporary teeth are present on the dental arches with permanent teeth. “

The practitioner can then already detect anomalies in the position of certain teeth, a bad relationship between the two jaws, due to sucking of the thumb or the pacifier for example, to stop an evolving pathology, or if the child suffers from an injury. aesthetic.

“It is around 6-8 years of age that maxillofacial malpositions are most often detected (jaws that are too short or too long, too wide or too narrow)”. The correction will also be done using removable devices.

In that case, the start of orthodontic treatment is done according to the dental age which can be very variable and not the civil age.

A large part of orthodontic treatment begins from 11 years. It is most often the child’s dentist who identifies the problem and refers to an orthodontist. If the concern is mainly dental, with a lack of room for the evolution of the teeth on the arches, it is necessary to wait until they are almost all present.

In some cases, such as making room to allow the final teeth to grow properly, it is also possible to pilot, that is to say extract certain teeth. As in a forest, certain trees are cut down to leave light for others. However, from the evolution of the four upper and lower incisors, it is important to be vigilant and to monitor the good evolution of the dentition.

Depending on the age and the problem, the choice of orthodontic treatment will be different. The youngest patients consult an orthodontist mainly for an open bite (children who suck their fingers or use a pacifier), a lack of space or malpositions: deviation of the jaws, or lower / upper jaw too narrow, protruding or recessed.

Depending on the age at the time of the consultation, the practitioner may offer:

• At 6-8 years old: preventive treatment;
• At 6-11 years old: an interception phase;
• At 11-17 years old: a construction phase;
• After 17 years: a rehabilitation process.

More and more devices have transparent fasteners, unlike the bits of metal we could see glittering before. The rings are fixed inside the teeth to be completely invisible. Teenagers like it.

This is not the case with the youngest, whose device has become a fashion accessory. They can thus choose the color from a palette of mauve, blue, green, fluorescent… and add glitter, figurines. This makes it possible to de-dramatize the treatment, to make the child active and to include him in the choices made for his well-being.

Between 8 and 9 years old, dental braces in resin

Resin dental appliances, generally worn at night and associated with helmets providing external traction, accelerate the growth of the receding jaw and on the contrary slow down the prominent one. By age 12, it is often too late because the growth of the facial bones is complete.

Between 11 and 12 years old, the “rings”

They concern children who have a jaw that is too small for the size of their teeth. When all the teeth are pushed in, the orthodontist will be able to correct any abnormalities in the position of the teeth using multi-attachment devices or “rings”, glued to the teeth.

Each orthodontic treatment is therefore different and adapted to the patient’s case. The duration of the treatment also varies according to the objective to be reached, the physiology of each and the good collaboration of the child.