Pediatric Orthodontists
Call Today!
Traveling twenty miles south from downtown Dallas you find Plano, the city of excellence. Located in Collin County, with some parts extending into Denton, in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area in Texas, Plano has a growing and thriving community.
Boasting beautiful suburbs and an ever-growing population, it’s no wonder that Plano, often called the city of excellence, is considered among the best cities to live in within Texas.
Plano orthodontists work to ensure that every resident has a captivating smile, from young to old. Most orthodontists recommend that children be taken for regular checkups, as orthodontic work is best practiced while bones and teeth are still young and pliable.
Request a Consultation
Every Plano pediatric orthodontist has the expertise and skills to help residents’ children to develop a great smile, and as everyone ought to know, dental care and hygiene is a lifelong commitment. Commit to your child’s dental health early on, and they will be grateful when they are older.
Services offered by Plano pediatric orthodontists
Orthodontists use a variety of different appliances and methods for treating the conditions they diagnose in their patients. Most advise seeking the expertise of an orthodontist while the patient is young, as most of the techniques they use are best applied on young, soft jawbones.
Braces
Braces applied for the treatment of misaligned teeth and growth deformities, among other conditions. Braces are placed on the teeth to apply gentle and consistent pressure to reshape the contours and improve teeth alignment. In children whose teeth are still growing, braces have a remarkable success rate.
When teens or adults are referred to an orthodontist, procedures often include the removal of polar teeth to make room for the adjustments made to the other teeth.
In younger patients, this is less likely to be required because an orthodontist can predict growth and compensate to allow all the teeth to develop in alignment and in the positions that are considered aesthetically pleasing. This is just one of the many reasons why it is better to consult an orthodontist while the patient is young.
Braces consist of brackets and ligatures. Brackets are bonded to the teeth with dental adhesive, to which the wire, otherwise known as the ligature, is fitted. Brackets come in different colors for the patient to choose from and are made to the prescription of an orthodontist according to the needs of the patient.
Several different types are available for use, and each is suitable for different problems.
The duration of treatment with braces can vary according to the complexity and cause of the problems, ranging from six months for minor problems to two and a half years for more serious conditions. With patience, you too can live with the miraculous benefits that a Plano orthodontist can offer.
Invisalign
Although still a new and less proven method, many children and teens ask for Invisalign. Living with the peer pressures of school and teenage social life can be made more difficult by wearing braces. Unsurprisingly, this clear plastic alternative to braces has been getting more and more popular.
In severe cases of malocclusion, Invisalign and similar products won’t be prescribed. Invisalign is designed following the same principle as braces and is used to treat the same deformities.
Headgear/Face masks
Headgear or face masks are often used in combination with braces to treat children who suffer from deformed jawbones or misaligned jaws, otherwise known as anteroposterior discrepancies. Headgear is attached to the head using straps or a single neckband to add additional necessary force to the braces through hooks and other applicable means.
The same can also be achieved through the use of a head cap, or in some cases, both may be applied. The purpose of headgear is often to progress or restrict the growth of facial bones to accommodate the patient’s tooth growth better, or to assist in the treatment of teeth aligning if braces alone are insufficient.
Typically, headgear is worn for twelve to twenty-two hours a day for optimum correction of a patient’s problems, but it is sometimes prescribed for between fourteen to sixteen hours a day.
Treatment with headgear can last between twelve to eighteen months. How long the headgear needs to be worn depends on the severity of each case, as well as the growth stage of the patient. In older patients, it might take longer.
Face masks are mainly used in teenagers and children for corrections concerning jaw displacement issues such as underbite. Face masks, or reverse-pull headgear as some call it, consist of the following components:
- A plastic and metal frame made with center bars that are strapped to the head and fitted to the patient’s face.
- A head cap for a stable and secure fitment.
- An attachment, sometimes called a mouth yoke, that is fitted to the braces or other oral appliance.
Palatal Expansion
Palatal expansion treatment through the use of an oral appliance called a palatal expander is a procedure used on young and old to expand the upper jaw to correct how the teeth are supposed to fit over each other. In younger patients who have yet to hit the growth spurt, palatal expansion therapy has been found to be most successful.
To obtain optimum skeletal changes, the procedure is typically initiated at a young age. There are different types of palatal expansion therapies available, including rapid-, slow- and implant-based expansion. The type needed depends on the individual patient’s needs.
Jaw surgery
Jaw surgery on children is very uncommon, but is prescribed in a few severe cases where it is deemed necessary.
Areas Served
If you find yourself looking for pediatric orthodontists in Plano, Texas, you can find what you’re looking for by using this service page. Areas that are serviced by these professionals include:
Get in Touch with an Orthodontist Plano, Texas today!
Fill in the form below or give us a call and we will get back to you very soon