991 Winchester Drive, Suite 1 , Sedalia, MO 65301 Get Directions
Call To Schedule!
(660) 217-3288

5 Reasons for Early Orthodontic Assessment

Sedalia dentists, Dr. Ehlers & Dr. Coleman at Tiger Family Dental give 5 reasons why early orthodontic assessment can prove beneficial for your child’s oral health.When most people think of braces, an image of a teenager with a mouthful of metal comes to mind. Most people who need orthodontics get braces in their early to mid-teens, but Tiger Family Dental would like to share several reasons why early orthodontic assessment and even treatment can be a good idea. 

The American Association of Orthodontics recommends children have their first orthodontic evaluation at age seven, because an orthodontist can determine early signs of bite issues at this time. Sedalia dentists, Dr. Ehlers & Dr. Coleman at Tiger Family Dental lists five reasons for earlier orthodontic treatment below:

Thumb Sucking

Thumb sucking is a normal way for infants to self-soothe. However, extended thumb sucking (past the age of 3) can significantly impact the growth and development of the palate and teeth, changing the eruption and alignment of the permanent teeth. The Mayo Clinic suggests several strategies to help your child break the habit, including positive reinforcement through rewards or simply a kind reminder of what they are doing to bring their attention to their behavior. If you notice your child sucks their thumb at the same time every day or during certain activities, work to avoid those triggers if possible. If triggers can’t be avoided, a gentle reminder can be effective.

Mouth Breathing

Chronic mouth breathing can be a sign of abnormal development of the oral cavity or sinuses or even a sleep disorder, such as sleep apnea. Sleep apnea doesn’t just affect health, it affects behavior. If a child isn’t getting quality sleep, they might:

  • Fall asleep during the day
  • Develop headaches
  • Become disruptive
  • Have difficulty concentrating
  • Have mood swings
  • Have problems in school 

If Tiger Family Dental knows your child is having trouble, they can recommend a solution. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if your child exhibits any of these issues.

Severe Crossbite

If your child has severe crossbite (upper teeth close inside the bottom teeth), early orthodontic intervention can be helpful. Typically, a palate expander will be suggested. A palate expander is placed in the upper palate and slowly widens the palate. If placed earlier in life when the palate is still developing, more extensive and difficult treatment down the road can be alleviated.

Overcrowding 

Overcrowding occurs when the palate is too small to support all of a child’s permanent teeth. When there isn’t enough room, teeth push on each other and become crowded. If addressed early, a palate expander or tooth extraction can help make room for permanent teeth. 

Protruding teeth

If a child has an overbite or underbite, early orthodontic treatment can be helpful.  Protruding front teeth are more prone to chipping and other injury. They may also cause children to have lower self-esteem and confidence. Braces may be a solution to move the teeth back in place, solving both the health and aesthetic issues. 

An underbite can also cause issues with normal functions of eating and speaking. Earlier correction can help kids develop normal speech patterns and a more aligned bite.

The Bottom Line

It may not cross your mind to take your child to see an orthodontist or ask your dentist about orthodontics before your child is a teenager, but it may be best for their long-term health to take an early approach to assessment and treatment. If you have questions about your child’s oral health, contact Tiger Family Dental today—we’d love to help! 

The content of this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

*Dr. Ehlers & Dr. Coleman are general dentists providing orthodontic services.

Menu
Need help?
Accessibility
Accessibility Options
Accessibility On Our Website

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 are recognized and acknowledged as the international standard measure of success. We regularly test our site to ensure we meet or exceed that standard and also consistently look for ways to improve the web site’s performance, speed, and accessibility.

We are committed to continuously improving access to our goods and services by individuals with disabilities. If you are unable to use any aspect of this website because of a disability, please call (660) 217-3288 and we will provide you with prompt personalized assistance.

If you have trouble seeing web pages, the US Social Security Administration offers these tips for optimizing your computer and browser to improve your online experience.

If you are looking for mouse and keyboard alternatives, speech recognition software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking may help you navigate web pages and online services. This software allows the user to move focus around a web page or application screen through voice controls.

If you are deaf or hard of hearing, there are several accessibility features available to you.

Closed Captioning

Closed captioning provides a transcript for the audio track of a video presentation that is synchronized with the video and audio tracks. Captions are generally visually displayed over the video, which benefits people who are deaf and hard of hearing, and anyone who cannot hear the audio due to noisy environments. Most of our website’s video content includes automated captions. Learn how to turn captioning on and off in YouTube.

Volume Controls

Your computer, tablet, or mobile device has volume control features. Each video and audio service has its own additional volume controls. Try adjusting both your device’s volume controls and your media players’ volume controls to optimize your listening experience.

Direct Link

Appointments
Need help?

"*" indicates required fields

Step 1 of 2

Schedule Appointment: STEP 1 OF 2

When would be most convenient for you?

Do not include sensitive personal, financial, or other confidential information (Social Security, account number, login, passwords, etc.). This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Helpful Resources

Below are links you may find helpful when scheduling an appointment with us.

Notifications
Latest Articles

Cosmetic Dentistry – A Beautiful Smile is a Powerful Thing

There is a law of nature that states: “Function follows form.”...

Cosmetic Dentistry – A Beautiful Smile is a Powerful Thing (featured image)

Is Flossing Really Necessary?

How do you feel when you see that little plastic floss container in...

Is Flossing Really Necessary? (featured image)

Why Wisdom Teeth Are Not So Wise

Most people have had some exposure to the concept of wisdom teeth....

Why Wisdom Teeth Are Not So Wise (featured image)
Follow Us On Social Media

Facebook

Stay informed on updates and upcoming events from our office.

YouTube

Subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Instagram

View fun photos and follow our team on Instagram.

Your Privacy
Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

This privacy notice discloses our privacy practices and the use of Google Analytics 4(GA4), an analytic advertising feature. This privacy notice applies solely to information collected by this website and the GA4 platform. It will notify you of the following:

  1. What personally identifiable information is collected from you through the website and GA4 platform, how it is used, and with whom it may be shared.
  2. The choices available to you regarding the use of your data.
  3. The security procedures in place to protect the misuse of your information.
  4. How you can correct any inaccuracies in the information.

Information Collection, Use, and Sharing

We only have access to/collect information that you voluntarily give us via email or other direct contact from you. We will not sell or rent this information to anyone.

We will use your information to respond to you, regarding the reason you contacted us. Unless you ask us not to, we may contact you via email in the future to tell you about specials, new products or services, or changes to this privacy policy.

While Productive Dentist Academy is the primary data controller, Google, in the context of providing Google Analytics service, acts as a data processor. We use Google Analytics 4, a widely recognized web analytics service provided by Google, Inc., to track user interactions and gather data for advertising purposes. As a third-party vendor, Google Analytics operates independently and maintains its own privacy policy, which can be found at https://policies.google.com/privacy. We carefully select our third-party vendors for their commitment to user privacy and adherence to data protection standards. As part of our ongoing commitment to your privacy, we implement measures to ensure that services like GA4 comply with our high standards of data protection.

GA4 collects certain personally identifiable information from you as you interact with our website. This information includes but is not limited to your device ID, IP address, and geographic location. The information collected through GA4 is used to analyze user behavior, optimize our website’s performance, and tailor our content to better serve your needs. This data is compiled and anonymized, ensuring that it cannot be linked back to individual users.

Please note that GA4 may share the information collected with Google and other third-party service providers to enable data processing and reporting on website usage. However, we will not sell, rent, or share your information, especially your personally identifiable information, with any third party outside of our organization.

Your Access to and Control Over Information

You have certain rights regarding the data collected by GA4. You have the right to do the following at any time by contacting us via the email address or phone number given on our website:

  • See what data we have about you, if any.
  • Have us delete any data we have about you.
  • Express any concern you have about our use of your data.

In addition to opting out of any future communications from us at any time, you may also opt out of the GA4 feature if you so choose. You can opt out of the GA4 Advertising Features we use through Ads Settings, Ad Settings for mobile apps, or through the NAI’s. This link points to Google Analytics’ currently available opt-outs for the web https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/ 

Security

We take precautions to protect your information. When you submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and offline. GA4 also follows industry best practices to protect your data both online and offline.

To ensure data protection while we are using GA4, we are implementing additional security measures that include and are not limited to:

  • limiting data access, 
  • using secure protocols, 
  • managing data sharing with Google

Wherever we collect sensitive information (such as credit card data), that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a lock icon in the address bar and looking for “https” at the beginning of the address of the Web page.

While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, billing or customer service) are granted access to personally identifiable information. The computers/servers in which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment.

Contact Us

If you have any concerns about the use of GA4 or believe that we are not abiding by this privacy policy, please contact us immediately. We are committed to addressing any privacy-related issues promptly and transparently.

By using our website and consenting to the use of GA4, you acknowledge and agree to the data collection and processing practices described in this notice. For more information about GA4 and its privacy practices, please review Google’s Privacy Policy on this link https://policies.google.com/privacy.

If you feel that we are not abiding by this privacy policy, you should contact us immediately.

Effective Date: 03/01/2020
Last Updated: 08/10/2023

Notice of Privacy Practices
Notice of Privacy Practices

Notice of Privacy Practices

This privacy notice discloses the privacy practices for our website. This privacy notice applies solely to information collected by this website. It will notify you of the following:

  1. What personally identifiable information is collected from you through the website, how it is used and with whom it may be shared.
  2. What choices are available to you regarding the use of your data.
  3. The security procedures in place to protect the misuse of your information.
  4. How you can correct any inaccuracies in the information.

Information Collection, Use, and Sharing

When Personal Health Information (PHI) is requested, we abide by all Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) rules and regulations to protect your information and privacy. We are required by applicable federal and state law to maintain the privacy of your health information. We are also required to give you this Notice about our privacy practices, our legal duties, and our rights concerning your health information. We must follow the privacy practices that are described in this Notice while it is in effect. This notice takes effect January 1, 2019, and will remain in effect until we replace it. We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this Notice at any time, provided such changes are permitted by applicable law. We reserve the right to make the changes in our privacy practices and the new terms of our Notice effective for all health information that we maintain, including health information we created or received before we made the changes. Before we make a significant change in our privacy practices, we will change this Notice and make the new Notice available upon request. You may request a copy of our Notice at any time. For more information about our privacy practices, or for additional copies of this Notice, please contact us using the information listed at the end of this Notice.

Wherever we request sensitive information (such as personal health information (PHI)), that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a lock icon in the address bar and looking for “https” at the beginning of the address of the Web page.

We are the sole owners of the information collected on this site. We only have access to/collect information that you voluntarily give us via email or other direct contact from you. We will not sell or rent this information to anyone.

We will use your information to respond to you, regarding the reason you contacted us. We will not share your information with any third party outside of our organization, other than to perform quality of service analysis and as necessary to fulfill your request, e.g. to respond to your queries. We may use your information to review our interactions with you and to help us improve and provide you with the best experience possible.

Unless you ask us not to, we may contact you via email in the future to tell you about specials, new products or services, or changes to this privacy policy.

Your Access to and Control Over Information

You may opt out of any future contacts from us at any time. You can do the following at any time by contacting us via the email address or phone number given on our website:

  • See what data we have about you, if any.
  • Change/correct any data we have about you.
  • Have us delete any data we have about you.
  • Express any concern you have about our use of your data.
  • Revoke an authorization previously made
  • You have additional rights, please contact the office for the latest copy of our Notice of Privacy Practices and to ask any questions.

Security

We take precautions to protect your information. When you submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and offline.

Wherever we collect sensitive information (such as personal health information or credit card data), that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a lock icon in the address bar and looking for “https” at the beginning of the address of the Web page.

While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example: billing or customer service) are granted access to personally identifiable information. The computers/servers in which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment.

If you feel that we are not complying with your rights, you should contact us immediately via telephone or email. You also have the right to contact Health and Human Services (HHS) (https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint/). We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Search
Search the Website

Use keywords in the search box below to find what you're looking for.

Special Offers
New Patient Specials

Please check back often for New Patient Specials.

Offers apply to new patients only. Must mention these coupons at time of appointment. No cash value. Some restrictions apply. Call for details! *In absence of gum disease or decay.

Schedule Appointment

Go to the Top of the Page