Hey, my name is Shelly Katalgo. My love for sedation dentistry started in high school. My best friend had a severe fear of going to the dentist and I wanted to help her feel better about it. Although I always enjoyed my dental visits, I felt bad that she struggled so much with going to hers. My parents taught me about sedation dentistry and I instantly dreamed of becoming a dental professional. I wanted to help kids like my friend stay fear free throughout their appointments by using gentle techniques and professional medications. Although I opted to follow a different career path, my passion for dentistry remained throughout the years. I will update my site with developments in this industry as soon as they are reported. I will also discuss the benefits of sedation dentistry in detail. Thanks for visiting. I hope you come back soon.
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Understanding The Importance of Sedation Dentistry
Ways To Treat An Overbite In Children
Franklin Steward
Before eating with knives and forks was common, people would tend to hold a large chunk of food in their teeth before cutting off an appropriate portion and chewing it. An anthropologist has suggested that when it became customary to use a knife and fork to cut food on the plate, overbites became more common due to the reduced tension on the jaws. So would encouraging your child to eat in the pre-cutlery way cure their overbite? Perhaps it would help in some way, but it's hardly practical. What should you do if you suspect that your child is developing an overbite?
A Dental Assessment
The first thing you should do is schedule a dental appointment. Dentists for kids regularly treat overbites in children, and the first thing they will do is assess the overbite. It might be determined that the overbite is so minor that no treatment is required if the future development of your child's teeth will be unaffected. It's when your child's overbite can signal multiple dental problems further along the road that the issue must be corrected.
Tooth Extraction
When your child is in the stages of shedding their baby teeth, an overbite can sometimes be corrected by hurrying the process along. The premature loss of a baby tooth can cause complications, but when the difference is only slight, the dentist might choose to extract key baby teeth to create space for the adult teeth. When your child's jaw has been prepared for the arrival of adult teeth (courtesy of the extraction of those baby teeth), the new teeth should emerge in the correct alignment, often correcting the overbite. An X-ray is often required to confirm the presence of the adult teeth beneath the gums before any extraction can proceed.
Other Corrective Measures
Sometimes it can be too early to extract baby teeth since their replacements won't emerge for some years. In this instance, a palatal expander can be used. This is applied to the upper jaw, which then gradually widens so that it aligns with the lower jaw. Your child will need to wear the expander for several months, until optimal expansion has been achieved. They will then need to wear a retainer as directed by the dentist. Dental braces can also be used to correct an overbite, so your dentist might refer you to an orthodontist when this is thought to be the best option.
Untreated overbites can lead to dental problems well into adulthood, so if you think your child is developing an overbite, it's best to get it checked out.
To learn more, contact an office that offers dental care for kids.
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