Dental Health Check with Dr. Linda Niessen
Dental health topics from Dr. Linda Niessen of Baylor College of Dentistry
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 Delaying Ortho

By Dr. Linda Niessen
Monday, September 27, 2004

STORY:  DELAYING ORTHO
SCRIPT #575  SHOOT:  9/8/04
AIRDATE:   Monday, Sept. 27, 2004
Daybreak and Midday
DHC Master # 20  Timecode: 3:34

Orthodontic braces can improve children's dental health. However, in about a third of all cases, braces only improve their appearance. So, how do parents decide when orthodontic treatment must be done? Dr. Linda Niessen offers some straight talk about early orthodontic evaluation in today's segment of Dental Health Check.

By age seven, children's teeth can look like a ragged smile of baby and adult teeth going in all directions. But not all those children need early orthodontic treatment.

"Sometimes they need treatment. Sometimes They don't." Orthodontist Dr. Patrick Ohlenforst suggests early treatment if ... "If there are skeletal problems. What I mean by that is a jaw discrepancy that is developing because of either genetics or because the way kids Teeth are coming together…for example a cross bite."

One of the most common skeletal problems in children is a crossbite. Eight year old Stewart Pemble has one. His bottom and top teeth kind of criss-cross. Stewart's little sister, three year old Morgan has the same problem. But their seven-year-old brother, Brady, does not. So Brady can wait about five years before he gets braces.

"It is so confusing to me having never been a mom before," said Denise Pemble, the childrens' mom. "And then when they start getting old enough to where you have to figure out what's best for them." "Moms walk in and every other seven year old at school has braces on and they feel they're remiss."

Dr. Robert Morgan, a pediatric dentist, recommends a must, should, or could approach. He says orthodontics must be done early in some cases.

Those are the don't wait problems. In many cases, a child should have treatment but it can be delayed until about age 12. In other cases, children's teeth fit into the "could" category and treatment is just for cosmetic reasons.

Don't rush into major orthodontic treatment. Ask a lot of questions about what must be done, what should be done, and what could be done. For Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas A&M System, I'm Dr. Linda Niessen, Channel 8 News.

Dr. Linda Niessen, clinical professor in the Department of Restorative Sciences and  the Office of Communications and Development at Baylor College of Dentistry, hosts Dental Health Check, the only weekly dental feature shot on location in the nation.

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