Braces for children can correct a bad bite when most of the permanent teeth have emerged. Prior to the 1980s, braces were steel bands that fit around teeth like rings. Wires attached to a bracket on the bands pulled the teeth into alignment. This led to the coining of the phrase "metal mouth," and often brought ridicule on children who were fitted with braces.
Since the 1980s, many advances have been made in the field of orthodontics. Braces are no longer made from bands of metal. Instead, the brackets are bonded directly to the front of the teeth with an adhesive. They are very comfortable for children to wear, being smaller than unpopped popcorn kernels and thus much less noticeable than steel bands.
Cosmetic dentists sometimes use brackets made from clear sapphire brackets are also available, but these are much more expensive and difficult for children to clean. Brackets are connected with a stainless steel wire, with the size of the wire determining the pressure necessary to move the teeth. The wire is held in place by elastics, which also help speed up tooth movement. Additional wires and attachments can be used in more extreme cases.
Braces can actually move childrens teeth through bone. The bone responds to the tension caused by brackets and wires and produces making special cells on each side of a tooth. These cells actually remove bone on one side of the tooth and create bone on the other, moving the tooth in the process.
Children normally have to wear braces for a period lasting from one to three years. Because it is difficult for children with braces to clean their teeth, regular dental cleaning appointments are paramount. Otherwise, a child may have permanent white stains form on his or her teeth if plaque is not regularly removed.
After braces are removed, retainers are used to hold a childs teeth in their new alignment. Some retainers are removable, and others are cemented in place.
Younger children can be fitted with braces, provided they have sufficient permanent teeth. Conditions such as excessive underbite and overbite can be very effectively treated with braces. If braces cannot be fitted to a childs mouth, then functional dental appliances can be used in their place.
Functional appliances are usually applied to fewer teeth and are used to correct misalignment, an over or underbite. They hold the space created when a tooth falls out or has to be pulled. These devices may be fixed in place for extended periods of time, or they may be removable and worn only for a short period of time. With a functional appliance, an eight-year-old's protruding upper front teeth, which are very prone to injury, can be moved back into a less vulnerable and much more attractive position.
If a child is younger than 10 years in age, the normal growth of his or her permanent teeth will sometimes push the upper front teeth back together. Have a dentist x-ray these teeth to determine if the gap will close on its own. If not, braces or functional appliances can be used to correct these problems in childrens teeth.
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