Give Your Child the Gift of a Beautiful Smile
At Daniel & Jones Orthodontics, we offer a range of orthodontic treatment appropriate for children.
As parents in Little Rock ourselves, we know you want only the best for your child, including healthy teeth and a confident smile.
Catch Issues Before They Become Issues
Dr. John Daniel, Dr. Alex Jones, Dr. Addison Walker and our Daniel & Jones Orthodontics team will treat your children like our own, by giving them the best possible orthodontic care in an age-appropriate, comforting manner.
By age seven, your child's teeth have developed enough for Dr. Daniel, Dr. Jones, and Dr. Walker to spot subtle problems with jaw growth and emerging teeth before all of your child’s baby teeth are lost.
Your child’s check-up at Daniel & Jones Orthodontics may reveal that their bite is fine, and that braces for kids aren't necessary at this time.
Or, Dr. Daniel, Dr. Jones, or Dr. Walker may identify a developing problem, but will simply recommend monitoring your child's growth and development, and then, when indicated, begin treatment at the appropriate time for your child.
In other cases, the doctor might find a problem that can benefit from early treatment. Putting off treatment can result in a need for more invasive treatment later in life that may not completely fix your smile. Early treatment is most effective for achieving lasting results.
What Is Early Treatment?
Early treatment at Daniel & Jones Orthodontics may prevent or intercept more serious problems from developing in your child’s mouth, and may make treatment at a later age shorter and less complicated.
In some cases, Dr. Daniel, Dr. Jones, and Dr. Walker can achieve results that would be harder or downright impossible if treatment is delayed until your child’s face and jaws have finished growing.
The goal of phase one treatment at Daniel & Jones Orthodontics is to help the jaw develop in a way that will accommodate all of the permanent teeth and to improve the way the upper and lower jaws fit together.
Children often exhibit early signs of jaw problems as they grow and develop. An upper jaw that is growing too much or is too narrow can be recognized at an early age.
If children over the age of six are found to have this jaw discrepancy, they are candidates for early orthodontic treatment. Also, if children around the age of eight have crowded front teeth, early treatment can avoid the need to extract permanent teeth later.
Choosing the Best Time for Treatment
Children benefit tremendously from early-phase treatment. Receiving early treatment may prevent the removal of permanent teeth later in life, or the need for surgical procedures to realign the jaws.
While the age that kids get braces may vary, we often begin orthodontic treatment at Daniel & Jones Orthodontics between 9 and 14, because most orthodontic problems are easier to correct if they’re treated early.
If Dr. Daniel, Dr. Jones, or Dr. Walker think your child will need treatment, they’ll let you know when it will be best to begin treatment. This gives our doctors the best chance to:
- Guide jaw growth
- Lower the risk of trauma to protruded front teeth
- Correct harmful oral habits
- Improve appearance and self-esteem in your child
- Guide permanent teeth into a more favorable position
- Create a more pleasing arrangement of teeth, lips and face
Signs the Bite's Not Right
It's not always easy to tell when your child may need braces or has an orthodontic problem without a trained orthodontist like Dr. Daniel, Dr. Jones, and Dr. Walker. Even teeth that look straight may be hiding a problematic bite.
Here are some clues that may indicate you should bring your child in for an orthodontic evaluation with Daniel & Jones Orthodontics:
- Early or late loss of baby teeth
- Difficulty chewing or biting
- Biting the cheek or biting into the roof of the mouth
- Protruding teeth
- Breathing through the mouth
- Thumb-sucking
- Crowded, misplaced or blocked-out teeth
- Jaws that are too far forward or back
- Upper and lower teeth that don't meet, or meet in an abnormal way
- An unbalanced facial appearance
- Grinding or clenching of the teeth
Learn More at Your Free Consultation
If your child has a dental issue, please contact us by setting up a free consultation at our our offices in Little Rock, Benton, or Bryant.
We’ll fully discuss your child's orthodontic options, and, if necessary, Dr. Daniel, Dr. Jones, or Dr. Walker will develop a treatment plan customized to your child's needs.