A lot happens during the transition between the child and adult dentition, as the baby teeth are lost to make way for the adult teeth. It is very important to monitor for any problems and to intervene quickly.
For example teeth may become impacted, or stuck and require a helping hand before they damage the next-door tooth. Sometimes there is inadequate space for permanent teeth to erupt and timely removal of the neighbouring primary tooth may fix this.
Upper teeth may come down inside the bottom teeth, and can be easily flicked forwards by using a simple spring brace. On occasion the teeth do not bite together well and may shift to one side when closing together, know as a cross bite with deviation. This situation may put strain on the jaw and again can be corrected with a simple brace.
Early intervention may prevent the need for future orthodontic appliances, or at least simplify later orthodontic treatment.
