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Parents of young children routinely worry about how their child's
permanent teeth are coming in. They want to know if they child needs
braces.
We can't tell very accurately whether a child will need braces until the
permanent cuspids begin to show about age 10. When the permanent incisors
come in they usually come into the inside of the baby teeth, and appear to
be coming in wrong. Don't worry, once the baby tooth is lost the permanent
tooth will usually find it's way into the right place.
We don't usually remember our first permanent teeth, but we do remember
how our latter permanent teeth came in…the molars. They have forked roots,
as opposed to the single "carrot like" roots of the incisors. The forked
roots of baby molars enclose, and guide the molars right into place
beneath them. Incisors can't do this, and the body has to have them come
in beside the baby tooth. It's hard to believe, but the equilibrium
reached between the forces of the tongue, and the lips will guide them
into place. Unless there is an imbalance of these forces. Some of those
imbalances are below.
Tongue thrust-improper swallowing which must be re-taught by a speech
therapist. Mouth breathing- perhaps caused by allergies, or enlarged
tonsils. (Can contribute to quite bad decay if the teeth are not kept
moist as normal.)
Jaws not properly aligned- need the help of an orthodontist, and/or oral
surgeon.
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