Children can suffer some serious consequences when they deal with dental problems like misalignment, crowded teeth, etc. These problems are capable of hampering your child’s ability to speak, eat, sleep, and function if they are not treated. Being a parent, you want to ensure the beautiful smiles of your child for a lifetime. Here comes the role of professional dentists to secure the orthodontic health of your kids.

Professionals offering orthodontic treatment can be the solution for those children facing dental issues. However, you might think about what leads them to occur in the first place. Some food and bad habits affect the dental health of your child. These can lead to both structural and cosmetic damage to your child’s jaws and teeth. This guide will illustrate some foods and bad habits that can affect the orthodontic health of your kids.

Foods to Avoid to Maintain Orthodontic Health of Your Kids

Here are some foods your child cannot eat to maintain orthodontic health.

Carrots & Other Raw Vegetables

When a child with braces nite into a whole carrot, it can break the bracket or wire. You can cut the carrot into thin rounds or sticks and give it to your child raw or cook it to soften it before eating.

Popcorn

Popcorn kernels can cling under the gum or to braces easily in a spot that is difficult to access without removing braces.

Crusty or Hard Bread

You do not need to avoid all breads. Give up hard bread, hard pizza crust, and hard rolls, as they can create issues. You can opt for a soft variety of bread. Make sure you remove the hard part.

Nuts

Nuts you find mostly are hard. Therefore, they have the ability to dislodge brackets and break wires. You can choose flaked and ground nuts as they are fine to eat.

Stick Foods

These foods can easily cling to brackets and archwires. As a result, they can cause breakages. It is to be stated that breakage does not occur the first time. However, the damage is often cumulative. Therefore, subsequent pieces may lead to dislodged hardware. 

Bad Habits That Can Affect Your Child’s Orthodontic Health

Below are some bad habits you ensure your child is not enduring.

Thumb Sucking

One of the most common habits you can see among young children is thumb-sucking. Kids mostly are likely to grow this habit when they start going to school. It can significantly cause dental problems if it persists. Professional kids’ orthodontic treatment in Spanaway is needed to address this issue. Some dental issues that can result from this habit are:

• Flared upper incisors
• Roof deformities in the mouth
• Future permanent teeth misalignment
• Tipping of the lower incisors
• Open bite of the front teeth.

Teeth Grinding

Squeaking and crunching at night is irritating. However, bruxism or teeth grinding is a pretty common habit among children and pre-teens. Research says that this issue is common among children, however, if it persists, it can still lead to some issues.

A prolonged teeth-grinding habit can cause issues like jaw pain, earaches, headaches, and many more. Children who deal with bite and alignment problems in their lower or upper jaw can face this issue mostly. With orthodontic treatment, you can reduce this problem.

If you are looking for kids’ orthodontic treatment, you can contact us. With years of experience and expertise, our dental professionals can secure better orthodontic health for your child.