Better Sleep, Less Pain: 5 Ways Kids’ Braces Help

Kids’ braces are about more than just a beautiful smile.

When you hear the word braces, you probably picture a teenager with a mouth full of metal and a goofy smile. But braces can help do more than just provide a beautiful smile. In conjunction with regular preventive dental care and orthodontic evaluations, braces can help provide a better night’s sleep and even reduce jaw pain and headaches. And that mouth full of metal is made worthwhile when the teen is left with a straighter, more confident smile at the end of the journey.

But braces do far more than correct crooked teeth; they can help guide the development of your child’s teeth and jaw to ensure they are appropriately aligned, keeping your kid smiling now and for years into the future.

1. Orthodontics can help reduce TMJ pain.

Orthodontics are highly effective in situations where a bite misalignment or malocclusion causes TMJ (temporomandibular joint dysfunction). Braces can realign your teenager’s bite and correct their teeth and jaw position. As a result, your teenager will experience an improvement in other symptoms, most notably jaw pain. And Dr. Mo, a pediatrician who practices orthodontics, is perfectly positioned to help you and your teenager identify if braces will help your teen’s TMJ.

2. Kids’ braces can help with sleep apnea. 

Sleep apnea is a severe sleep disorder that occurs when your breathing intermittently stops and resumes while sleeping. If sleep apnea is left untreated, it can result in loud snoring, daytime drowsiness, and more severe health-related troubles such as high blood pressure or heart problems. Orthodontics can effectively open up the palate, which can open the nasal cavity and reduce these challenges. As a result, your teenager can get a better night’s sleep.

3. Teenage orthodontics can make their stomach feel better.

Chewing is the first essential step in the digestion process. Food needs to be chewed thoroughly to prevent choking and so it can be swallowed easily. Plus, proper chewing creates food particles that are small enough so gastric juices in the stomach can further degrade it, reducing it to microscopic size. This small size ensures that nutrients and fluids can be absorbed into the gastrointestinal tract. Thus, dental misalignment can cause digestive upset if food cannot be chewed thoroughly enough to digest well.

4. Braces make it less likely that your teen will chip or crack their teeth. 

Malocclusions contribute to chipped or cracked teeth. Malocclusion refers to misaligned teeth that lead to oral complications such as overbite, underbite, crossbite, and overcrowding. As your teen’s teeth become misaligned, it can become challenging for them to perform vital oral functions like chewing, biting, and speaking.

Thankfully, Dr. Mo is trained in treating various types of malocclusions and can correct how your teen’s teeth line up correctly in their jaw. Braces will move the misaligned jaw and crooked teeth into their correct positions, making it far less likely that a chip or crack will occur in the future.

5. Orthodontics help prevent dry mouth.

Dry mouth occurs when the mouth doesn’t produce enough saliva. And a mouth that doesn’t close well can contribute to dry mouth, which in turn can lead to gum diseases. Braces help to realign teeth and the jaw, making it possible for your teen’s mouth to close properly. A mouth that closes properly can better produce much-needed saliva to help flush away food particles after meals. Not only that, but since dry mouth can also cause bad breath, your teen will appreciate the fresher breath that will inevitably come after their orthodontic treatment concludes.

Must Love Kids can help with kids’ braces for your child.

If your teen has been complaining of daytime fatigue, frequent thirst from a dry mouth, or jaw pain, or if they have poor self-confidence due to crooked teeth, it might be time to consider braces. If they haven’t had an orthodontic evaluation yet, there is no time like the present, especially if you are looking for an experienced and reputable dental office in Vancouver, Washington. The Must Love Kids team makes it easy to request an appointment for your teenager using our online form. Or you can always give our office a call.

We look forward to hearing from you.