Many families debate getting braces for your child’s teeth due to the cost or because their teeth are only moderately crooked. However, they should consider the benefits of having straight teeth. Not only will they have a more attractive smile, but proper bite alignment also has many benefits for your child’s well-being. Our dentists in San Antonio, TX can examine your child’s teeth to determine if they need braces or clear aligners near you to straighten teeth.

Bite Misalignment and Crooked Teeth Issues

While mild to moderate bite or crooked teeth may not cause a child’s health problems, they can complicate them and their daily activities. For instance, misaligned teeth can make it difficult to chew food into smaller pieces to make it easier to shallow and digest. Bite misalignments can also interfere with their speech and lead to impediments or not being able to pronounce words correctly. Kids face years of speech therapy and being ostracized by others for something preventable. Also, misalignments can lead to misaligned jaws and the complications they can cause. A misaligned jaw can lead to issues like temporomandibular joint disorder, TMD, headaches, face discomfort, and migraines.

Aligner Choices

Unless your child has severely crooked teeth or bite misalignments, they should be able to find clear aligners in San Antonio, TX that can fix their teeth. Some companies offer aligners for kids as young as six years old.  Most aligners require a prescription, so you need to contact our dentists for an evaluation. If you’re worried that your child may not want to wear aligners for 22 hours a day, some manufacturers make night aligners that they only need to wear for 10 hours while they’re sleeping. Since aligners are sized for each child’s teeth and mouth, the aligners shouldn’t come off and pose a choking hazard while they’re asleep.

Cost-Effectiveness

Another advantage to getting clear aligners to straighten teeth is their cost. Most aligners cost under $100 a month, while braces are as much as $5,000. If your child’s teeth need straightening, contact our dentists at Comfort Dentistry to get an appointment for an evaluation to find out if aligners are right for your child.