Orthodontist London Marylebone & Chelsea - Orthodontists in London

Happy Kids Dental are orthodontists in London offering early treatment for children at our two dentistry clinics in Marylebone & Chelsea. An orthodontist offers "Interceptive" treatments which are dental procedures recommended for children between 7 to 10 years old. During this time nearly all children will still have a mixture of “adult” and “baby” teeth present, so the aim of orthodontics is to intervene early and “intercept” any abnormalities in the development of the teeth and bite.

Our London based orthodontists believe it is important to take action early if your child’s bite is not right. Early orthodontic intervention is often in a child’s best interests if planned and implemented at the right time. As your orthodontist in London, we can reduce or prevent the need for braces when your child is older.

Orthodontic treatment typically uses fixed or removable braces to treat misaligned teeth or the jaw, or sometimes both. Common problems that are corrected by an orthodontist include:

Crooked teeth
Protruding front teeth
Crossbites
Stopping finger / thumb sucking and correcting the bite once this has stopped.

Orthodontics also help manage the development of teeth. This means ensuring all the teeth are present, in the right location at the right time, and developing normally. If not, then an orthodontist will often make recommendations or a treatment plan to ensure development is normal.

There are a few simple visual checks you can do to see if a visit to the orthodontic specialist might be useful:

Early or late loss of milk teeth, or excessively spaced teeth
Difficulties with biting into food e.g. your child bites using their molars and not their front teeth
Mainly breathes through their mouth and does not seem to be able to close their lips fully
Misshapen or angled teeth, e.g. the front or lower teeth stick out, the teeth meet unusually or don’t meet at all
Very crowded teeth or extra teeth
Grinding or clenching of teeth
They bite their cheek or other soft tissues or frequently have a rash around the mouth
Thumb/finger or dummy sucking beyond the age of 4

Who carries out the Orthodontic treatment ?

We have 3 specialist orthodontists all with world-class educations from the best universities and with over 10 years of experience.

What's the difference between a dentist and an orthodontist ?

An orthodontist will have initially qualified as a dentist, and gained years of an experience before attending an internationally recognised 3-year programme to gain academic and clinical training to specialise as in orthodontics.

A consultant orthodontist (a term used in the UK) will have trained for an additional two years to gain further experience in the management of more complex orthodontic problems that often require a special skillset.

When should an orthodontist first see my child?

The British Dental Association recommends that children have their first consultation with an orthodontist by the age of 7. At that age children typically have a mixture of primary and permanent teeth so an orthodontist will be able to recognise a misalignment early on.

However, if your child is younger than 7 and you have concerns about the alignment of their teeth, consider scheduling the appointment earlier - your orthodontist will be able to advise the best solution for your child.

If your child is 8 or older, consider having their bite checked by an orthodontist.

Interceptive treatment takes advantage of the early growth spurt and turns a difficult orthodontic problem into a more manageable one and delivers not only better results but also better long-term stability of the positioning of the teeth.

Important to know: A lot of interceptive orthodontic treatments will require a follow-up treatment to achieve an ideal final bite. The goal of this second phase is to ensure each tooth is in the correct location in the mouth, where it fits perfectly with the lips, tongue, cheeks and the other teeth. When this balance is established, your child’s teeth will function together properly.